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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Yes, it’s pumpkin time even though Halloween is past, because we’ve got America’s favorite eating holiday this week Thanksgiving. I personally love to go shop for fresh pumpkins and I especially love feeling so healthy when I carve one for its fresh meat, and seeds. So, let’s take a look at the pumpkin’s nutritional value plus the extra fun we can have by using its pulp for our traditional Thanksgiving pie (yes I said pie!) and seeds.
For our purposes, sugar pumpkins (these are the smaller sweeter variety) are better for cooking. They should have a rich orange color, which comes from their high amount of Beta Carotene, one of the disease fighting phytochemicals Mother Nature has provided us with. Beta Carotene is also used by our body to make Vitamin A, the vitamin that keeps our skin, eyes and mucous membranes smooth and supple (important for our health & beauty!). Let’s not rush out to buy vitamin A in a supplement, because Vitamin A can be toxic to our liver if we take it in high dosages. But the really great news is that Beta Carotene does not carry the same toxicity risk that Vitamin A carries (We usually don’t have to worry about toxicity when we eat our vitamins and minerals in food!). Vitamin A is also used by our immune system, and it joins other nutrients such as Vitamin D to make up the raw materials necessary for the health of our bones and teeth.
The other really great news for us weight watchers is that cooked pumpkin is only 20 calories per cup (can we think of many other foods that are this low in calories?). Pumpkin is a high quality complex carbohydrate food, which is high in vitamin C and of course, it has no fat! Pumpkin meat can be baked, boiled or microwaved. We do the scooping out quite easily with a large spoon, so why not have fun using fresh pumpkin for our pie. We can also make pumpkin soup, muffins, and even cupcakes too. Like pumpkin seeds? Let’s try roasting or toasting them! Have a favorite pumpkin pie recipe? Let’s make one of our pies a “healthy low fat pumpkin pie” by substituting evaporated low fat milk for heavy cream, and 3 egg whites for every 2 whole eggs. We can save additional calories by making a graham cracker crust with a reduced fat butter instead of the traditional flour crust (I’ll post a low fat pumpkin pie recipe this week on junefit.com’s recipe page).
Pumpkins can be fun to carve, and they can be fun and nutritious to prepare and eat. And it’s not hard to do. Canned pumpkin of course is nutritious as well, but we can get the whole family involved to make a home cooked “from scratch” pie! Want more info on how to cook or puree the pumpkin meat? Check out this recipe on how to puree a pumpkin found on Martha Stewart’s Recipe Finder page (http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe-finder?vgnextoid=23c7fdaef3f36110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&startSearch=true&searchTerm=pumpkin&source=dummy&cuisine=dummy&cookingTime=dummy)!
Here’s to It’s Pumpkin Time!
June M. Lay M.S.
June Fit
Look for my pumpkin pie recipe posted Tuesday this week at my recipe page (http://www.junefit.com/tips_recipehp.htm). Still posted is my apple pie recipe.
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