You’ve scooped out, cut eyes and a mouth, popped in a candle, added a handle and made sure the lid fits. That’s the children sorted for Halloween trick or treating, but you’ve now got a mound of pumpkin flesh on the kitchen bench. What do you do with it? Of course, it could just go in the bin but that seems rather wasteful, so why not try out some yummy, simple recipes.
What Can I do With a Pumpkin?
Pumpkin is an extremely versatile vegetable and its slightly honeyed flavor means that it’s great for both savory and sweet recipes.
For breakfast, you could try making it into a smoothie. You may want to grate or precook and cool the pumpkin before you make it into a smoothie, depending on your taste. Popular combinations include mixing it with banana or mango and adding a little natural yogurt and fruit juice to give it a smoother consistency. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger are all spices that go well with pumpkin if you want to add a little something extra.
Soup is probably the most popular of the pumpkin recipes and there are many recipes that you can try, most include adding other ingredients such as carrots, onions, and potatoes. The double cream gives the soup a more decadent feel, or if you want a lighter version there are recipes that use yogurt or soya alternatives. If you like it spicy, try a Thai style version which adds in coconut and sometimes chili.
As a dessert, the traditional pumpkin pie is probably the most well-known. It consists of a pastry base filled with a pumpkin flavored custard, but pumpkin is also great in cupcakes, trifles, cookies and even fudge!
There are much more online food recipes that you can try, like those provided by http://food-tales.com/.
Pumpkin Health Benefits
As well as being a tasty vegetable, the pumpkin also has many health and nutritional benefits. Medical News Today suggests that this behemoth of the vegetable world is packed full of vitamins and minerals and high in fibre while low in calories, making it a great choice both for overall health as well as part of a weight loss programme.
So, give the pumpkin ago this Halloween, you might be surprised by just how tasty and versatile it is!