Hey FAM!
We are back at it again with pumpkin spice and everything nice BUT this time, I’m bringing on the pumpkin expert!!
I’ve had a RD crush on Maggie from Once Upon a Pumpkin for like… EVER!! She is just doing it all right. She’s genuine, creative, and EVIDENCE-BASED! I first found her on Instagram then we connected though Jenny Westerkamp of All Access Dietetics. Meeting her IRL was so exciting and I was so impressed with how business-savvy and strategic she is. I could talk about nutrition and business with her ALL DAY, but first, I wanted to bring her on the blog to share her entrepreneurial background, how she found her niche, and tips to doing spooky szn right !!
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Give us background on yourself and OUAP!
I started OUAP during my dietetic internship as a fun way to show all of the pumpkin foods I was finding at trader joes and other stores. It was right on the cusp of the pumpkin revolution hah! My first job after my internship was at a PR firm in NYC where I helped develop influencer programs for dietitians, and worked on various food brand clients! It was a great experience where I learned a lot about nutrition communications. I ultimately decided I wanted to participate in blogger/ influencer programs myself with my blog and Instagram! It’s now been two years since I took OUAP full time! I definitely don’t have it “all figured out” but I think that having a positive attitude and never letting the no’s stop me from going after my dreams has helped me on this path of entrepreneurship!
How did you turn your passion for pumpkin into your dream job?
Truly at first I thought that no one would take me seriously as a registered dietitian talking about all these pumpkin things, but I really think that having this niche set me apart — plus it didn’t hurt that you can do SO much with pumpkins! When I left my corporate job in the fall of 2017 I had a couple of projects lined up and just kept putting myself out there, reaching out to people I wanted to work with and going after opportunities that would help me stand out not only with pumpkins, but as a dietitian in the media. All of that has slowly turned into my dream job and continues to evolve every day! It definitely didn’t happen overnight and my best advice is to keep going, keep going after those opportunities because they will pay off in the end!
As a RD2Be, I feel like we MUST cover the health benefits of pumpkin. Why should we add pumpkin into our diet?
Pumpkin is a fall superfood! It’s bursting with vitamin A, C, E, potassium and fiber. Plus it adds a nice texture and flavor to anything and everything you add it too. It can also act as an eggs, butter or oil replacer in baked good recipes ( 1/4 cup of pumpkin per 1 egg or 1/4 cup oil, and butter)
What are the best fall activities in Chicago?
Yes, so Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-up is super fun if you’re in the city. I think it’s definitely worth getting out of the city and going to an apple orchard / pumpkin patch to get your true fall fix!
What are the best pumpkin products from Trader Joes? Whole Foods? Other?
It’s hard to pick just one thing so this year I sat down and made a list of the best healthy pumpkin foods! These are things I look forward to every year in the fall and definitely things every pumpkin lover needs to try in the fall!
What are your go-to kitchen items?
I do love my Vitamix for soups and smoothies. Other kitchen tools that I find myself using all the time are my hand held spiralizer for zoodles of course, and a cookie scoop because there’s something so satisfying about having uniform cookies!
What can we find in your OUAP cookbook! Where can we buy it?
My cookbook is available on Amazon and you can grab the PDF version on my website!
If we were to start with one OUAP pumpkin recipe, which recipe should we start with?
It would definitely have to be pumpkin chickpea blondies!
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I hope you all are loving Maggie’s tips and recipes as much as I am!! You can find her on Instagram and her blog, OUAP !
What are your spooky season staples?!
xx hails
