Plenty of Pumpkin
I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion. - Henry David Thoreau
I’ve learned a lot of things as a member of Calorie Count. CC makes it so easy to find nutrition facts on just about any food using the food search bar - a real wake up call to me for things like sugar, sodium, and fat. But losing weight does not mean that you never get to have some fun with seasonal food, it just means you get to expand your options. I could just sit around pretending I’m not eating so many of those little mini candy bars that offer nothing but sugar; in fact I set myself up to do just that if the candy bars are all I’ve got in the house. The trick for me is to make sure there are more options available – sweet, savory, and tasty options.
Where can you find that and still keep with the Halloween spirit? Right inside of that soon to be jack-o-lantern. The pumpkin is one of the most delicious, low calorie, nutrition sources around! Even the seeds are a nutrition powerhouse and are packed with minerals and protein. The World’s Healthiest Foods says that the addition of pumpkin seeds to your diet may provide anti-inflammatory benefits that compares favorably to non-steroidal medication for arthritis. I plan to check that benefit out on myself. Sweets are fine some of the time, but your choice is certainly not restricted to a store bought candy bar or even to just to a slice of pumpkin pie. Give some of the great ideas below a try.
Before you do, be sure to check out the nutrition facts on a typical canned pumpkin puree; the only real problem there is the sodium. That however, is an easy fix. Check out the nutrition facts for homemade pumpkin puree. Make your own puree and skip the salt as well as some processing calories! You’ll also increase the deliciousness factor to a scary level.
Don’t pitch the seeds; Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are a delicious and very healthy snack.
Sharpshootinstar’s Pumpkin Soup is savory and very elegant way to start a meal or just to eat as a low calorie and filling snack.
Lulufit’s Pumpkin Fluff Fruit Dip is vouched for by a number of my Calorie Count friends, give it a try!
One of the great things about Calorie Count is the recipe search bar. I used it today and found this wonderful Pumpkin Bread recipe.
Another great find right here at Calorie Count are these wonderful Pumpkin Brownies.
There are so many things to do with pumpkin, including making your own puree. This About.com recipe is for Baked Pumpkin Puree. Try making it yourself. It’s easy and tastes wonderful.
Enjoy fall fun, festivals, and laughter with the children all dressed up in their finest fairy princess or junior firefighter costumes. Sip some of Sharpshootinstar’s Pumpkin Soup…and maybe have just one small serving of some nice Dirt and Worms.
Dirt & Worms
It's really more assembly than cookery so get the kids involved!
Ingredients:
1-2 packages of gummy worms, 1 box of chocolate pudding, and 1 package of chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos).
First, make the pudding and set aside to cool a bit.
Take a large clear glass bowl, or several single serving clear glass bowls and have them handy to be filled with mud and dirt.
In a large plastic bag, crush the entire package of chocolate sandwich cookies.
Now, spoon a small layer of pudding into your serving dish. Strategically place gummy worms so they can be seen as if they were tunneling through the mud, top with more pudding, then sprinkle the crushed cookies on top. You might want to have a worm or two positioned so as to poke out of the ground. Not a single thing nutritionally correct in this recipe. Nothing low cal or low sugar, but eating worms is a great deal of fun!
Your thoughts…
What is your favorite Halloween treat? Will you dress up in costume to greet trick or treaters? What sort of things do you like to pass out to Trick or Treaters? What are your healthy yet delicious Halloween ideas? Have you ever made homemade pumpkin puree? What did you think of it? What was your favorite costume seen on a child at your front door? Has anyone ever made bread pudding with pumpkin bread? If you have a terrific recipe you would like to share at the CC Palate, send it to me here.
Comments
This is an awesome post! I just can't wait to have some young'uns around to make this dirty treat!
We recently had fun with pumpkins at a church bonfire.
I took 4 pie pumpkins, cut off the tops, cleaned them out (saved and roasted the seeds), then I added 1/2 cup half-n-half, 1/4 cup honey and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice to each. Placed the lids back on each pumpkin and then wrapped each in foil. Then placed the pumpkins in a bed of hot coals and covered with hot coals. We then allowed them to roast for 45 minutes. We carefully removed the pumpkins from the fire, and scooped all the yummy goodness from each pumpkin and pureed it in a food processor. We served the puree with crushed graham crackers and light whipped topping in small cups. It was a big hit. (Extra puree can be frozen to use later!)
Pudding isn't that bad for you! Yay for Dirt & Worms! :) Anything in moderation should be totally acceptable ...Just don't go eating the entire bowl of pudding :)
You could use sugar free pudding with skim milk - that would not be bad. It would just be the gummy worms & cookies but just like any other treat - moderation is the key.
I admire those of you who can eat just one mini chocolate bar or a small portion of sweets. These kinds of treats are my trigger foods too. It can set off an eating binge and be the death of my diet. It has happened over and over.
I am so committed to this weight loss program that I am avoiding all trigger foods. This year, I am purchasing the Halloween candy the day before and will be handing out treats that I don't enjoy eating.
For the pumpkin bread recipe in this article, replace all of the oil with unsweetened apple sauce and cut the sugar by at least one cup, and you will never notice. yum!
