7 Yummy Pumpkin Recipes

Whoohoo, fall is finally here and so are those amazing pumpkin recipes to go along with it! Those delicious pumpkin spice lattes we all crave are just the beginning of this pumpkin fix we get for fall. Pumpkins are a pretty incredible fruit with very little fat or carbs and well over the daily recommended value of vitamin A. Maybe this is part of the reason we use them for everything from breakfast to dessert.

Pumpkin Pancakes

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Let’s get this list of yummy pumpkin recipes started right with some pumpkin pancakes. Pumpkin pancakes are so yummy, they would be as welcome for breakfast as they would be for dessert. Thankfully, these add in a bit of health by using Greek yogurt. Yep, leave it to the author of L.A Candy, Sweet Little Lies, and Sugar and Spice to create a yummy bit healthy sweet treat.

Banana Pumpkin Smoothie

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Don’t let this yummy pumpkin recipe fool you, there is very, very little that is healthy about this smoothie. But, what this Cooking Light smoothie lacks in health, it more than makes up for in taste. If you are in the market for a bit more healthy of a pumpkin smoothie, this Pumps and Iron Smoothie will be right up your alley. Both use chilled, canned pumpkin, but it seems easy enough to swap the canned versions out for the real.

Pumpkin Soup

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Would I really be a good blogger if I left out my own pumpkin recipes? I think not. Besides, this pumpkin soup is quite healthy and incredibly easy to make. It also hold a special place in my heart since it is one of the first recipes on P+K and the only soup completely made from scratch in our house. This pumpkin soup recipe is also vegan friendly and low in fat and carbs.

Pumpkin Ravioli

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Oh goodness, Wolfgang Puck’s pumpkin ravioli is one of my favorite foods ever. His pumpkin ravioli is oh-so-good, but is definitely not healthy. If you, like me, think there is no better combination than pumpkin and pasta, then you might just need to try this recipe on for size. Health.com has done an amazing thing by creating a recipe that is both low in fat and uses pre-made pasta shells. Yes, this is just the right combination of healthy and pre-made.

Pumpkin Lasanga

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Three words, pumpkin as pasta. Boom. I think that pretty well explains the awesomeness of this pumpkin recipe. Becka Walter from Snapguide created this incredible pumpkin lasagna that looks just as amazing as it is guilt free. Her guide is very simple and goes over everything from how to cook and prepare the pumpkin to how you make the most tasty looking pumpkin lasagna ever.

Pumpkin Pie

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Shameless, I know. But, this pumpkin pie would not be on the list of yummy pumpkin recipes unless it was yummy. Promise. If the pumpkin pie looks great but the idea of making mini pies sounds like a fate worse than death, do not despair. This mini pie recipe comes along with a regular pumpkin pie option. The recipe calls for real pumpkin which is way, way easier to get and puree than you may think. I like to make this recipe a bit healthier by using vegan pie crust instead of the usual lard-y kind. This takes out a ton of the fat and carbs but leaves the pie tasting just as good!

Pumpkin Bread

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A list of pumpkin recipes is not complete without pumpkin bread to round everything out.  This pumpkin bread recipe is a gift to all those who love the idea of eating all these yummy foods, but hate that whole bit about cooking it. A few weeks ago the hubs and I were out shopping when he pulled me out of my beloved Banana Republic and into William Sonoma saying that there was something I needed to see and the clothes would be there when I got back. He then had me try a sample of William Sonoma’s pumpkin bread where I immediately agreed with him on both counts. It was so good that we bought a package for ourselves and some family members on the spot.

Yes, this is a bit more pricey than doing it by hand, but I promise, the taste will more than make up for this bit of lazy baking!

3 Great Article by Summer Tomato

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Darya Rose, the author of Foodist and writer at Summer Tomato has been writing some articles lately that simply must be shared. Each time I read one of her posts I think, " This is something that everyone could learn from". Darya's articles are simple, but filled with more knowledge than you can shake a stick at, if you are into that sort of thing. Her writing is witty and her research can be backed up with years of education (a PhD to be exact) and education in the food field. Here are three quick articles that have made me re-think the relationship that I have with food or given more knowledge to help make better healthstyle choices.

The Heartbreaking Story of the Joyless Splurge

If you are diet addicted or have ever dieted in your life, this article is one that should not be over-looked. In this article, Darya talks about her struggles with diets, food restrictions, and what broke her out of that downward spiral. I whole heartily agree with Darya that there is no room or need for a diet in a healthy lifestyle. This post is open and frank about how Darya changed her health and, hopefully, will help everyone who reads it see how they can change theirs.

Experience Stretching

Experience Stretching is one of Darya's most recent articles and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. This article is not quite as raw or deep as The Heartbreaking Story but it is fun and gives all those fast food addicts hope. We all live super busy lives and I know, first hand, how attractive that take-out and fast food can look. Too bad most of it has the nutritional content of the bag it came in. If you have ever felt like the hardest part of being healthy is the food prep and time that goes along with it, this article will give you hope that eating healthy is just a learning curve that we all must move along.

