Think about the color of pumpkin. A deep bright orange like fall leaves. Some of my favorite pictures of my son are in the pumpkin patch on a sunny day. The contrast of the blue October sky and the orange pumpkins is the perfect background to capture a small child’s excitement over these mysterious objects lying in the dirt. We have a picture of him at just over a year of age giving thanks to the great pumpkin by squatting over one with his head down and arms outstretched. It was a completely candid shot and I love it!
What makes the pumpkin so great? Because of its dark color, it ranks as one of the top foods from a nutrition standpoint. Pumpkins, along with other dark orange colored vegetables, are low in calories, very high in fiber (5 grams per serving), and are packed with an abundance of disease-fighting nutrients including vitamins C and E, potassium and magnesium. The key ingredient that makes pumpkin so valuable comes from the antioxidant group, carotenoids (alpha and beta-carotene). Carotenoids, working together with the other important nutrients, have been linked to decreasing the risk of various cancers (lung, colon, bladder, cervical, breast, and skin), heart disease and blindness caused by cataracts and macular degeneration. All this and just ½ cup is a serving!
I bet you are thinking that there is no way you plan to wrestle cutting, peeling and scraping a pumpkin in order to get to the edible insides on a busy weeknight after a long day of work. Well, never fear! The beauty of this beast is that a can of 100% pumpkin that you can buy at the store in the baking aisle, is just as good nutritionally speaking and all the work has been done for you. I regularly make this recipe for a pumpkin pudding that tastes like pumpkin pie without the crust. It is easy to always have these ingredients on hand. Plus it is low in fat (being crustless) and makes a great fall side dish. This is one vegetable dish (technically it is a fruit) you can get your whole family to eat!
P.S. When carving your Halloween pumpkin this year, don’t forget to roast those pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas) offer a lot of nutritional value as well including vitamin E, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc. Just scoop them out, rinse them off, let them dry and then pop them in the oven on a cookie sheet sprinkled with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and other spices. Cook at 350 degrees for around 15 minutes.
Pumpkin Pudding
Serves 6
½ cup sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (you can substitute 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ½ teaspoon ground cloves)
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 15-ounce can 100% pure pumpkin (like Libby’s)
1 12-ounce can nonfat or 2% fat evaporated milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt and pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon spice mixture in a small bowl. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk. Pour into a shallow oven proof baking dish and bake for about 40 minutes. Do not over bake; the center should be slightly wiggly. Cool and serve. Refrigerate leftovers.
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