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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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Did you know that pumpkin - either canned or fresh - is a healthful, filling food? And adding it to recipes, or 
substituting other ingredients with pumpkin, is a great way to boost the nutrition of the foods you eat without adding a lot of calories.
A half-cup of canned pumpkin has just 40 calories but is loaded with more than 3 grams of fiber and very little fat. It also offers more than three times the vitamin A you need in a day in the form of beta carotene -- more than you would get from most supplements. And it is also a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, iron and manganese.
Fresh pumpkin that's been cubed, boiled and mashed has fewer calories (about 25 per half-cup), but also less fiber (about 1-2 grams per half-cup) and somewhat less of other nutrients, but it is still a healthful, if less convenient, choice. When opting for fresh pumpkin, choose smaller "sugar" or "pie" pumpkins instead of the larger jack-o-lanterns for best results. You can also cook pumpkin, as you would any squash, by baking, microwaving or steaming it. Just rinse the outside well, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and cook as desired until the flesh is soft.
If you decide canned pumpkin is a better option for you, choose a salt-free version; canned pumpkin with salt contains almost 300 milligrams of sodium in a half-cup. And don't make the mistake of buying pumpkin pie filling, which has almost three times the calories, instead of canned pumpkin (sometimes called pureed pumpkin).
Ideas for using canned pumpkin are incredibly varied. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers more than a dozen recipes using pumpkin on its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Web site, http://snap.nal.usda.gov/ (click on Recipes, then search for recipes containing "pumpkin").
Or, if you are an adventurous cook, try experimenting with your own recipes:
Add canned or mashed cooked pumpkin to cookies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes. Experiment with the amount -- pumpkin is moist, but too much can make products like these heavier than you're accustomed to.
The next time you make a pot of chili, include a can of pumpkin. It helps thicken up the chili and gives it some stomach-filling substance with very few calories. The pumpkin flavor blends in with chili spices.
Add pumpkin to soup (it's especially good with bean soup), or make a creamy pumpkin soup with canned or fresh pureed pumpkin, broth, onion, and milk, and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper.
This article originally appeared in Chow Line (10/11/09) a service of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and was adapted for use on NetWellness with permission, 2009.
Last Reviewed: Oct 23, 2009
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Julie Kennel Shertzer, PhD, RD, LD, CSSD Program Director OSU Extension Department of Human Nutrition College of Education and Human Ecology The Ohio State University |
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Please note: only your personal physician or other health professional you consult can best advise you on matters of your health based on your medical history, your family medical history, your medication history, and how information from any of these databases may apply to you. Neither University of Cincinnati (NetWellness) nor any party involved in creating, producing or delivering this web site shall be liable for any damages arising out of access to or use of this web site, or any errors or omissions in the content thereof. (More) 
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