Not just for Halloween, pumpkins are a delicious way to add much-needed nutrients into your diet. Eating pumpkins may benefit your eyesight, help you lose weight, improve heart health, boost your immune system, protect your skin, and even lower the risk of some cancers.

Did you know..

Pumpkins are rich in zinc, vitamin C, vitamin A, lutein, and zeaxanthin, making them a treat for your vision and overall health. Pumpkins themselves contain high amounts of antioxidants, fibre, and Vitamin A, which are crucial for your health.

To gain these health benefits, you can cook with fresh pumpkin, the pumpkin seeds, or the magic pumpkin oil. Beta-carotene is responsible for the bright orange colour of pumpkins, that is converted into vitamin A by the body. Beta-carotene and vitamin A are essential for sustaining good eyesight. Vitamin A is also part of a compound called rhodopsin which is crucial for the eyes being sensitive to light and dark. Additionally, vitamin A supports the health of the cornea and the retina. Also, beta-carotene and other nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and omega-3 fatty acids can help prevent age-related eye diseases such as macular degeneration.

Even just a half cup of pumpkin has 14,000 IU of vitamin A, which is 280% of the daily recommended value. If you’re a fan of infused oils, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried pumpkin seed oil. Even if you rely on extra-virgin olive and dabble with hazelnut, walnut, and sesame oils, it is unlikely that your larder contains Styrian pumpkinseed oil. According to The Guardian, with its 200-year pedigree, it’s one of Europe’s little-known food treasures, still made by endearingly traditional methods.

An oil with a stunning flavour, full of health-promoting nutrients, pumpkin seed oil is also beautiful stuff to look at. In the bottle it looks black. Against the background of a white plate the first droplets look deep red, but as the oil spreads more thinly, it displays a bright limey-green hue at the edges. The flavour is deeply nutty with an engaging whole foodie quality to it, like eating ultra-fresh, lightly toasted pumpkin seeds. Dubbed locally “the black-gold of the green region”, the latter being Styria, the oil comes from Cucurbita pepo, also known as “the naked-seed pumpkin”, a variety unique to central and eastern Europe. It differs from other pumpkins in that it is grown not for flesh but for seeds. These have only a thin edible membrane, so they are entirely edible. First, they are dried, very lightly roasted, then cold-pressed. It takes about five pumpkins to yield one litre of oil. The health profile of pumpkin seed oil is impressive. Not only does it have a high content of unsaturated fats, but it is also rich in vitamin E and useful but sometimes elusive minerals such as selenium (both thought to be protective against heart disease and some cancers). It’s loaded, too, with zinc, which, in combination with vitamin E, helps fertility.

In Austria, pumpkin seed oil is also used medicinally to boost the immune system and treat enlarged prostrate. Pumpkin seeds have been shown to relieve bladder and urinary problems, too. Austrians use it as a salad dressing and like to partner it with apfel (cider) vinegar and as an alternative to sesame oil, teaming it up with Asian ingredients such as glass noodles and soy. Pumpkin seed oil will burn if heated and lose its beneficial nutritional properties, so it’s used cold and stored in the fridge. Its big, rounded personality means that you use it sparingly. It has an affinity with peppery greens (watercress, rocket, mustard greens), baby spinach, and bitter leaves such as endive. Both balsamic and cider vinegar are natural partners, but it can stand up to broad-shouldered sherry vinegar, too.

Complimentary add-ins might include crumbled feta or Roquefort, toasted pumpkin seeds or pine kernels, and freshly cracked nuts or something sweet, such as pears or beetroot. The oil is best used raw, however, as the nutritional value is lost through heating and cooking. Raw cold-pressed oil is a healthy addition to salad dressings or for dipping bread. Here’s a recipe we love that can be used in pastas and for dipping bread.

Try our pesto recipe which you could serve with noodles or pasta or as a dip. Coriander (or basil for pasta) and pumpkin seed pesto Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • 50g pumpkin seeds
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 80g coriander leaves
  • ½ tsp crushed chilli flakes
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 125ml mix of pumpkin seed oil and cider vinegar (or olive oil)

Toast the pumpkin seeds in a small frying pan, shaking often, for 2 – 3 minutes until the seeds turn golden and start to sputter and pop, then tip onto a plate and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Place the pumpkin seeds in a small food processor with the garlic and whizz until finely chopped. Add the coriander and chilli and whizz again, then finally add the lime juice and oil and whizz until smooth.
Season to taste.

Source:

The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2000/nov/11/weekend.joannablythman
The Insider Guides https://www.insider.com/guides/health/diet-nutrition/pumpkin-benefits