I love to make pumpkin seeds, but...There's only .5 grams of fiber when you eat the shell too? That doesn't sound right to me.
Yay pumpkin!!! I've been toting the many wondrous health benefits for pumpkins for years. I won't bore w/ details here, but eating pumpkin seeds has helped seriously curtail my chocolate cravings (they're very high in magnesium, which majority of us are deficient in- as well as maganese, phosphorous, iron, protein, zinc, potassium, etc...). Avoid the salted ones of course!
Add plain pumpkin puree to nonfat greek yogurt (vanilla flavored) along w/ pumpkin pie spice/cinnamon = pumpkin pudding! A wonderful and easy breakfast, snack, or treat packed with nutrients! keeps me feeling full.
This sounds amazing. Can't wait to try it.
Also, I was just diagnosed with arthritis in my left ankle. Great to know about the pumkin seeds helping with inflammation. Does anyone know how much I would have to eat to get any benefits?
Thanks :-)
I enjoyed Pumpkin Patties yesterday. Made them from canned (no sodium added) pumpkin. Only 10 mg of sodium. I will try fresh pumpkin next time.
I find I can substitute other squashes for pumpkin. I did not grow pumpkins this year. I did grow acorn squash and got a bumper crop- about a dozen and most quite large. I have already made a pumpkin quick bread with the acorn squash. Tasty. I plan to make an acorn squash pie instead of a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving- we have a tradition of having something on the table that comes from us. You can also make a yeast bread- very little sugar- just enough to get the yeast to work- that has squash puree in it.
I read this blog for healthy ideas, not for Dirt and Worms type of ideas. Sure it might not be THAT bad in moderation, but if we could eat in moderation, we wouldn't be on here looking for healthy alternatives. We can look anywhere and find fun Halloween treats and ideas, but healthy ones are hard to find - that's why this blog is useful. Please go back to healthy recipes.
I read this blog for healthy ideas, not for Dirt and Worms type of ideas. Sure it might not be THAT bad in moderation, but if we could eat in moderation, we wouldn't be on here looking for healthy alternatives. We can look anywhere and find fun Halloween treats and ideas, but healthy ones are hard to find - that's why this blog is useful. Please go back to healthy recipes.
C'mon! at least lighten up a bit 'for the kids' on 'their' night of celebrations... and yeah if you're having a little yourself, small amounts in moderation was never a crime, the crime is when you decide to over indulge and pig out. If you can't handle looking at it don't make it, if you can then go ahead. This recipe is just a suggestion, give the blogger a break
I myself do not celebrate halloween, but I do hand out treats and will not squish anyone's delight in dressing up. I compare these types of issues with alcholism, most can handle a litte, few can handle a lot, some cannot handle any. We just need to respect each others' differences, the blogger did not say to fill up on this, but offered it as a fun snack (with a little calcium) to celebrate the season. It is up to each to know what they can handle and take ownership of thier issues. Part of having a healthy lifestyle is knowing when to laugh and have fun also!!
Not sure which brand of canned pumpkin puree you've been looking at, but the Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin has 5 mg of sodium per serving, and I assume that is the sodium which occurs naturally in the pumpkin. While it is fun to make your own pumpkin puree and roast the seeds, I hate to see someone shy away from using pumpkin because they think canned is 'bad' and they don't want to work that hard for it.
Original Post by: dianemarI myself do not celebrate halloween, but I do hand out treats and will not squish anyone's delight in dressing up. I compare these types of issues with alcholism, most can handle a litte, few can handle a lot, some cannot handle any. We just need to respect each others' differences, the blogger did not say to fill up on this, but offered it as a fun snack (with a little calcium) to celebrate the season. It is up to each to know what they can handle and take ownership of thier issues. Part of having a healthy lifestyle is knowing when to laugh and have fun also!!
Good for you, I completely agree. One of the problems people get into with food is taking it too seriously and obsessing over it. Eat healthy, and you shouldn't have to feel bad about treating yourself on special occasions. We have to learn how to moderate, not eliminate. If you can't moderate, appreciate that other people can and let them have their fun.
I have made my own pumpkin puree before. Here in Australia we bake pumpkin all the time as a side dish vegetable to eat with our meals. I'm not really that fond of it like that but if you put a little dab of butter, a packet of splenda, and a sprinkle of nutmeg and all spice on it, it makes a very yummy, low calorie treat!
I made dirt & worms for the kids at a Halloween party this weekend (actually, I made a little graveyard--it was totally cute), and tried some of the leftovers last night. YUCK!!! Those gummy worms get REALLY gross after they've been soaking in pudding for a day or so. Next time I'll probably skip the worms and just have the dirt. :o)
When my son was a baby, I used to feed him pumpkin (homemade roasted pumpkin that was pureed--no added anything) with yogurt and cinnamon. It was one of his favorite foods!
I love using pumpkin in cooking! It's very flavorful and nutritious. Every fall, I buy an extra pumpkin to roast and puree and I freeze it in little ziplocs to use in soup, bread, pie, and pumpkin pancakes (a family favorite).
The side effects of allergy medications keep some people from using them. Natural remedies can be a great alternative, but some are more effective than others.
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