I’m HUGE on eating seasonal fruits & vegetables. I believe that the further your food has to travel to get to you, the less nutrient dense it is by the time it gets to you. Fruits & veggies fresh picked from the vine or ground just taste better anyway! Which leads me to the inspiration behind this post… pumpkin is officially SEASONAL and I can really get on board with this seasonal fruit (yes, it’s actually a fruit)! It’s such a sweet and fun ingredient that has a short life-span in my kitchen. So let’s get to it!! In this post I cover 8 reasons that pumpkin is good for your health and 8 ways to use it in your kitchen… aside from dessert. OK, there’s ONE dessert.
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Low Calorie & Nutrient Dense
Pure canned pumpkin is a low-calorie, nutrient-dense food.
- How To: Add to your breakfast smoothie for extra creaminess, nutrition, and flavor. Throw some pumpkin seeds in there while you’re at it! Pumpkin mixes great with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, all of the fall flavors so have fun and get creative.
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A Healthy Substitute for Oils & Cheese
You can substitute pumpkin for oil in baked goods to reduce their calories and fat or blend pumpkin with white beans and spices as a lower-calorie alternative to cheese-based dips.
- How To: Make a tasty bread and use the pumpkin in place of flavoring with cheese or excess oils. I am DYING to try Cotter Crunch’s Rosemary Paleo Pumpkin Bread… it looks incredible! Will report back when I do.
- How To: Make a tasty bread and use the pumpkin in place of flavoring with cheese or excess oils. I am DYING to try Cotter Crunch’s Rosemary Paleo Pumpkin Bread… it looks incredible! Will report back when I do.
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High in Fiber
A cup of canned pumpkin provides 7.1 grams of dietary fiber (28% of the daily recommended value). Dietary fiber can help you control your weight and healthy elimination, but the average American consumes only half of the recommended amount.
- How To: Easy Pumpkin Soup – Thicken soups and stews with canned pumpkin instead of heavy cream to increase their fiber content.
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Potential Benefits for Blood Pressure
Canned pumpkin can be part of a healthy diet to control blood pressure because each cup contains 505 milligrams of potassium and only 12 milligrams of sodium. A high-potassium, low-sodium diet can help prevent high blood pressure, and healthy adults should get at least 4,700 milligrams of potassium and no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. Pumpkin contains lots of potassium and zinc to prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease and hypertension (high blood pressure). Zinc is also great for the immune system, skin and fertility.
- How To: Ever tried Pumpkin Hummus? I think you’ll be into it! My favorite health guru & cookbook author, McKell Hill of Nutrition Stripped has a great recipe.
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Don’t Forget the Seeds!
Pumpkin seeds are high in protein and plant based fatty acids, which help regulate cholesterol levels, protect against arthritis, promote healthy skin, and improve brain function.
- How To: Add pumpkin seeds to my home made granola! Nutrition Stripped also has a great Pumpkin Spice Granola recipe. Seeds can be used for more than just granola through! Garnish soup with them, add them to a smoothie, make a pumpkin seed butter, granola bars, or add to/in hummus.
- How To: Add pumpkin seeds to my home made granola! Nutrition Stripped also has a great Pumpkin Spice Granola recipe. Seeds can be used for more than just granola through! Garnish soup with them, add them to a smoothie, make a pumpkin seed butter, granola bars, or add to/in hummus.
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Antioxidant & Anti Inflammatory
Pumpkins are an antioxidant and an anti inflammatory food! This means it helps with joint health, organ health, stress relief and soft tissue injuries.
- How To: Need a little pre-workout snack or breakfast on the go? How about Homemade Pumpkin Spice Protein Bars?
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Rich in Vitamin A
Pumpkins can help protect the eyes from cataracts and degeneration with their high Vitamin A content.
- How To: Try your hand at making some home-made Pumpkin Butter! It’s so much better for you than that refined-sugar packed option you’ll find at the store or farmers market.
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The Make You Happy 🙂
The fruit contains L tryptophan, a chemical compound that triggers feelings of well being that aid depression in a natural way.
- How To: Baking these First of Fall Pumkin Snickerdoodles most certainly made me happy… and they keep making me happy every night as I nibble away at them!
- How To: Baking these First of Fall Pumkin Snickerdoodles most certainly made me happy… and they keep making me happy every night as I nibble away at them!
I hope you enjoyed this little stink on Pumpkin. I don’t think most people know it’s a healthy ingredients to use and it can be used in so much more than just carving pumpkins and baking pies! Share this knowledge with your families as we get closed to the holiday’s and share with them some of these healthy ways to incorporate pumpkin into your seasonal diet.
Sources:
https://www.livestrong.com/article/342690-is-canned-pumpkin-good-for-you/
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-6745/Eat-Your-Pumpkin-9-Reasons-Why-Its-Good-For-You.html
