Want a treat for Halloween that won’t trick your healthy eating plan? Roast some pumpkin seeds. This recipe and nutrition information is courtesy of Diabetes Action. I will be running Marine Corps Marathon Sunday October 26 2008 for Team Diabetes Action, which is raising funds for research to cure type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
This crunchy snack is so easy and delicious there’s no need to only make them at Halloween! Pumpkin seeds are a great source of magnesium, iron, zinc, essential fatty acids, and protein. They are also low in carbohydrate.
- 2 cups whole raw pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon melted butter or oil
- salt to taste
Scrape seeds from the inside of a pumpkin. Rinse the pumpkin pulp off as well as you can and pat dry.
Preheat oven to 150 degrees F (75 degrees C). Roasting on this lower heat helps to maintain more of the healthy essential fatty acids.
Combine all ingredients in bowl; stir to coat all the seeds. Spread the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake until seeds are golden brown (about 20 minutes), stirring occasionally.
Adjust seasonings to suit your taste. Experiment: try adding a bit of brown sugar for sweet and salty seeds or paprika and celery salt for a spicy batch.
Makes 4 servings
Per 1/4 cup serving:
- 186 calories
- 6 g carbohydrate 1
- .5 g fiber
- 15 g fat
- 8 g protein
Visit the website to print the recipe or look up other healthy menu ideas. Hey, you can even visit my fundraising page and donate to my cause.
Filed under: eating healthy, food, nutrition | Tagged: pumpkin seeds
An good alternative coating is tamari – just a few sprinkles are needed. This works well on sunflower seeds as well – super delicious and savoury tasting.
Interesting idea… I guess you could do cumin and even chili powder to do a spicy version. endless possibilities