What better ingredient to highlight the spirit of autumn than the good ol’ pumpkin?
For Americans, the most popular way to eat a pumpkin is in the golden, rich holiday pie. Did you know that the first recorded recipe for a pumpkin pie dates back to the 1700s?
Yet there are many other uses for this tasty veggie. In fact, pumpkins were introduced to Europeans by the Native Americans who used this magical vegetable for medicinal purposes. The seeds, oil, meat, and even certain pumpkin flesh can be used to enhance your health, in addition to and tantalizing your taste buds.
What’s So Great about Pumpkin?
Pumpkin Meat
- Pumpkins are a great source of beta-carotene, vitamin C, and potassium.
- The beta-carotene in pumpkins has been shown to prevent night blindness, eye problems and skin disorders. In addition, the beta-carotene is an antioxidant that slows the aging process.
- Pumpkins are a great immune booster, they protect against toxins, cancer formations, colds, flus, and infections!
- Pumpkins help in the protection against strokes and heart attacks by preventing hardening of the arteries.
- The fiber in pumpkins helps to satisfy cravings and curb your appetite.
Pumpkin Seeds
- Contain L-tryptophan which is effective in curbing mild depression.
- Pumpkin seeds are incredibly high in magnesium, which helps with muscle relaxation.
- High rates of zinc make pumpkin seeds a protector against osteoporosis and a great immune booster!
- Pumpkin seeds are a natural inflammatory.
- Pumpkin seeds lower the “bad” LDL cholesterol levels.
How Can I Use Pumpkin?
- Sprinkle fresh pumpkin seeds with your favorite seasoning and bake them at 350 degrees until they are golden brown!
- Make a pie, but consider using alternative sweeteners to sugar such as honey or Stevia to keep it health-friendly.
- Create a pumpkin soup by cooking pumpkin in vegetable stock. Add in your favorite vegetables such as onion, leek, and potato and spice it up with garlic and pepper or nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Make pumpkin pancakes by replacing the milk called for in the pancake recipe with pureed pumpkin!
Try This Pumpkin Dinner Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 1/4 cups peeled, cubed pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 6 ounces feta cheese, cubed
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups Arborio rice
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush a baking dish with olive oil.
- Place pumpkin in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm. Transfer pumpkin to baking dish, and brush with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saucepan. Cook onion and garlic until tender. Stir in rice, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add vegetable broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and allowing all the liquid to be absorbed before adding more broth. Continue cooking until the rice is tender to the tooth, and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- When the pumpkin is almost done, place feta on a baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven until the cheese is hot, and is beginning to melt along the edges.
- Mash 1/2 of the pumpkin, and stir into the risotto with the spinach. Ladle risotto into bowls, and top with remaining pumpkin cubes and heated feta.
Join me tomorrow on Real Nutrition – which airs on the Real Mom TV network at www.therealmomtv.com. Click on my show at 10am Mountain Time and watch LIVE for fabulous cooking with pumpkin, cranberries and more! Plus, send me your pumpkin recipes. The winner will get a fabulous give-away to be announced on tomorrow’s show. See you then!
Thanks for the quinoa recipe! I am trying to figure out what to do with it since we’re learning it is a great source of protein. My daughter has type 1 diabetes, which doesn’t make us limit many things, but we are on the lookout for good nutrition in things she likes without adding high carbs.
I’d like some good recipes for black rice, which is supposed to be good for us, too.
If you find good local sources (besides Whole Foods–too expensive) for quinoa or black rice in bulk, let us know.
THANKS!!
Julie Mason
I will indeed Julie. I’ll do a little research and let you know. Have you cost-compared with Vitamin Cottage and Sunflower? There might be a smaller co-op that would carry it too. You inspired me to do my next cooking segment on MomTV with non-gluten and high-protein, high-fiber grains. So, I’ll do something with black rice – you can watch live on Feb. 2nd at http://www.momtv.com/real-nutrition. Or, the taped version will be up for one week. I’ll also post it on my blog. Have a great week! Also, have you tried Salba? You can find it under the Resources page here on my site. It’s a fabulous addition to any diet – i.e. used like flax seed – but much higher in protein, Omega 3′s etc. It’s also wonderful for balancing post-meal glucose. You can find it at Whole Foods or buy online.