Pumpkin Seeds; a Nutrition Powerhouse

Now that Halloween is behind us, you may be wondering what to do with the all pumpkins you bought.  Rather than tossing them out, I suggest you carve the pumpkins and save the seeds.  Pumpkin seeds are a nutrition powerhouse.  Packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, and monounsaturated fats, pumpkin seeds are among the list of the top superfoods.   They are extremely versatile and offer a variety of health benefits.  Incorporating pumpkin seeds in to your daily diet is sure to make you healthier.  But be careful, don’t get overzealous, a 1/4 cup has about 180 calories.  You should be mindful of your portion size.  Here are a few of the many health benefits that pumpkins seeds have to offer.

• Fight osteoporosis with high levels of Zinc.
• Lower LDL (bad) Cholesterol and reduce the risk of certain cancers with high concentrations of phytosterols.
• Relieve anxiety with abundance of tryptophan.
• Ease arthritis with anti-inflammatory properties.
• Promote good prostate health with carotenoids found in the seed.

You now have a few good reasons to keep your pumpkins seeds around,  but you may not know what to do with them.  The most popular way to eat pumpkin seeds is to roast them.  Roasting them makes them easier to digest and can lend to more flavor when spices are added.  However the seeds to loose some of their valuable nutrients when heated.  Pumpkin seeds are most nutritious when eaten raw.  Eating the seeds raw is your best bet for a wholesome snack.   Here are a few simple ways  incorporate this heart-healthy seed into your daily mix.

• Eat them plain with a little bit of sea salt.
• Add them to whole grain cereal.
• Bake them into breads, muffins and cookies .
• For an extra crunch, sprinkle them on salad
• Stir them into plain low-fat  Greek yogurt.
• Get creative and use them as a topping on ice cream.