It's pumpkin carving season! I personally love roasting the seeds and having them in a bowl on my counter as a snack. This year I did a little research to find that pumpkin seeds have some great health benefits! Here are a few listed as well as a new take on the standard roasted seeds. Enjoy!
- Nuts and seeds are an excellent source of plant based Omega 3's. We all know the importance of incorporating Omega's into your diet (if not, check out this link) and having a plant base option is great, not necessarily as a replacement but as an added source.
- Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of Zinc. Zinc is an important mineral to include in your diet as it has positive effects on mood, sleep, eye and skin health, insulin regulation and many other benefits as well.
- Just one-quarter cup of pumpkin seeds contains your daily recommend amount of magnesium. Magnesium is another great mineral as it aids in the development of ATP (the energy molecule), proper bone maintenance, helps promote the relaxation of your blood vessels therefore helping with blood pressure management and proper bowel function.
Check out the receipe as another added way to get some healthy seeds incorporated into your diet.
Ingredients:
- Seeds from one pumpkin
- Dark chocolate (or vegan option) of choice. Depending how big you pumpkin will determine how much chocolate you will need, I had a small pumpkin so used about 3oz of good quality dark chocolate.
- Drizzle of grape seed oil
- Himalayan Salt or sea salt, whichever is your preference.
- Parchment paper
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a small to medium bowl toss your washed and dried pumpkin seeds with a drizzle of grape seed oil (just enough to coat) and 2-3 general pinches of salt. I like these to be on the saltier side to really counter the sweetness of the chocolate. Roast for about 20 minutes, keeping an eye on them to ensure they don't burn. When done they should be slightly golden and crunchy, remove from oven and let cool slightly. Meanwhile in a double broiler or microwave melt your chocolate. Pour melted chocolate onto parchment paper and smooth our to make a thin layer of chocolate. Immediately add your cooled, roasted pumpkin seeds over top of the melted chocolate and place into fridge to completely cool. Once cooled, remove and snap apart to create 'bark'.
This is great to have on hand to enjoy with coffee as a yummy treat that has no added extra's, perservatives and fillers that we all should be avoiding. Enjoy!
