Pumpkins not just for pie!

My neighbors gave me 2 large pumpkins .....one white and one orange.. ...I put  the white one outside for Halloween...the large orange one Sue told me was good also for pies...so I kept it in the garage so it wouldn't freeze ... today I had time to cut it open, bake, puree and freeze for pies... I only did 1/2 since it was so large and put the other 1/2 outside for the birds and deer... 

When I got it out of the oven I had to taste it... it had a very mild flavor more like squash so I decided to have it for supper...

I looked  up the nutrition facts and was pleasantly surprised!!!   
Time to take another look at serving pumpkin to your family...and not as a dessert with all the sugar!!

Health Benefits of Pumpkin

• It is one of the very low-calorie vegetables. 100 g fruit provides just 26 calories and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; however, it is rich in dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. The vegetable is one of the food items recommended by dieticians in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.
• Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C, and vitamin-E.
• At 7,384 mg per 100 g, it is one of the vegetables in the Cucurbitaceae family featuring highest levels of vitamin-A, providing about 246% of RDA. Vitamin-A is a powerful natural antioxidant and is required by the body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucosa. It is also an essential vitamin for good eyesight. Research studies suggest that natural foods rich in vitamin-A may help the human body protect against lung and oral cavity cancers.
• It is also an excellent source of many natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds such as α, ß-carotenes, cryptoxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Carotenes convert into vitamin-A inside the human body.
• Zea-xanthin is a natural anti-oxidant which has UV (ultra-violet) rays filtering actions in the macula lutea in the retina of the eyes. Thus, it may offer protection from "age-related macular disease" (ARMD) in the older adults.
• The fruit is a good source of the B-complex group of vitamins like folates, niacin, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, and pantothenic acid.
• It is also a rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.

Ready to cook....

Fresh chicken, Pomegranate, and pumpkin