(Pumpkin) Seeds The Day!

-




Here are some tips for roasting pumpkin seeds this fall, and 7 ways to season them! 

’Tis the season... to eat pumpkin seeds! Baking pumpkin seeds is an easy and fun way to get more out of your pumpkin carvings. They are also a nutritious snack that contains fiber, healthy fats, and magnesium. Magnesium is an important mineral your body uses for different functions, from muscle movements to keeping your heart beating. One ounce of hulled pumpkin seeds (a small handful, without the shell) has about 150 mg of magnesium, which is about one third or more of what most adults need in a day. I bake mine with the shells on, so the exact amount will vary, but it’s a tasty way to get some magnesium in! I always try to get my family to join me in carving a few pumpkins every fall, mainly so I can bake the seeds... and after some trial and error, I think I have perfected the process! 

Here are the steps I follow to make perfect pumpkin seeds, as well as some seasoning ideas below: 

1. Carve and separate: After carving, grab two bowls: one bowl for clean seeds and another for stringy pumpkin that still has seeds stuck in it. Separate the pumpkin contents. TIP: wear thin plastic or latex gloves so that pumpkin doesn’t stick to your hands! 

2. Wash: Dump the seeds into a colander, rinse them with cold water, and scoop out any pumpkin strings. 

3. Dry: Shake out the excess water, then pour the seeds onto a dish towel or paper towels and rub off any leftover pumpkin. Pat them dry with a towel and let them sit for 5-10 minutes. TIP: Don’t leave them on paper towels for more than a few minutes... little pieces of paper towel will stick to the seeds. How do I know? That happened to me! I know...tragic!! 

4. Preheat oven and dry some more: Preheat your oven to 350°F. To prevent soggy seeds, I spread them on the baking sheet and dry them in the oven for 2 minutes (at most) before adding any oil or seasoning. 

5. Season: Transfer the seeds to a bowl, add olive oil or melted butter and your seasonings, and mix well so the flavor is even and the seeds don’t stick to the pan. TIP: Go easy on the oil (a teaspoon or so per pumpkin’s worth is plenty) and add salt gradually. You can always add more, but you can’t take it away! 

6. Bake! Spread the seeds evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 15 to 25 minutes. TIP: I like 18-20 for seeds that are crunchy but not browned. 


My seasonings rankings, as pictured above: 

  • French fry seasoning: 10/10. Perfect flavor and saltiness! (it has garlic and onion powder, which are two of my favorite seasonings). 
  • Olive oil + sea salt: 9/10. A classic!  
  • Garlic powder: 8/10. Solid! I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to make a big batch. 
  • Cinnamon: 7/10. I loved it. Cinnamon sugar is next on my list to try! 
  • Cocoa powder: 6.5/10. Might have been better if the seeds were coated while still warm. I didn’t do that, so I think it would be worth a try. 
  • Taco seasoning: 6/10. Good! But not a favorite for me. 
  • Garlic + parmesan: 5/10. I’m not a huge parmesan fan, but others may love this one. 

Can you tell I'm a savory snack person?! 

Your Turn! 

These ratings are just MY taste buds talking, so your favorite flavoring might be at the bottom of my list. This fall, I challenge you to try baking pumpkin seeds to perfection and trying one or two (or more!) of these seasoning ideas. Grab a pumpkin, put on some gloves, and tell me in the comments which seasoning you will try first! 


-SG 


Reference: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/foods-that-are-high-in-magnesium  

 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Eccentric Use of Pinto Beans You’ll Never Guess

-
Image
Among my friends and family, it is not a secret that I love legumes. They are affordable, a wonderful convenience food, and pose a variety of health benefits due to their high content of complex carbohydrates, plant-based protein, vitamins/minerals, and phytochemicals: weight management, LDL cholesterol reduction, CVD prevention, blood sugar regulation, diabetes prevention, and treatment of gastrointestinal tract conditions are just a few of the potential health benefits of increased legume consumption. Most people know the term “beans” instead of “legumes”. All beans are technically legumes, but not all legumes are beans, since the term “legumes” also includes peas, lentils, and undried/fresh legumes (i.e. snap peas). While legumes offer a variety of health and non-health benefits, dried beans specifically have a new, unusual use: wart removal (just stay with me now). I had originally hoped there was some nutritional aspect of beans that magically caused warts to fall off, but that ju...
Read more

Ketogenic Gets a Makeover

-
Image
Ketogenic Gets a Makeover We have all heard of the ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet focuses on the low-carbohydrate, high fat diet consumption. But what happens when an individual does not want to include high-animal fat sources in their ketogenic diet? Welcome, the ketotarian diet. The ketotarian diet is the plant-based version of the ketogenic diet, relying on plant-sources for fat. Plant sources, like nuts and olive oil, make up 60-75% of calories for fat. The premise of the ketotarian diet is similar to ketogenic diet, where you try to have your body enter a state of ketosis to the utilize fat for energy instead of your body’s main energy source of glucose, or sugar. Many benefits are claimed on this diet such as fat loss and disease prevention, however, this is still a very restrictive diet plan that has little research on it to support its efficacy. Basic guidelines presented by Dr. Will Cole, a functional medicine practitioner states: ...
Read more

From Patch to Plate

-
Image
                                                                                                                          As the weather gets cooler and the leaves start to change various shades of yellow, orange, and brown, we start to see skeletons, witches, spiders, bats, and pumpkins decorating streets and homes. However, not all these decorations are just for show, some make tasty dishes for a nice fall treat.   Pumpkins, although the most popular, are just one variety of winter squash. Winter squash are uniquely beautiful, showcasing a vibrant array of colors ranging from yellow to orange to deep green, and come in all kinds of shapes, some smooth and round, while ot...
Read more