Fall is a special season for me. The leaves are changing, the smells of bonfires and tailgates are in the air, people enjoy hanging out outside, all the pumpkin-flavored things make a special appearance, and it’s socially acceptable to get a flavored coffee at any time of day.

I can’t remember a fall without pumpkin chocolate chip bread (since I learned to cook, anyway). I’m not much of a baker (you have to measure for that), but that’s one thing for which I’ll ignore my preferences (and habits of kitchen experimentation), hunker down, and get out the measuring cups. The mixing, the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg, the anticipation of the warm and gooey chocolate chips with the unmistakable scent and flavor of fall: it’s all worth it for me.  Even the extra calories, which I don’t typically count (and definitely don’t when it comes to pumpkin chocolate chip bread.).

And that leads me to picking and choosing our nutrition battles: one of my favorite topics that always bears revisiting with the change of food seasons.