It’s that time of year where pumpkins and pumpkin-flavored everything takes over! This is a great time to incorporate this tasty vegetable into your diet. Pumpkin is considered to be a super food which means its packed with powerful vitamins and minerals that benefit for your body! For example, pumpkins are packed with Vitamin A which has immune-boosting powers and is essential for eye health. Pumpkins also contain plenty of fiber ,vitamin C and vitamin E as well as minerals like copper, calcium, potassium and phosphorus.

Pumpkin can be incorporated into many recipes, like desserts, soups, and salads. Pumpkin puree can even be used as a replacement for butter/oil in many baking recipes.

• Here are some ways you can add pumpkin into you cooking.
• Add 3/4 cup of pumpkin to waffle batter
• Add pumpkin, roasted pecans, lemon zest and parsley to whole-wheat noodles.
• Mix 1/2 cup of pumpkin into chocolate chip cookies or brownies

TIP: Instead of carving pumpkins, paint it with nontoxic paint so you can eat it after! Clean the paint off with a sponge before cooking.

Easy Pumpkin Protein Muffins

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup flour
• 2/3 cup protein powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup pumpkin
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with liners or use non-stick spray.
2. In a large bowl combine flours, protein powder, baking powder, pumpkin spice, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a medium sized bowl whisk together pumpkin, yogurt, egg, sugar and vanilla.
4. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
5. Fill each muffin tin 2/3 full
6. Option: top with chopped nuts, chocolate chips or even shredded coconut
7. Bake muffins at 400 for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool fully and enjoy! Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Source: https://colleenchristensennutrition.com/easy-pumpkin-protein-muffins/

Don’t Let Halloween Treats Scare You!

Halloween marks the beginning of what is often referred to as “national eating season”. This is the time of year between Halloween and New Year’s Day where many time-honored traditions revolve around food and many times, they’re not the healthiest food choices. Put the right foot forward this year by keeping your health front of mind and making good decisions.  Here are some ideas to do just that!

Set yourself up for success:

• Don’t buy candy to pass out more than 1 week before the big event. This will give less time for temptation to get you off track.
• Only purchase the amount of candy that you plan t o give away.
• Pass out non-food treats to your visitors ex: Stickers, fake vampire teeth, slime, etc.
• Going to a party? Take a jack-o-lantern tray, jack-o-lantern burgers, or rotten deviled eggs
• Skip the booooos…. Try black sugar-free lemonade or sugar-free witches brew (lime Gatorade zero and sprite zero with floating  plastic eyeballs for fun!

Recipe Links

• Rotten Monster Eggs: https://parentingchaos.com/deliciously-rotten-deviled-eggs/
• Black Lemonade: Adapted from https://spookylittlehalloween.com/2019/06/26/black-lemonade/
  • Use Crystal Light or another zero-calorie lemonade instead of Simply Lemonade
• Witches brew: Adapted from https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/7532/halloween-party-drink-spooky-fog-drinks/

What to do with leftover candy:

• Some dentists’ offices have buy-back or trade-in programs
• Save it for holiday baking
• Save it to fill the piñata at the next birthday celebration
• Use it in an arts and crafts project or to decorate a holiday gingerbread house
• Donate excess candy to a homeless shelter, children’s hospital, or church
• Send it in a care package to troops overseas. A familiar sweet treat from home can be comforting