Tag Archives: pumpkin

Eating the Rainbow

This has been a busy Sunday. Even though I was feeling a little faded (though not enough to regret that second drink)‚ I hit the ground running for a head-clearing workout and more apartment hunting. I’m not looking to actually move to another place for a couple months, but since I have the time now, I’ve been taking advantage of it.

Dorky as it sounds, I do try to practice what I preach when I tell people to “eat the rainbow”—fruits and vegetables, though, not Skittles. For breakfast I made steel-cut oats with chia seeds, pumpkin, apple and pumpkin pie spices (topped with peanut butter for protein and healthy fats). Why don’t I made steel cut more often? Yes, they take longer, but they’re so worth it. It’s also easy to just make a big batch and separate it into single servings to reheat later in the week.

For a late lunch, I enjoyed a 21-vegetable soup and a gorgeous nicoise salad with tuna. Winter produce can be a little sad, but there was so much going on here that it all added up to a very satisfying—and colorful—meal.

Do you try to “eat the rainbow?” What are some of your favorite ways to add color to your plate?

Ingredient of the Week: Pumpkin

Welcome to another Ingredient of the Week. Today is all about pumpkin, one of the most-loved food blog ubiquities.

This time of year, it’s hard to  avoid all the pumpkin-themed food porn floating around the internet, but for a good reason: This fruit (yes, pumpkin in a fruit) is both delicious and nutritious.

In one half-cup serving of pumpkin puree, you get:

  • 40 Calories
  • 0.5 g Fat
  • 10 g Carbohydrate
  • 3 g Fiber
  • 4 g sugar
  • 1 g protein
  • 380% your daily Vitamin A
  • 8% Vitamin C
  • 8% your daily iron needs

My friend Lauren recently asked if I wanted to partake in a “30 squash recipes in 30 days” challenge, and while I haven’t been officially taking part, pumpkin does count as squash, and the past few days have definitely included that.

Some of my favorite pumpkin uses include oatmeal…

…black bean and pumpkin soup…

…smoothies…

cheesy kitchen pic

and in brownies…

Take one box of brownie mix (I used Trader Joe’s Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix) and one 15-oz can of pumpkin puree, and you mix them together. Bake as indicated on the box minus 5 minutes. You end up with perfectly moist, chocolatey brownies that oddly don’t even taste like pumpkin.

I’ve also been wanting to experiment with a pumpkin-based macaroni-and-cheese dish, mostly to see what happens.

While I can’t say I  like to condone “hiding” fruits and vegetables, these kinds of recipes are a great way to up the nutrient profile in a treat without feeling like you’re “healthifying” it too much.

What’s your favorite way to eat pumpkin? 

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie for Fall

Autumn is upon us. The Fall Equinox occurs tomorrow, but today is considered by many to be the first day of fall. I don’t know about you, but I think last week felt a lot more autumnal (at least in the NYC area) than this week does. It’s so muggy outside I’m tempted to reach for my sandals and a sundress one last time.

So, in celebration of a fall beginning that feels a little more like summer, here’s my favorite recipe for a pumpkin pie smoothie:

Ingredients

  • 1-2 dried, pitted dates
  • ½ c unsweetened almond milk (any milk is fine)
  • ½ c canned pumpkin (or less, depending on preference)
  • ½ a frozen banana
  • cinnamon, powdered ginger, ground cloves or pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 c ice

Directions

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into glass or bowl and serve immediately.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy pumpkin? 

Joy Bauer's 1-Minute Pumpkin Pudding

I’m a little bit obsessed with pumpkin. I eat it all year round—pumpkin oatmeal and pumpkin risotto are a few favorites. I also have some pumpkin ravioli in my freezer right now (thanks, mom!). I saw this video posted on Self Magazine’s Healthy Bites blog and wanted to share it with you. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s definitely on the to-do list!

Recipe Modification


As you can probably guess by reading this blog, I love to cook. I also happen to have quite a few people in my life with various food allergies and sensitivities and preferences, so I often find myself modifying recipes so that everyone can eat what I make. I am also fascinated by the science of it—using the properties of the ingredients to predict how they will react with each other under various cooking techniques is so much more fun to me than the stuff in my chemistry textbook! I’d rather talk about food than methane.

For a school project, I recently had to adapt a recipe to make it appropriate for someone following the TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Change) diet to lower the risk of chronic heart conditions. I chose pumpkin pie, as it’s one of my seasonal favorites. But who am I kidding? I would eat pumpkin pie in July.
I found the easiest way to lower the saturated fat and cholesterol in the pie was to make it vegan, and then I remembered that my friend Leah, who is vegan and sensitive to gluten, was having a birthday celebration today and that I had offered to cook some vegan, gluten-free goods.
Hence, a gluten-free, vegan pumpkin pie! Chris suggested the pecans on top—beautiful!

Experimentation

Chris works a lot of nights, so it’s not unusual for me to end up on my own for dinner a couple times a week. Though cooking for one can be a wee bit lonely sometimes, it does give me a chance to experiment and try out new recipe ideas. 

The other night, I added pumpkin ravioli with pumpkin curry sauce to my list of weird-but-good. 
I’d bought a can of pumpkin earlier in the day because I’d had a craving for pumpkin oatmeal (you just mix a half-cup of pumpkin in with the water and oats then cook and add cinnamon—amazing) and figured I should use some of the extra pumpkin. I also happened to be in the mood for curry but didn’t feel like having rice or potatoes or tofu or any of the usual curry accoutrements. 
And then I remembered the pumpkin ravioli in the freezer…
It was just crazy enough to work—masaman curry paste with a little light coconut milk, sauteed onion, and pureed pumpkin all cooked together with some steamed broccoli. I poured the sauce over the cooked ravioli and added a little grated parmesan. 
I’d been worried the curry would overpower the vaguely sweet mellowness of the ravioli, but they actually blended pretty nicely. The one thing I’d change would be the broccoli—squash would probably work a little better. Still, I’d make this again if I happened to have all those ingredients just lying around.
Note to self: Must get better at taking food photos. I definitely don’t do that dish justice there…
What kinds of things do you like to make when you’re just playing around or testing new stuff?