Spiced Roasted Pumpkin 🎃

Are you a pumpkin fan? I’m not just a fan. I’m completely obsessed. COMPLETELY.

There are SO MANY reasons to add pumpkin to your diet – it’s loaded with vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that are good for you.

PLUS … it’s low in calories and tastes great.

Here are just a few of pumpkin’s benefits: it’s good for your vision, immune health, and it may even help reduce your risk of cancer!

Pumpkin also protects your heart, lungs, and kidneys, helps battle high blood pressure and it’s good for your skin.

Eating pumpkin can keep us looking young thanks to beta-carotene that helps protect us from the sun’s wrinkle-causing UV rays = younger-looking skin.

Next time you’re at the vet ask about possible pumpkin benefits for your furry friends as well! We like to incorporate a bit of pumpkin into our pet’s diets too! Definitely do your research on this before changing your pet’s feeding habits.

REFERENCES

• WebMD Benefits of Pumpkin
• WebMD Can I Give My Dog Pumpkin?

Which Pumpkins are Edible? Can we eat just*any* Pumpkin?

Yes! We can. Every pumpkin is totally edible…but some pumpkins are better than others.

Every part of the pumpkin is edible: young stems, leaves, shoots, and tendrils of pumpkin plants. If you are harvesting your own pumpkin stems, be sure to only use the young bright green shoots. We’re NOT talking about the thick dried-up stem (that would be like eating a tree branch – I’m only guessing here, lol). So try the leaves, shoots, and stems when they are young and still tender enough to eat. You can try adding them to soups, stir-fries, and skillet meals. I even remember my grandmother stuffing pumpkin blossoms for a special harvest meal once when I was young.

You can eat the pumpkin plant leaves, the pumpkin blossoms, the entire pumpkin itself, and the seeds inside any pumpkin.

BUT – just because every pumpkin is edible doesn’t mean they will all equally taste good.

Some pumpkin varieties are truly best for carving or decorating, and then there are others that taste best for eating.

Have fun experimenting with different types of pumpkins if you have a few different ones you want to try cooking with! Hit up those local farm stands for the best variety.

Best Pumpkins for Eating:

The VERY BEST tasting pumpkins for roasting and cooking (like this recipe below, soups, and treats) are those labeled as “sugar” or “pie” pumpkins which are smaller and sweeter pumpkins.

There are a few larger pumpkin varieties such as Cinderella pumpkins, fairytale pumpkins, and Jarrahdale pumpkins that are also pretty good to cook up and use in your recipes!

The pumpkins typically used to make Jack O’ Lanterns are still fine to eat but they are pretty bland. Save the seeds because they are great for roasting though!

One other thing to note: Butternut squash can be substituted for pumpkin in pretty much any pumpkin recipe, which is great because some years pumpkins are more difficult to find.

✅ Canned pumpkin puree can also be a great way to get your pumpkin in. Add it to your oatmeal, chili, smoothies, casseroles – and you can even make delicious pumpkin pancakes.

Just make sure you don’t accidentally pick up a can of pumpkin pie filling instead because they are two completely different things!

Pumpkin pie filling and pumpkin puree often sit in cans or cartons right next to each other on the grocery store shelf. It can be easy to grab one thinking it is the other because the two products look very similar.

However, they are VERY different products!

Pumpkin Puree (that can also be made at home very easily) should say ONLY Pumpkin on the ingredient label.

Pumpkin pie filling usually has many ingredients, one of which is SUGAR.

A Few of Our Favorite CFC Pumpkin Recipes for you:

• Homemade Pumpkin Puree
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Blender Muffins
• Chocolate Pumpkin Balls

makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 small pumpkin or 1/4 large pumpkin
• 1 tsp red chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsps avocado oil or olive oil
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions:

Heat your oven to 400 degrees f. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone mat.

Using a very sharp knife, very carefully cut your pumpkin in half.

Then, using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the seeds and insides. Save the seeds for roasting if desired.

Next, cut slices of pumpkin, about 1-inch thick as shown.

Place your pumpkin slices on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with the spices.

Using your hands rub spices into both sides of the pumpkin to evenly coat everything.

Roast for 18-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of pumpkin slices, until golden brown and fork-tender. Flip your slices over once during roasting.

Serve as a side or with your favorite dip.

Enjoy!

🧡Rachel

Spiced Roasted Pumpkin

Category Dessert Recipes Snacks

Persons

8

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin or 1/4 large pumpkin
• 1 tsp red chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsps avocado oil or olive oil
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees f. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone mat.
2. Using a very sharp knife, very carefully cut your pumpkin in half.
3. Then, using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the seeds and insides. Save the seeds for roasting if desired.
4. Next, cut slices of pumpkin, about 1-inch thick as shown.
5. Place your pumpkin slices on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with the spices.
6. Using your hands rub spices into both sides of the pumpkin to evenly coat everything.
7. Roast for 18-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of pumpkin slices, until golden brown and fork-tender. Flip your slices over once during roasting.
8. Serve as a side or with your favorite dip.
9. Enjoy!

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