Healthy And Yummy Pumpkin Recipes

Did I mention that pumpkin is incredibly versatile? I will give you some ideas for pumpkin meals in a minute, but before that, pumpkin seeds also deserve a mention. They may be small and humble, and if you are cutting a pumpkin up you're most likely to discard them by throwing them into the trash, but the seeds are really nutritious and worth saving.

Pumpkin seeds are a wonderful source of zinc, and they also have plenty of iron, magnesium, vitamin E, and other nutrients. You can roast the seeds at home very easily — a great bonus if you are already preparing pumpkin and really don't want to waste any food.

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin soup is a classic, and you can make it in many variations. My personal favorite includes onions and red bell peppers. Fry those in a bit of olive oil to start off with and add cumin, curry, turmeric, or whatever other spices you love. Salt and pepper too, obviously. After your onion has been frying for a while, add cubes of pumpkin and fry them for a while too. Then add water, let simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, and mix with an immersion blender. Yum! You can add cream in too, if you like.

Pumpkin Penne

Pasta and pumpkin make a surprisingly good combination. This dish calls for puréed pumpkin, which you can buy canned or make yourself without much effort (but with a blender). Add olive oil, a healthy dose of garlic, pepper, a little chicken or vegetable broth, nutmeg, and Parmesan cheese. Royally distribute chopped parsley over the dish, and you're done. My kids love this, even the youngest who is in a I-hate-healthy-food phase right now. It looks rather a lot like mac and cheese, you see?

Pumpkin Protein Shake

Are you a fitness freak? Then you'll love a pumpkin protein shake! Start off with your regular or vanilla whey powder, and add half a cup of (preferably home-made) pumpkin puree, cinnamon and sweetener to taste (honey or stevia), and a ¼ cup of almond milk. It's almost like that pumpkin spice latte coffee shops love so much.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Pumpkin ice cream sounds really fancy, and it tastes that way too. It would be a fantastic dessert to serve when you have guests over. The secret behind pumpkin ice cream is rather shameful, we'll warn you. Do you want in on the dirty secret? Buy a simple tub of vanilla ice cream, let it soften a little, and stir pumpkin purée into it. Home-roasted pumpkin takes some of the shame away. It will taste great if you use canned pumpkin as well, though. Sprinkle some grated black chocolate on top.