By Marsha McCormick
SNAP-Ed PA
OSU Extension, Adams County
October means it’s time for pumpkin flavored all the things! Pumpkin- flavored espresso, smoothies, ice cream, donuts, desserts, cookies, and pies could be discovered round each nook. Sadly, lots of this stuff are loaded with sugar and energy. Nevertheless, pumpkin is of course a really nutrient dense meals that accommodates a wide range of nutritional vitamins and minerals for just some energy.
In reality, a one-half cup serving of pumpkin puree has simply 45 energy whereas boasting 4 grams of fiber, one gram of protein, and over 100% of your beneficial quantity of vitamin A! Vitamin A helps assist our immune system, pores and skin well being and helps eye and imaginative and prescient well being. Pumpkin additionally offers us with nutritional vitamins C, Okay, and E and essential minerals together with potassium, copper, and magnesium. The beta carotene that provides pumpkins their brilliant orange colour is a strong antioxidant that will assist scale back our danger for a wide range of ailments.
Pumpkin seeds are additionally edible and extremely nutritious. We regularly overlook that seeds are a superb supply of protein, however one ounce of those seeds accommodates 5 grams of protein. This one ounce serving additionally has 5 grams of fiber in addition to some magnesium, phosphorous, copper, zinc, and a few wholesome fat all for about 125 energy.
So how will you add extra pumpkin to your food plan with out the additional sugar we now have come to affiliate with all issues pumpkin? If buying canned pumpkin, select the pumpkin puree reasonably than pumpkin pie filling that has added sugar. You may add your personal spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger which can be additionally discovered within the pie filling to the plain pumpkin puree. In fact, you may make your personal pumpkin puree from contemporary pumpkins and even freeze some for later if you’re keen to place in some further work.
You will discover a wide range of more healthy recipes for baked items made with pumpkin like zucchini pumpkin bread, chocolate shock cupcakes, or pumpkin pancakes at celebrateyourplate.org. There’s additionally a creamy pumpkin dip recipe out there on the have fun your plate website that makes a fantastic appetizer or dessert when served with apple slices.
Nevertheless, there are additionally some much less conventional methods so as to add pumpkin taste and vitamin to your food plan. Strive including a dollop of canned pumpkin and spices to your oatmeal, substitute cooked, mashed pumpkin for potatoes as a decrease calorie aspect dish, add pumpkin puree to your favourite chili, or throw some diced pumpkin right into a soup or pasta dish. For extra info, contact me at mccormick.3@osu.edu or name the Adams County Extension Workplace at (937) 544-2339.
