31 Oct Just Eat Real Pumpkin

I have no children living at home (they grew up!) so I don’t really need to buy a pumpkin. But I couldn’t help myself. I bought a small pie pumpkin.

It won’t become a jack-o’-lantern. It will become pumpkin soup.

Since you may have a pumpkin for Halloween, or maybe you just love indulging in the pumpkin spice flavor, you may want to try cooking with real pumpkin.

Just Eat Real Food, I always say. Eating real food has many benefits for your health. And over-caffeinated drinks or extra-sweet desserts are detrimental to your health. But you won’t be deprived. Eating real food can be delicious, and easy too. Pumpkin soup is an example.

Brightly colored vegetables like pumpkin have antioxidants that your body needs. They help provide anti-inflammatory properties, anti-cancer properties, stronger, more elastic blood vessels, healthier brain cells, healthier cells all over, and improved prostate health. Whew! That’s a lot. So go for it. Eat pumpkin and enjoy it.

Make pumpkin puree

The first step for cooking with pumpkin is to make a puree. First, cut a pie pumpkin (those are the little ones in the grocery store) in half and place cut sides down on a pan and bake in a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until tender to your fork. If you have a jack-o’-lantern sized pumpkin, cut it into wedges, place in a pan, and cover with foil (the foil touches the peel and the peel is discarded), then bake till tender. Take the cooled, tender pumpkin, peel it, then mash or process til smooth. You can save the seeds for roasting–those have great health benefits too.

Pumpkin Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

½ cup butter (1 stick), organic, grass-fed, pastured preferred

½ large onion or 1 small onion, chopped

3 cups of pumpkin puree, or canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 cup cooked potato, white or sweet

1 quart broth, meat, chicken, or vegetable

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger (or sub ½ inch chopped fresh ginger)

¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

½ teaspoon salt or to taste

⅛ teaspoon pepper or to taste

Cream or sour cream, spoonful added to each serving

Directions

Melt butter over low fire in a large pot. Add onion and fresh ginger, if using, and saute till onions are clear. Add broth. Add pumpkin puree and potato and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, salt, pepper. Blend soup with a hand blender till smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add spoonful of cream or sour cream to each serving.

Holiday pumpkin

Holiday dinners like Thanksgiving usually include tempting sweet desserts like pie. I avoid sugar as much as possible but I live in the real world. I don’t intend to force the other holiday dinner guests to eat like I do. And, a little indulgence is not going to derail all of my efforts for building health. So a compromise can be in order.

This is what I’ve done. I’ve contributed a pumpkin pie to the meal. First, I make it myself so there’s no worry about eating toxic industrial oils or chemical additives. Second, if possible, I sub out the ingredients for ones that are healthier. For example, I may use honey or maple syrup for the refined sugar. I may try a gluten free almond flour pie crust. No, I have not found a pie crust recipe that rivals a wheat flour crust, but some can be acceptable.

If you want to try a paleo pumpkin pie, see here. The ingredients are canned coconut milk, not evaporated milk. Honey, not sugar. The crust is made with almond flour. But the rest of the pie is pretty much the same as a standard pumpkin pie.

I have to add some caution here. You may have so much success with making a pumpkin pie with healthier ingredients, you may be tempted to eat that all the time, and add in paleo or keto muffins, breads, and other treats. These foods are not nutrient dense. They should be reserved for the occasional treat. You should try to fill up on vegetables, proteins, and healthy, natural fats. Those should be the bulk of a healthy diet. Then you won’t have to count calories or worry about eating too much. Eat nutrient dense food, and your body will thank you.

And pumpkin is nutrient dense food.

If you need help finding nutrient dense food that tastes good, contact me. I’m a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and I’m Nationally Board Certified, too. I have recipes and tips to share. We’ll find foods you like that are easy to prepare. To learn more about how we can work together see here. And consider taking advantage of my free intro call so we can get to know each other.

Wahls M.D., Terry; Eve Adamson. The Wahls Protocol: A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles (p. 116). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Elana’s Pantry Paleo Pie Crust

Dr. Mercola Food Facts Pumpkin

Dr. Mercola Pumpkin Seeds

This article is for information purposes only. See Disclaimer below.