Happy Halloween party people!
Halloween isn’t really a big thing over here, no one really celebrates it, although it is getting better year by year. So it’s actually pretty dang exciting to find a organic carving pumpkin at the local health food shop – I had never even seen one in real life before until earlier this week!
Me and Ash celebrate halloween by watching a bunch of not-scary scary movies, like the Scream trilogy (one of my faves). I can’t watch actually scary movies, like all the recent paranormal-saw-weird crap that I can’t believe anyone actually enjoys. I spend the whole movie covering my eyes, and then I can’t go to the bathroom by myself for a week after. It’s just not worth it the stress. Stress is not good for your health!
Check out my amazing pumpkin carving skills – I AM SO PROUD! I’ve never done it before & did this freehand (no stencil!). Ash chose the batman theme, obviously.
One of my favourite parts was sticking my hands in there and pulling out all the seeds. A bit gross and weird, but lots of fun. I knew not to throw the seeds out but had yet to figure out what to do with them. I use pepitas all the time but never even thought to use pumpkin seeds, I had always just composted them. Maybe you do the same?
Here’s why we should be using them:
Food waste really sucks. It actually is one of the topics I get really hot over, especially when we are paying so much for organic food! I wish there was a “nose-to-tail” type movement for fruits & veggies. A few tips of the top of my head (I see a blog post on this in my future): Don’t peel organic fruits & veggies, its some of the most nutrient-dense part + it will save you time. Don’t throw away those broccoli stalks, add them to smoothies or grate into a salad or wrap. You guys got any others?
Pumpkin seeds are crazy good for you! They are high in magnesium, zinc, omega-3 fats and have anti-inflammatory benefits. Eating the pumpkin seeds will the shell still on has higher zinc levels than hulled pepitas (like those at the health food store), not because of the shell itself but because of the thin layer directly beneath the shell which is lost in the hulling process.
So, let’s start buying whole pumpkins (and skip the plastic cling wrap pieces of pumpkin are normally packaged in), and use up those amazing seeds as well!
There are so many ways you can flavour these, here are just a few ideas:
- with garlic and onion powder
- just a sprinkle of salt
- some nutritional yeast + salt
- herbamare
- all purpose seasoning
- cumin + paprika
or even something a little sweet, like I’m sharing with you today!
These are beautifully crunch and kind of addictive. You’ve been warned 
. They have a slight popcorn taste, so eat these up while watching not-scary scary movies and you’ve got the perfect combo!
- 1½ pumpkin seeds
- 1 – 2 tsp coocnut oil
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
- ¾ tsp pumpkin pie spice blend OR ½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp nutmeg
- Wash seeds thoroughly to remove all the pumpkin innards.
- Place seeds in a bowl with a sprinkling of salt and fill with water. Let that soak for 4-12 hours (whatever you’ve got). If you don’t have time for this, bring seeds to a boil in salted water and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C.
- Wash seeds thoroughly again and pat dry with a tea towel. In a clean bowl combine the pumpkin seeds with coconut oil, coconut sugar and spices.
- Pour them onto a glass baking tray or regular baking tray with parchment paper and spread in to a single layer.
- Bake for 25 minutes – keep an eye on them at the 20 minute mark. Remove from the oven and let them cool for a minute. Taste test and see if they need to bake a bit longer. They should be nice and crunchy – not at all chewy. If they aren’t even close to being done pop them in for another 10 minutes and check again. If they are close but not quite there add them for another 10 minutes. They may not look done on the outside but be very done on the inside so you need to do a taste test. Mine took a bit longer than I expected and were very cooked on the outside by the time they were nice and crunchy.