If you prepared for this weekend’s Halloween festivities by carving a pumpkin, I certainly hope you didn’t wantonly throw away the bounty of seeds it had to offer. You may have hurt your jack-o-lantern’s feelings if you did. Feel free to go apologize before any mysterious goings on befall you. I’ll be right here waiting.
There, now don’t you feel better? Clearing the air is always a good idea.
Why on earth would your jack-o-lantern be upset if you threw away its seeds in the first place? Well, maybe it’s because pumpkin seeds are little kernels of nutritious righteousness. Just look at what they have to offer:
- Zinc to give a boost to your immune system and make sure many other activities in your body keep running smoothly. Be sure to eat the shell too—you’ll find most of the zinc just underneath it.
- Vitamin E to keep your cells healthy—and to keep your hair and eyes looking fabulous. This fat-soluble vitamin comes in eight forms, and pumpkin seeds offer several of them.
- Manganese to play a huge role in the health of your bones and ligaments, and to regulate your thyroid and other endocrine glands. Just a handful of pumpkin seeds will give you almost all the manganese you need each day.
- Phosphorus to help keep your bones strong and assist with digestion and cellular repair. That handful of seeds you ate to get your manganese will also give you about half of your recommended daily amount of phosphorus.
Not a big fan of pumpkin seeds straight from your hand? That’s okay. There are lots of ways to sneak them into your regular eating routine. I bet you’ve never imagined pumpkin seeds like this:
- Raw Pumpkin Seed Crackers with Spinach: Not your traditional cracker, but just like raw seeds, they offer up all sorts of good stuff for your body.
- Ruby Salad with Crumbled Feta and Spicy Pepitas: Pepitas is the Spanish culinary name for pumpkin seeds. Anyway, this salad is not only gorgeous to look at but also a treat for your taste buds.
- Dark Chocolate and Pumpkin Seed Bark: With this delicious treat, you can satisfy your sweet tooth without feeling horrible about it later.
See. Pumpkin seeds can be delicious no matter how you choose to eat them. Even if you’re a traditionalist who only desires them in their purest form, you can still mix it up by simply changing the spices you use. There’s no excuse for ever getting tired of this tasty seed.
What’s your favorite surprising way to enjoy pumpkin seeds?
Paula Widish, author of Trophia: Simple Steps to Everyday Self-Health, is a freelance writer and self-healther. She loves nothing more than sharing tidbits of information she discovers with others. (Actually, she loves her family more than that—and probably bacon too.) Paula has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Public Relations and is a Certified Professional Life Coach through International Coach Academy.
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Thanks for the recipes, Paula. Can’t wait to try them!
You are welcome, Sam! I’ve love to hear your favorite way to get pumpkin seeds into your diet too. :)
My favorite way is adding raw pumpkin seeds to my salads. :)
Super simple & delicious!! :)