Paleo Cranberry Orange Pound Cake (And Pregnancy Care Package) + Giveaway

Thank you Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post. Create a care package for a loved one today and don’t forget to include some baked goods made with Bob’s Red Mill products! Make sure you enter the giveaway below for a care package of Bob’s Red Mill products. Click here to enter.

This paleo cranberry orange pound cake is such a wonderful paleo fall recipe! With fresh orange flavor and sweet-tart dried cranberries, this paleo cranberry orange pound cake is tender, moist, and full of flavor. This paleo cranberry orange pound cake takes full advantage of such a fantastic flavor combo and uses all healthier ingredients to make a lovely paleo fall recipe! Plus, details on how to put together the best pregnancy care package (not for me!).

I was raised on care packages.

Whether I was off to college, away for a month during middle school at a ballet camp, or studying abroad in Paris, my mom always made sure I’d get a box full of goodies to remind me of home and make my experience a little more comfortable each time. On top of that? My friends learned to gather around whenever a box came in the mail, ready to barter their way into my loot with whatever of value they had available.

Like that time in Paris, when my mom sent packets of ranch dressing mix and junky mac and cheese boxes? I traded a few of the items on the ad-hoc black market within the student dorm, formed entirely to circulate American standards we never thought we’d even liked but were suddenly desperate for. I opened the box originally with possessive zeal, satisfied my cravings quickly, and let go of the remaining cans of cream cheese frosting in lieu of bloomy camemberts and pastured butter.

A good friend of mine recently got pregnant, but her joy was mitigated by a more challenging experience during pregnancy. She battles hyperemesis, intense morning sickness, and has a toddler, making that first trimester fatigue even harder to endure. To help her settle into this pregnancy, I knew exactly what to do.

Three words: Pregnancy care package.

I’d made a pregnancy care package before a time or two, excitedly gathering teas and belly butters to help my friends share in the enthusiasm I feel for pregnancy in general. But now that it’s essentially the middle of fall (in other words: the 5th of September), I had to up my game for this sweet friend of mine. And I should have learned before from mom, but I was totally slacking. Every good pregnancy care package includes baked goods. Well, every good care package at all is packed with applesauce muffins or pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies, but especially pregnancy care packages. When wine isn’t an option? Yeah… it’s paleo cranberry orange pound cake time.

Psychologists have found that baking for others makes the baker feel as good as the recipients, too, so win-win! And Bob’s Red Mill believes that baking for others is one of the surest signs to show how much you care. I happen to agree… don’t you?

I was inspired by one of my favorite flavor combinations–cranberry and orange–to create this paleo cranberry orange pound cake. It’s tender, moist, and not overly sweetened, making it the perfect paleo fall recipe. Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour makes a huge difference in this recipe, producing a fantastic texture and crumb, so make sure that’s what you use. Right now, there’s a coupon for $1 off any product coupon available at their site, so take advantage of that awesome deal!

Building the rest of the pregnancy care package was easy: I simply tried to remember what things made a big difference for me when I was pregnant and included all of those things! Here’s the categories I recommend to include when building a pregnancy care package.

Must-Haves for a Pregnancy Care Package

1. Treats!

When I was pregnant, especially during the first trimester, food aversions made eating rough. The one thing that I could always enjoy, though, was any baked sweet! This paleo cranberry orange pound cake is perfect, because there’s no refined flour or sugar, making it a healthier, more nutrient-dense treat for mom that she’ll love. I used Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour to ensure a moist and tender texture and beautiful crumb.

2. Healthy Skincare

Mom’s belly is growing by the day, which can result in stretching skin that itches or produces stretch marks. I was diligent about keeping my belly skin moisturized during pregnancy, and it was so important to me to use products free of toxins or endocrine disruptors. My favorites are Beautycounter Baby Daily Protective Balm and Beautycounter Baby Soothing Oil (yes, for mom!). They’re SO moisturizing and totally safe, helping keep mom’s toxic load low during pregnancy, which in turn helps reduce the chemicals in baby’s blood during this mega important time. Bonus… they’ll do double duty and care for baby’s skin when he arrives, too.

3. Tea + Ginger

I had a relatively easy pregnancy, and I still was addicted to ginger everything (like ginger chews) for several weeks. It helped soothe my stomach when I was feeling a bit iffy, and this ginger tea is a great way to get cozy and work against pregnancy nausea at the same time. Pregnancy-specific teas are fabulous for a pregnancy care package, too!

4. Lip Balm

I found that I was so thirsty during pregnancy. It makes sense: your body is working hard to build and maintain plenty of amniotic fluid, so you have to really increase your water intake. Even after I worked hard to up my water intake big time, I still found my lips to be pretty dry. This continued after pregnancy when I was nursing, so lip balm is a must! Make sure you pick up a brand that’s healthy and safe to keep mom’s toxic load low.

5. Water Bottle

The mama I had in mind when making this pregnancy care package has a water bottle she keeps on her at all times, but if she doesn’t, this is a fantastic idea. As I mentioned, keeping fully hydrated during pregnancy is super important but more challenging than you’d think. I loved having a water bottle with a straw, which made it even easier to keep up my water intake, both during pregnancy, labor (yep!), and nursing. This Yeti tumbler keeps things cold for so long, and the straw makes it easy to stay hydrated enough to get that amniotic fluid flowing!

6. Book + Magazine

My mama’s been pregnant before, so I included a sweet little board book to help her imagine her new little one. If she were a first-time mama, I’d definitely include an issue of Fit Pregnancy or even a pregnancy book or guide to help her navigate this brand new time in her life! I love this book by one of my favorite bloggers, Genevieve Howland from Mama Natural.

7. Fuzzy Socks

Maybe it was just me, but my feet were always cold during pregnancy. On top of that, going into fall and winter, there’s simply nothing that sounds cozier than curling up with a cup of ginger tea, a slice of paleo cranberry orange pound cake, and fuzzy socks, right? Bonus: if you get fuzzy socks with grippy bottoms, she can pack them in her hospital bag for labor day!

And, of course, I really think you should include my paleo cranberry orange pound cake. I can’t imagine any pregnant lady not loving this healthier treat just in time for fall! It’s so good and surprisingly easy, topped with a quick orange glaze and more dried cranberries. The perfect, perfect paleo fall recipe.

Will you make a pregnancy care package for someone you know and love? What will you include? If you’re pregnant or have kids, what would you love or have loved to get in a pregnancy care package?

To make mine, I used…

To make this paleo cranberry orange pound cake, I used…

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