Pumpkin Season - Don't just carve them, eat them!

Halloween is around the corner and families across the country are planning their costumes, their parties, their treats and of course their Jack-O’-Lanterns.

Pumpkins are a Fall Super Food!

If your neighborhood is anything like ours, you are starting to see pumpkins everywhere!

Most people look at pumpkins as something they carve for fun with the kids or a popular filling for pie at Thanksgiving … but there’s more to pumpkins than meets the eye! What many people don’t know is that pumpkins contain many important and beneficial nutrients.

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, one cup of cooked, boiled, or drained pumpkin (without salt) contains:

·       1.76 g of protein

·       2.7 g of fiber

·       49 calories

·       0.17 g of fat

·       0 g of cholesterol

·       12.01 g of carbohydrate

This amount of pumpkin also provides:

·       Over 200% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A

·       19%  of the RDA of vitamin C

·       10% of the RDA of vitamin E, riboflavin, potassium, copper, and manganese

·       5% of thiamin, B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, niacin, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus

With so many great health benefits you should treat you and your family to some delicious and nutritious meals with pumpkin.  Let’s go far beyond the not so healthy, pumpkin pie this year and explore some amazing meals you can enjoy with pumpkin this fall. Google “pumpkin recipes” and you will be surprised how many different options there are from pumpkin pasta, spicy pumpkin chili, to pumpkin bread and more!

Also try roasting the pumpkin seeds (get the recipe) in the oven, which come a myriad of their own health benefits, for a delicious snack or:

• Add roasted pumpkin seeds to healthy sautéed vegetables.

• Sprinkle roasted pumpkin seeds on top of mixed green salads.

• Grind roasted pumpkin seeds with fresh garlic, parsley and cilantro leaves. Mix with olive oil and lemon juice for a tasty salad dressing.

• Add chopped roasted pumpkin seeds to your favorite hot or cold cereal.

• Add roasted pumpkin seeds to your oatmeal raisin cookie or granola recipe.

One great healthy way to enjoy the benefits of pumpkin this time of year is with a delicious healthy pumpkin soup.

Here’s a great recipe I love from Sam and Dan at their blog Ahead of Thyme!

Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

I also love delicious Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread so here is one of my favorite recipes I found from Chef John – Give his recipe a try!

Treat yourself and your family to these amazing Pumpkin recipes this Fall season!