So, you've bought a pumpkin, created a scary or scarily bad carved pumpkin, and you're now left with the remnants of it's insides. Now what?
Use it to trick your kids into eating more vegetables.
Pumpkins are infinitely more exciting to eat than their fellow vegetables. They're bright, tasty, and packed full of vitamin A which helps eyes, skin, nails and hair to stay healthy.
They're also really versatile, and you can use them in sweet and savoury recipes. It's not just the flesh that's tasty either, the pumpkin seeds can be toasted and eaten as a snack.
Why not try one of these recipes with your kids?
Pumpkin Recipes:
Pumpkin Stir Fry
The whole recipe takes around 30 minutes to make and is also a Weight Watchers recipe, at only 220 calories per serving.
Heat a large wok (or non stick pan) and spray with the low fat cooking spray. Throw in a bunch of sliced spring onions, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds and 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds and stir fry for a few minutes until the mustard seeds begin to pop.
Add 1kg of pumpkin and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce and stir fry for 5 more minutes, until the pumpkin begins to brown. Add 150ml of orange juice and bring to the boil. Cover it and allow it to simmer for 4-10 minutes, and then sprinkle with 100g of toasted unsalted cashew nuts and some fresh herbs.
Serve!
Pumpkin Crisps
An easy one to make and you can do the same with parsnips, sweet potatoes and standard potatoes.
Thinly slice the pumpkin and fry in oil until golden. Season with salt and pepper.
Pumpkin Cookies
This one is from the Jamie Oliver website,
You will need:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 banana, mashed
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and 1 1/2 cups of white sugar. Add 1 1/3 cup of pureed pumpkin, 1/2 a banana, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then glaze if you wish.
Should all else fail, you could just make them a giant pumpkin burger....