Food Labels

Yes, I will take the advice of a neuroscientist when it comes to deciphering the healthy from unhealthy on every food label. Considering that it, pretty much, takes a Doctor to understand those chemical names that seem to use every letter in the alphabet twice, it is not so bad to have a doctor here to help read between the fine lines. If you are one of those who enjoys the facts without much fluff, go ahead and skim down to the second half of the article. This is where Darya puts all of her scientific sleuthing to work and helps us know how to read those ridiculous food labels that promise health and riches beyond our wildest dreams.

How to Make Healthy Ramen Burgers

The Ramen Burger, created by NY based Keizo Shimamoto, has become a food truck foodie's dream. This new form of burger takes away that boring ol' bun and replaces it with a yummy ramen cake instead. With ramen noddles rising in popularity and burgers being an American standar, it is no wonder that this little morsel has become as popular as the cronut. And, it is also no surprise that, in it's original state, the ramen burger is not a super healthy treat. The average serving of ramen noodles are high in calories and salt, add in the meat and condiments and we have a bonafide guilty pleasure.

Thankfully, there are a few healthy[er] options for making ramen burgers at home. The first is quite simple and is what most have already figured... Instead of using a beef patty that is high in artery clogging fats, opt for a low-fat turkey patty instead. By doing this quick switch, you will be reducing the calorie content by over 100 calories and the fat content by about 13 grams! Now that we are on a role, let's reduce that unneeded sodium found in most ramen noodles by using the Hakubaku Organic Ramen Noodles instead. This will lower the sodium and carbohydrate content while increase the amount of protein found in each serving.

These simple changes will bring down the calorie content, fat content, and sodium content of this popular guilty pleasure, but we can take it a step farther with the condiments we choose. Condiments are one of the easiest ways to take a healthy meal and bring it to the unhealthy zone. If you wish to keep those burgers on the side of healthy, opt out of the teriyaki sauces, ketchups, aioli's, and barbecue sauces and go for the yellow or spicy mustards instead. This simple swap will save as much as 100 calories and 35 grams carbohydrates. Now that is what I call a healthy ramen burger!

The Benefits of Cinnamon

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In ancient times cinnamon was considered a high commodity gifted to nobility and extremely expensive. At one point, cinnamon was actually priced higher than gold. That being said, it is no wonder that cinnamon does more than taste good. Cinnamon has multiple benefits and very few disadvantages or dangers in taking. Although most people today use cinnamon for flavoring food, the effects of it go far beyond a tasty spice. 

The cinnamon spice is harvested from the inner bark of a certain species of evergreen trees. Cinnamon sticks are mainly harvested in Asia through removing the bark from the slim evergreen branches and keeping it out to dry where the sticks curl up to become what we commonly see as cinnamon sticks, or quills. These quills are then cut and packaged accordingly. The type of cinnamon that we commonly see as cinnamon sticks is the Ceylon cinnamon, this type is much more expensive than its powder counterpart, the Cassia cinnamon.  

Both forms of cinnamon are rich in antioxidants along with coumarin, an anti-coagulant for blood. Cinnamon has also been found to help lower cholesterol, improve insulin response for those with type II diabetes, treat yeast infections, be an anti-inflammatory, improve proper heart function, and fight against harmful bacteria such as H. pylori, an ulcer forming bacteria. Cinnamon can also reduce allergies with the same potency of some OTC drugs. All of these benefits are partially due to the antioxidants found in cinnamon and partially due to cinnamon oil's natural cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate, and cinnamyl alcohol components.

New studies are also showing cinnamon to help with arthritis pain since it is an anti-inflammatory. This anti-inflammatory effect has lead to further research using cinnamon to fight Parkinson's disease, meningitis, and brain tumors. The ability for cinnamon to help with brain function, specifically Alzheimer’s is currently under research as well, although it has been shown to increase proper brain function after being ingested. According to research done at The University of Texas, cinnamon also has anti-cancer properties, stating that it reduces the cancer cell's ability to proliferate.

Along with all of the positive possibilities cinnamon holds, there are a few negatives. High doses of cinnamon can damage the liver and burn the esophagus and lungs. This is most commonly seen during the cinnamon challenge. Cinnamon is extremely dense and absorbs moisture extremely fast. Most worst case scenarios of inhaling cinnamon include collapsed lungs. Although I have never personally wanted to complete the cinnamon challenge (what, vomiting cinnamon does not sound like fun?) I am way more deterred since it can cause damage to my lungs, or even, create a permanent cough. For healthier ways to get your daily dose, try mixing 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon into hot water, tea, or coffee.

Here are a few more interesting articles and fun reads on cinnamon and it's benefits:  

Cinnamon is One of the World's Healthiest Foods 

Livestrong article on cinnamon and arthritis 

WebMD overview of cinnamon