Five Healthy Ideas For Re-purposing Your Pumpkins

It is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and millions of pumpkins are going to waste today.  This is an unnecessary waste and we have some ideas for repurposing pumpkins.  Together we can stop this madness!  The vegetable is a marvelous creation of nature with so many uses.  It is super healthy for one; loaded with vitamin C and beta-carotene.  Check out all the healthy stuff it has in it below.

Health Benefits of Pumpkin

According to the article referenced above some of the benefits can include:

• Improved eye site with beta-carotin
• Help for weight loss because the fiber makes you feel satisfied faster, there's research to back the theory
• Healthier skin via carotenoids which reduce free radicals in the skin
• Nutrients your heart needs such as the phytosterols in the seeds if you roast them in the process
• Benefits that reduce your risk of cancer because of the antioxidant beta-carotene
• Mood-boosting amino acids
• Workout recovery benefits
• Immune boosting vitamin c

Here are my five, somewhat therapeutic, ideas for repurposing your pumpkins.

1.  Make some delicious pumpkin seeds.

Even if your pumpkins are on their way out the seeds may be salvageable.  The scent from roasting them will act as a free season themed air freshener and the health benefits are great.  They are packed with fiber, protein and amino acids.

Sweet Chili Pumpkin Seeds

2.  Make a desert

This dessert is typically made with the common pumpkin in Thailand but whose to say it couldn't be done with a more western style pumpkin?    If you do it we want to see photos in the comments section, please.

Thai Pumpkin Custard (สังขยาฟักทอง)

3.  Stir-fry that gourd

Stir-frying is one of the fastest and easiest ways to take anything in your fridge and make it spicy, sizzling hot and delicious.  Look for more tips on stir-frying, the healthier way as we post them often on healthythairecipes.com.

Stir Fried Pumpkin – An Authentic Thai Dish You Rarely See Outside of Thailand

4. Thai Pumpkin Curry

Yes, Thai pumpkin curry is a thing.  Sometimes I feel like an idiot posting some of the simpler recipes up that people may already know.  Then there are recipes like this one.  I feel like I am truly creating something of value for the world when I bring it from obscurity into a healthy dish.  I loved this recipe and ate an entire large pot of it over a few days.   You just haven't lived until you have not only saved a pumpkin from a meaningless fate but made something delicious from it.

Thai Pumpkin Curry Recipe

5.  When in doubt, Throw it Out, With Style!!

When I took nutrition as part of my bachelors degree, one of the things that stuck with me was, when in doubt throw it out.  It means, if you have any doubt about the safety of eating a food play it safe.  That doesn't mean the useful life of the pumpkin has to be over though.

Perhaps the most therapeutic way to repurpose pumpkins has to be the pumpkin chucking contests and world record stage!

 

Here is the group Smashing Pumpkins with their smash hit from my youth.  🙂  Also therapeutic if you're like me he he he.

 

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Practice your pumpkin therapy responsibly my friends.  ^-^