Pump(kin) Up Your Fall!

By Dana Colla, Dietetic Intern

Say What?!

Besides being fall, festive, and fun to carve, pumpkins are an excellent source of nutrients. I’m not talking about your pumpkin pies or pumpkin spice lattes; I’m talking about the fruit. Pumpkins contain beta carotene, giving them their orange color. The body converts beta carotene into vitamin A and just 1 cup of pumpkin can give you more than 200% of the daily recommended vitamin A intake. Along with vitamin A, pumpkins are a good source of vitamin C and potassium. But don’t forget about the seeds! Pumpkin seeds contain high amounts of manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, zinc, protein, and fiber. Now that’s a nutrient-dense food!

Here in St. Louis, we live right next to one of the highest producing pumpkin states in the US. 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin were produced in Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California in 2014, according to the USDA Economic Research Service. Of those pounds of pumpkins, 15 percent were processed into pumpkin products. So, what happens to the rest of the pumpkins in the patch? Most are used as decoration either as a carved pumpkin or whole pumpkin and then thrown away. What a shame! My quest this weekend was to find different ways to use pumpkins and the pieces carved out to reduce waste and pump(kin) up the nutrition.

Pumpkin Puree

Of the processed pumpkin products, one of the most popular is canned pumpkin puree. In the hundreds of pumpkin recipes out there, 9 out of 10 included pumpkin puree. In order to use the whole pumpkin, I decided to make my own using The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond’s recipe, Homemade Pumpkin Puree.

 

Using two pie pumpkins, I began by cutting as close as I could around the stem to maximize the amount of pumpkin used. Then, I cut them in half, scraped out the seeds and fibers, and cut the pumpkin halves into smaller pieces. To help wash off the fibers, I put the seeds in a bowl of water. I also saved one pumpkin half to make pumpkin fries, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

At 350 degrees, the pumpkin sections backed for 45 minutes until tender. I peeled the skin off the pumpkin sections using a knife and made the puree using a blender. While the recipe calls for a food processor, a blender worked just fine. I put a few small pieces at a time into the blender and added water as needed and voilà! Fresh pumpkin puree!

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

With the pumpkin puree, I made the pumpkin turkey chili recipe from allrecipes.com, Pumpkin Turkey Chili. This recipe was easy to make and was a one pot clean up. I began by sautéing the peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil. I added a pound of ground turkey once the vegetables were tender and cooked until browned. I drained the excess grease and stirred in the canned tomatoes, after draining and rinsing, then added the pumpkin puree, chili powder, salt, and pepper.

After simmering for 20 minutes, the chili was ready to top with a little bit of cheddar cheese and eat. The recipe called for 2 cups of pumpkin puree, but it did not have the pumpkin flavor that is expected when you think of pumpkin pie. The pumpkin gave the chili a thicker texture that made it comforting on a cold day and filling. Overall, I liked the recipe and would make it again, adding different types of vegetables and even some beans to mix things up.

Pumpkin Fries

With one of the pumpkin halves, I made pumpkin fries as a side dish. This is a great way to use pieces of carved pumpkin and make a tasty French fry substitute. I used the recipe from thethingswellmake.com, Baked Pumpkin Fries.

I started by peeling the skin off the pumpkin then sliced the pumpkin into strips as thinly as I could . I figured the thinner, the crispier. In a bowl, I tossed the pumpkin fries in olive oil, salt, and pepper until they were well coated. I place the fries on a baking sheet and set the broiler to high. I checked on the fries every 5 minutes and took them out when they started turning brown.

 

I liked this recipe a lot more than I thought I would because the fries reminded me of sweet potato fries. I would definitely make it again but broil the fries a little longer to get them crispier. To give them more flavor, I sprinkled the fries with more pepper and dipped them in ketchup because what are fries without ketchup?

Cinnamon Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

After washing the pumpkin seeds off with water, I blotted them dry with a paper towel. I used the recipe from allrecipes.com, Cinnamon Toasted Pumpkin Seeds. This recipe is the dessert of the pumpkin meal and uses the main parts that are scooped out of the pumpkin and often thrown away. As mentioned, the seeds are high in minerals, fiber, and protein, so it would be a waste to toss them. The seeds can be flavored in many different ways from sweet to savory. I chose to go the sweet route, since I have never made sweet pumpkin seeds.

This recipe was easy because it uses items one would normally have on hand and does not require a lot of attention. After drying the seeds, I put them into a bowl and tossed them with melted butter, cinnamon, and salt. I spread the seeds into a single layer on two baking sheets and baked them at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, mixing them at 20 minutes. After taking them out of the oven, I sprinkled them with sugar and stirred until the seeds were fully coated. These seeds were super tasty, especially fresh out of the oven. I might even be able to say they were better than a pumpkin spice latte, but you should try them for yourself!

Final Thoughts

This pumpkin meal was fun to make and delicious! The pumpkin puree recipe made more than needed, so I froze it for later use. I was able to use all the parts of the pumpkin except the stem, the fibers around the seeds, and the skin. There are recipes out there for pumpkin chips using the skin. For the parts I did not use, they will be used for compost. I am happy to declare that my quest to use the whole pumpkin was a success. Here’s to sustainability and dinner!