When the fall season arrives, you know it is time to get out the pumpkin recipes. While you might be thinking about roasting pumpkin seeds and making the standard pumpkin soup, there are so many other recipes you can try! Here are many different ways to use pumpkin in your healthy meals during the fall.
Breakfast
The first category of meals that use pumpkin is breakfast. You might not think about pumpkin as being a breakfast food, but it definitely can be. Just about any baked dish you would make for breakfast can use pumpkin. Pumpkin has the perfect texture for baked goods and breads, and is low-fat so you are making these items a little healthier as well. For example, you can make some pumpkin spice scones, pumpkin pancakes, or pumpkin waffles during the fall season. Pumpkin muffins, bread, and various other breakfast baked goods are also possible. Also don’t forget about using pumpkin to make a healthy smoothie in the morning or making a bowl of pumpkin spice oatmeal.
Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin can also be used as a bread course for other meals, such as dinner when you want to have rolls. These are perfect for making rolls that are tasty, seasonal, but lower in fat and calories. You can find different recipes for pumpkin dinner rolls, from basic low-fat versions to pumpkin spice rolls or even pumpkin cream cheese rolls to have a little more of a treat with your dinner. You can even make them look like little pumpkins and serve them with your holiday meal.
Soup and Chili
Fall is the perfect holiday to make delicious soup and chili, which pumpkin also works great with. You can make a traditional pumpkin soup or combine pumpkin and butternut squash into your creamy soup. Another nice recipe is a chili made with pumpkin, ground beef, and black beans, along with other veggies like onions, bell peppers, and celery. This is a hearty chili that is filling, but also nutritious.
Desserts
Pumpkin is also ideal for making desserts. It is low in fat but has a creamy texture that lets you replace more fattening ingredients in desserts, such as butter, oil, and eggs. With pumpkin, you can make ice cream, frozen yogurt, pudding, cookies, muffins, and many other dessert items. Try making a pumpkin spice muffin with a cream cheese frosting or making a batch of pumpkin cookies to serve at a holiday party.
