Halloween is such a fun holiday! Spooky decorations, cheesy music, carving pumpkins, dressing up, and of course there is always a TON of candy around. For those of us trying to cut the junk food, Halloween is right up there with Christmas as far as challenging food choices go. Fortunately, there is a super healthy and totally yummy alternative to heading face first into the candy bowl this Friday. When you carve your pumpkin, save the seeds for this easy treat.
Did you know that pumpkin seeds are a super food? They are packed with magnesium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, and some studies even suggest that the nutrients in pumpkin seeds can increase good cholesterol, help with insulin regulation, and work as anti-inflammatory agents in the body. That is pretty amazing for one little seed!
There are lots of great ways to much on these healthy seeds such as sprouting them, soaking them, or even consuming them raw, but my favorite way to eat pumpkin seeds is roasted!
Here is how I usually prepare this super snack:
When you carve your pumpkin, I find it helps to have two bowls for the innards- one for seeds and one for other gunk. The seeds usually separate naturally from the other pumpkin guts, and the two bowl system makes the final cleaning process much quicker.
Rinse your seeds in a bowl and clean the leftover guts from the bowl. If you fill the bowl with water and swirl with your hand, most of the goop will rise to the surface, so you can skim it off and move on! Once your seeds are clean, pop them into a pot of salted hot water and boil for 10 minutes. This takes off the signature slime of the pumpkin seeds and makes them much crispier when roasted.
Dump your seeds out into a strainer and then dry thoroughly. They don't need to be perfectly dry but excess moisture will keep them from roasting properly. They'll stick to the towel, that's normal, so just brush them off into a bowl and you're good to go.
Drizzle a tiiiiiny but if olive oil onto the dry seeds (I used about 2 tsp for 3 pumpkins worth of seeds!) and season however you like. This time I kept it simple with just a pinch of sea salt, but in the past I have used paprika, cumin, chili powder, seasoned salt, garlic powder, or a combination of those spices for some seeds with attitude ;)
Spread your oiled and seasoned seeds onto a cookie sheet. The less the seeds overlap, the better for roasting! Roast in the oven at 350* for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the shells are very light golden brown. The actual seed inside the shell can be burned pretty easily, so keep a close eye on these as they roast. Properly roasted seeds lose their shiny look and have an almost hollow sound as they rub together. Silly, but that's how I tell! I took mine out of the oven about 5 times before I was happy with the color, but it was worth it because they are perfect!
These are totally delicious hot out of the oven, but are also great in lunch boxes for later! I plan on keeping mine in a big bowl next to the candy this Friday to keep me from munching on Milky Ways as I meet trick-or-treaters at the door.
Thanks for checking in for this simple, easy super snack! I hope you all have a happy, safe, and super Halloween!
xo Allison
