Give your holiday nutrition a pump-kick with pumpkin!

Its fall, which means leaves changing color, cooler weather, and best of all, our favorite holiday recipes! You can use pumpkin puree in your favorite dessert or eat the seeds as a tasty snack.  Whichever way you choose, pumpkin offers lots of benefits, making it a healthy choice for your next home-cooked meal.  

What’s so great about pumpkin anyway?

Besides being delicious, pumpkin packs a nutritional punch! It is low in calories and fat and offers a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are important as a part of a healthy diet. 

Pumpkin is rich with Vitamin A, which is important for good vision, immune function, healing, and cell reproduction. It’s also a rich source of Vitamin K, essential for blood clotting and bone health. B vitamins and Folate are found in smaller amounts.

Potassium, which is essential for fluid balance (hydration) and heart function, is abundant in pumpkin. It also contains calcium, iron, and small amounts of other trace minerals. These minerals all work together to support numerous functions in the body, including building healthy bones, allowing your muscles to contraction, and aid in the function of the immune and nervous systems.

Not only does pumpkin help you reach your vitamin and mineral goals for the day, but it contains antioxidants, which are shown to lower the risk of heart disease, support tissue repair, and fight disease-causing free radicals in the body.

Stay on track this season and still enjoy the flavors of the holidays by including foods like pumpkin in your daily diet!

Pumpkin Pie Mousse

·         1 package sugar-free vanilla instant pudding

·         1 package sugar-free butterscotch instant pudding

·         2 cups skim milk

·         1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

·         1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

·         1 8-ounce container fat-free whipped topping

Whisk pudding mixes and milk in a large bowl for 2 minutes. Mixture will be very thick. Stir in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice and then fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:

• 1 ½ cups pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Salt
• Garlic powder (optional)
• Cayenne pepper (optional)

      Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Clean any major chunks off of the seeds (it’s ok to leave some pulp on there). Toss the pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the olive oil and seasonings of your choice. Spread the seeds out on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown. Put on top of your favorite salad or enjoy as a snack!

Ema Thake, MS, RD

Team Dietitian, UCLA