October means its officially pumpkin season at our house! Do you have pumpkins at your house in the fall too? Did you know that there are lots of healthy ways to eat pumpkins?
That’s right! Pumpkins are fat free; cholesterol free; sodium free; good source of vitamin C and vitamin A! You can even eat the Jack-be-Little pumpkins like Eli grew!
When you go to the pumpkin patch, or the store, choose pumpkins that are firm and heavy for their size. There are many different varieties of pumpkins (and squash that look like pumpkins) for you to choose from. Any kinds of pumpkins can be peeled and the flesh can pureed for soups, muffins and breads, but you never want to use a pumpkin for cooking after it’s been carved and displayed for decoration.
Some pumpkin types have been carefully grown over the years to taste or look a certain way. The New England Sweet and the Sugar Baby were grown to be sweet and make wonderful pies. The Jack-be-little pumpkins are really a kind of squash that just looks like a tiny pumpkin.
There are even Cinderella pumpkins! They are an heirloom type from France, where they call them Rouge vif d’Etampes. The nickname is because this pumpkin grows up to look just like the pumpkin that is magically turned into a carriage by Cinderella’s fairy godmother.
To find more pumpkin recipes, check out createbetterhealth.org‘s pumpkin section!