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Pumpkin: This Season’s Superfood

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Pumpkin

If you don’t think pumpkin is a powerful nutrient – read on!

Pumpkin’s benefits include:

• It’s high in fiber (helping you to feel fuller longer)
• It promotes healthy digestion
• It is a good source of vitamin A, which supports healthy vision, bone growth and immune system health
• Its vitamin A  is a natural source of carotenoids, which help our skin and mucous membranes repel bacteria and viruses more effectively. (Very important during the upcoming flu season.)
• Its seeds contain the amino acid “tryptophan,” which helps the body produce serotonin, which boosts your mood and supports a good night’s sleep!
• The seeds are also high in beta-carotene, which can reduce inflammation and protect against free radicals, lowering your risk of heart disease and cancer.
• The best way to eat pumpkin is roasted or pureed into a soup. Or try my recipe below for an unusual and delicious pumpkin hummus!

Pummus (Pumpkin Hummus!)

Ingredients:
* 2 TBSP tahini (sesame seed paste)
* Juice of one-half lemon pumpkin
* 1 TBSP olive oil
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* ½ tsp sea salt
* ¼ tsp red pepper or chipotle powder
* 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin PIE puree)
* 2 garlic cloves, chopped or minced
* 1 – 2 TBSP toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

Directions:
Put first 8 ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. Spoon hummus into a serving bowl, sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds (optional). Refrigerate or serve at room temperature. For dipping, pair with carrots, celery, sliced bell peppers, cucumber slices, or any of your favorite fresh vegetables.

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Protein Bars with Pumpkin Spice

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Protein Bars with Pumpkin Spice

I love the flavors of Fall like pumpkin spice and always try to think of new and fun ways of incorporating them into our daily meals. This little gem of a protein bar fits the bill and gives us a boost of protein in our snack.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (for garnish)
  • ½ cup sesame seeds
  • 1 TBSP raw honey
  • ¼ cup raw cashews
  • 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
  • 2 TBSP unsweetened coconut
  • 1 tsp plain almond milk
  • ½ cup plain or vanilla plant-based protein powder (i.e. Vega, Garden of Life or Sun Warrior brands)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon each ground nutmeg, clove, ginger, allspice
  • ¼ to ½ cup pumpkin puree, canned (no sugar added) or fresh
  • 2 TBSP raw pumpkin seeds

Directions:

To make the garnish, lay the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet in single layer; bake at 350o F for 5 minutes or until toasted light brown. Remove from oven and scoop into a bowl; set aside.

To make the bars, begin by blending just the sesame seeds and raw honey in a food processor until smooth; set aside in small bowl.

Next, put all remaining ingredients in the food processor and combine until chunky-smooth. Place in medium bowl and mix in the sesame-honey mixture; combine until well-blended.

Line an 8×8 glass baking dish with parchment paper OR coat lightly with coconut oil. Spoon the batter into the baking dish. If too sticky, add a small amount of water, less than a teaspoon at a time. Keep the batter thick, not runny!

Press the top of the batter with the roasted pumpkin seed garnish. Freeze for 2-3 hours or until solid. Remove and cut into 16 mini bars and serve cold.

For the leftover pumpkin puree try this Pumpkin Pie Smoothie recipe!

 

5 Surprising Beauty Foods

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Beauty foods?!? Yep, BEAUTY foods. Get you glow on without all the toxic muck from the ‘beauty’ industry. Heck, you can grow your own beauty foods in the backyard, balcony or kitchen window sill!

All fresh fruits and vegetables contain magical powers when it comes to shiny hair, clear skin, and strong nails. However, the ones I’ve chosen below are perhaps not as well known for their powerful beauty benefits. Try and include these foods into your diet if you want to look your best without the need for botox or other unnatural remedies.

1. Red Peppers. All red and orange colored foods contain beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant. Red peppers are particularly beautifying due to the minerals A, C, and K. Vitamins A and C can help prevent cell damage that leads to premature ageing, and they can also reduce inflammation, which can cause a puffy-looking face. Pepper also has Vitamin K, which is an excellent property for protecting our cells from damage.

2. Spinach. All leafy greens are actually very powerful in terms of being a beauty food because of the chlorophyll they contain. There are also loads of other phytochemicals and fiber in spinach that help build blood that is super clean and which will show through in your skin.

3. Turmeric. This yellow-colored, Indian spice has a load of powerful antioxidant qualities. Turmeric assists in protecting our cells from free radical damage and also contributes towards cleaning up metabolic waste in our systems. It is also great as a liver flusher to get rid of any poisons and chemicals which are stored there.

4. Pumpkin Seeds. Wow, these really are powerful. What don’t pumpkin seeds have in them?! The humble pumpkin seed contains high levels of zinc, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins B, C, and E. Pumpkin seeds are also a great source of amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids, all essential for healthy cell maintenance. Make a handful of pumpkin seeds a regular part of your diet, and you will definitely notice a change in your appearance.

5. Parsley. Next time your plate is garnished with parsley, don’t push it aside. This is a pretty powerful herb when it comes to anti-aging, as well as purifying and cleansing the body. It contains vitamins A and C as well as anti-oxidizing flavonoids that protect our cells from free radical damage. Parsley also helps to purify the blood, kill bacteria, aid digestion, and cleanse toxins from the liver.

The best thing is that all these foods are easy to incorporate into your diet. Add turmeric to juice and combine the other foods with some other fixings to make a great, beautifying salad. Who said that beauty was hard to keep?

Looking for more tips? Check out my tips for Sexy Summer Legs!

Smoothie Slim Down

 

Eating on the go

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How to avoid a fast food joint when eating on the go and hungry

Well, I am sure at one time or another we have all found ourselves on the drive thru line, starving, and craving some food that will provide a solution to that crazy grumbling sound in our bellies. So, we go for something quick and fast. It also doesn’t help that each town has at least one to two or even more fast food joints to offer some quick yet unhealthy options for us. How do we avoid this? How can we avoid being that hungry, craving, cranky, and in a need of a fast fix person who has lost all control for healthy determination? Well, it is much simpler than you’d think.

The real fast food, before corporations built these multi-million dollar unhealthy options for us, was good old-fashioned fruits and veggies. Imagine that! Fruits and veggies should always be the number one option, and they are sold everywhere we turn as well, although they don’t usually have a drive thru. So, if it is about convenience then we need to prepare ahead of time. If we pack snacks and quick foods to go in our purse or brief case then we will always have a fast food option that aligns with having a healthy determination.

I suggest packing apples, bananas, oranges, and even some healthy homemade trail mix! Trail mix is my favorite go-to snack when I’m on the go. I put some nuts, raisins, and dried fruit like cranberries in a little Ziploc back or plastic Tupperware container. It is always there and it doesn’t fail me. It also quick to prepare and if I make a bunch of it I can take little servings for a couple days so it lasts.

Trail Mix

½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped, toasted sunflower seeds
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
¼ cup raisins
⅛ cup unsweetened coconut

Combine all ingredients and enjoy.

The best way to avoid fast food joints while on the go is to always make sure you have a fast food option in your purse. Easy, right?