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Pumpkin
offers a bounty of good nutrition
Oct . 04, 2007
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
It’s
a big round orange symbol of the season – the pumpkin.
Pumpkins evoke fond feelings of fall, especially Halloween.
What you may not realize is that they also pack plenty of
what’s good for you and can be used in some creative
ways to improve your diet.
First, a few pumpkin basics:
In botanical terms, pumpkins are fruits. But when we’re
not using them as decorations at Halloween, we treat them
as vegetables for culinary purposes.
Pumpkins vary in size and color. In addition to orange, some
are red and some are white, for example. All of them are good
for you, but pumpkins with a deep orange or red color are
the richest sources of beta-carotene, which the body converts
to vitamin A. Pumpkins are also a good source of vitamins
E and C, B vitamins, iron, potassium and dietary fiber.
In fact, pumpkin is so nutritious that even desserts made
with it can be a valuable part of your diet. Take pumpkin
pie, for example.
If it weren’t for the crust, it could be dietitian-recommended
for breakfast, lunch and supper. (OK, I’d recommend
using egg whites in place of whole eggs, too). Butter adds
saturated fat, and solid shortening adds trans fat to pie
crust. So make or buy a crust made with vegetable oil instead,
or just skip the crust altogether. Pour pie filling into a
baking dish and bake until firm for pumpkin pudding. You get
to eat dessert and count it as a vegetable, too.
As a vegetable, pumpkin can be prepared in all the same ways
as any winter squash.
It can be baked then pureed and used in soups, or it can be
cut into cubes, cooked and used in casseroles, curries, and
stews. Add cranberries or sliced apples or pears. Small pumpkins
can be hollowed out, filled with stuffing and baked. Mashed
pumpkin can be mixed with raisins, chopped walnuts, cinnamon
and a little maple syrup or brown sugar.
You can also put pumpkin to work in baking at home to improve
your diet. Pumpkin puree adds substantial nutritional value
to cakes, cookies, muffins and quick breads.
You can also use pumpkin puree as an egg or fat replacer in
foods. In recipes that call for more than one egg, try substituting
one quarter cup of pumpkin puree for one whole egg, cutting
cholesterol and boosting vitamins and minerals. Either fresh
cooked or canned pumpkin is fine to use. This trick works
best in recipes for baked goods such as muffins and quick
breads.
Pumpkin puree can also replace some or all of the fat in recipes
for baked goods. Results vary, depending upon the recipe,
so you’ll have to experiment a bit. Muffins made this
way can be denser and chewier, but they taste great, and like
me, you may like the difference in texture – especially
when you know the food is nutritionally better for you.
Of course, you may want to carve your pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern
this month instead. If you do, save the seeds.
Pumpkin seeds are rich in iron, zinc, potassium, healthful
oils and fiber. Rinse off the bits of pumpkin flesh and spread
seeds on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 200 degrees until
the seeds are toasted, about 20 minutes. Snack on warm pumpkin
seeds or add them to salads, cooked vegetables, hot cereal
or granola.
Eat more pumpkin – and pumpkin seeds – more often.
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