Well it may be a little late for this year if you have already carved your pumpkins and gotten rid of all the pumpkin ‘innards’. But if you are yet to carve your pumpkins this year, what do you do with all the pumpkin seeds that you take out of the inside? Well if you are like most people, you probably just throw them away. But there is a much better and healthy thing to do with them: you eat them!
Now if this seems weird or like a lot of work to you, don’t worry. It really isn’t difficult, and eating pumpkin seeds is not uncommon. In fact, you can get pumpkin seeds at most grocery stores though you may not recognize them because they might be labeled pepitas. Pepitas and pumpkin seeds are the same thing and have several health benefits.
Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds
Like most seeds and nuts, pumpkins seeds have omega-3 fats, which are often called ‘healthy fats’. Now there are several different fats that the body needs that it cannot make and all of those could be termed ‘healthy’. But those essential fats should be in proper proportions to each other, which is why omega-3 fats are important since most Americans are not getting enough omega-3 fats.
Pumpkin seeds are also a great source of magnesium. Magnesium is used as a cofactor for more than 300 enzymes. It is especially important in enzymes that use ATP, or basically the energy source used for most chemical reactions within the body. Magnesium also plays an important role in proper neuromuscular function. Unfortunately most Americans are not getting enough magnesium.
Pumpkin seeds are also rich in another important mineral— zinc. Zinc again is important for the function of many enzymes within the body. It is important for proper growth and immune function. Zinc deficiency can lead to poor wound healing and even loss of taste.
Besides the many important nutrients, pumpkin seeds also contain many phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are chemicals found in plants that may have some health benefits. Pumpkin seeds contain many phytochemicals that have been shown have anti-diabetic, antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-inflammatory activities.
How to Prepare Pumpkin Seeds
So after you get all those pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin what do you do next? Well if you really wanted to you could eat them raw. There are definitely some nutrients that are preserved in the raw seeds, but I prefer to roast them. Following is a recipe that my family came across a while ago but unfortunately we cannot remember where we found it originally. We have used it and think it makes the pumpkin seeds into a yummy treat.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Wash pumpkin seeds (you don’t let them dry after you wash them)
- Measure out pumpkin seeds by the half cup into a pot
- For every 1/2 cup of seeds, add 2 cups of water and 1 T of salt
- Bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes
- Remove from heat and drain
- Toss with olive oil
- Bake at 400F for 5-20 minutes or until seed begin to brown
- Cool completely before eating
I hope you enjoy this recipe and look forward to each year of having the opportunity to eat some nutritious pumpkin seeds. But you also don’t have to wait. Pumpkin seeds are available at most grocery stores for a healthy snack year round!
