Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Eating Pumpkin Year-round

I typically think of eating pumpkin in the fall when I see them growing on vines in farm fields, or for sale at produce markets.  And I usually associate the "fruit" [that's right- it's technically a fruit and not a vegetable] with desserts - pies, cakes, cookies, or bread, muffins, and scones, more than a main course. But I do have some wonderful recipes for pumpkin soup, white chili, and creamy pasta.

I was surprised when I went through all my posts since I began blogging in January 2012, and discovered I had blogged about eating pumpkin at least 20 times.  Most of those posts were in the months of September, October and November.  When I was doing monthly teas at Ardmore Park Place, October was designated as "Fun in the Pumpkin Patch", using a variety of pumpkin recipes in the tea menu.

Two days ago I received an e-mail from Jesse Miller who found my blog by Googling pumpkin.  The post he found was here.  Jesse recently posted "The 13 Health Benefits of Pumpkin According to Science" plus 8 pumpkin recipes.  He asked if I'd be willing to share the link to his review on my blog.  Of course, I would!  You can read it here.

If you've been following my blog lately, you know I've changed my eating habits and am on a semi-plant based diet now.  I've practically eliminated sugar, a lot of dairy foods, red meat, and foods with empty or unhealthy carbs. So Jesse's e-mail came at the perfect time to remind me that pumpkin is a good year-round food and not just for fall consumption.

I made a creamy pumpkin pasta for dinner tonight, using 100% whole wheat Penne.  Instead of a tomato based sauce, it was pumpkin based - with sauteed chopped onions and minced garlic in a small amount of olive oil, and ground chicken [breasts without hormones or antibiotics], chicken stock, one [15 oz.] can of pumpkin puree, and 1/2 cup lowfat milk.  The seasonings were freshly grated nutmeg, ground cinnamon, sage, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Since mushrooms are a super food and low in calories, I added them to the pumpkin sauce too.


Topped with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, a salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing, and a cup of Pumpkin Cream Black Tea our healthy and tasty dinner was complete. My hubby declared the menu a "keeper" anytime of the year!


Do you eat pumpkin year-round?


2 comments:

  1. You know, I tend to only think of pumpkin in the fall and winter, but I'm certainly willing to eat it year-round. Your pumpkin sauce looks delicious!

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  2. That does look good, and healthy. I just made pumpkin soup this week and it tastes similar to the squash soup I make so they're basically interchangeable.

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