Fall is here and Halloween is around the corner. Some of my favorite things about the fall season are the cute and delicious seasonal items. Whether it be decorations or foods centered around fall items like pumpkins or apples, I love to seek out the seasonal goodies. 

Here is a list of seasonal items at local stores.

Trader Joes-

Trader Joes is the first place I go for fun seasonal items. This year, they have outdone themselves. Spicy pumpkin curry sauce, pumpkin bread mix, and apple cider donuts are among the many choices of fall-centered products. For kids, they have a “haunted house chocolate cookie kit”, pumpkin cookies, and a “double-chocolate hot cocoa stirring spoon with mini marshmallows”. So much to see and enjoy there. 

Here is a link to their “fearless flier” for this month: https://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/5600

New Seasons-

The flier for this week at New Seasons has awesome fall items such as vegan pumpkin bread and apple-ginger chutney. Another interesting thing I found online was a “New Seasons Halloween Archives” page that has some amazing seasonal recipes. Some of the featured recipes: spicy pumpkin hummus, haunted hot chocolate, and jack-o-lantern stuffed peppers. 

Here is the link to the flier: https://www.newseasonsmarket.com/weekly-flyer/ 

Here is the link to the Halloween recipe archives: https://www.newseasonsmarket.com/recipe-type/halloween/

Whole Foods-

Wow. Whole Foods has a ton of pumpkin items. When I typed in “pumpkin” to the search bar of the homepage, 45 items popped up! A few that stood out to me as something kids might like are pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin patch shortbread cookies, and even a “Ben and Jerry’s pumpkin cheesecake ice cream”! Plenty to explore in the store or on their website. 

Here is the link to one of their Portland store’s homepage: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/sandy

They also have a great “fall section” for recipes. Here is the link: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/tips-and-ideas/fall

Pix Patisserie-

This business is known for their beautiful and scrumptious desserts. In the past few years, we have trick-or-treated at the owner’s house near my childhood home. Every year, she gives us a gift certificate for a treat at Pix, and every year, we look forward to it. For Halloween this year, they have a little dessert called “Trick or Treaters”. They are described on the website as, “chocolate ganache covered pecans draped in marzipan with a marshmallow jack-o-lantern”. They are adorable. The trick or treaters are listed under the “chocolate” section. 

Here is the link to Pix’s goodies: http://www.pixpatisserie.com/chocolate

Voodoo Donuts-

Voodoo Donuts is currently selling a “coffin of donuts”! I love this idea. It is a 3-foot long handmade wooden coffin that customers can fill with three dozen donuts of their choosing. Customers are advised to call to order this. Another Halloween item they offer is custom order donuts. Customers are encouraged to call in with their ideas of a custom donut, and Voodoo will do its best to fulfill the order. The picture on the website shows some very cool skeleton and pirate donuts. 

Here is the link for more info: https://www.voodoodoughnut.com/product/special-occasions/special-orders/holiday-celebration-doughnuts/

Sugar Street Bakery and Bistro-

This company has two special “October Halloween” cupcakes: pumpkin and pecan pie, and their original cupcakes have a Halloween theme. Although nearly every big chain-store offers Halloween-themed cupcakes, it would be great to support a local business by grabbing cupcakes from here and/or other local bakeries. Sugar Street is also taking pre-orders for pies to be picked up in late November. Their mouth-watering selections include: Pumpkin, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan, and Apple Cranberry Orange. They have two locations in Portland: northeast and southeast. 

Here is a link for more info: http://sugarstreetportland.com/cakes-cupcakes

Green Zebra Grocery-

I am new to Green Zebra, but their offerings look to be amazing and plentiful! The first thing I spotted that fit a fall seasonal vibe was their “So Delicious” non-dairy caramel apple crumble frozen dessert. Yum! I found this in their massive selection of apple items. Another plus about Green Zebra is that they focus on local produce. Fall is a great time to embrace our beautiful Portland produce. 

Here is a link to more of their options: https://www.greenzebragrocery.com/

Papa Murphy’s Pizza-

Last, but not least, the “Jack-O pizza” from Papa Murphy’s. Getting our adorable little Halloween-themed pizza from Papa Murphy’s is a big tradition in our household. Last night as I wrote this article, I couldn’t find an advertisement for it anywhere. Today, in my mailbox, I received a flier for it! Woohoo! It’s here. 

Here is a link to the Papa Murphy’s website: https://www.papamurphys.com/

There are many seasonal goodies to indulge in around the Portland area in the fall. Grocery stores, bakeries, and restaurants seem to continually crank out new and exciting goods. Halloween is a great time to explore the food scene because of the fun, spooky themes. 

Fall is also a great time to explore the food scene because of Portland’s delicious local food options and their collaborations with restaurants and stores to create new, enticing products. As I mentioned above, it is easy to just grab Halloween cupcakes at a big chain store, but if you are able, try to support smaller, local businesses instead. There are a lot of great choices out there that have huge selections of Halloween and fall goodies. 

Best of luck to you all in finding delicious, local, and fun treats!