At this time of year you’ll see pumpkins everywhere you look; all shapes and sizes.   They work in soups, stews, pies, smoothies and of course jack-o-lanterns.  But most people will throw away the seeds.  Instead of doing that think about roasting them for a nutritious snack.  You can buy them already roasted and that’s fine but why not roast up a big batch yourself without spending any extra money?

One quarter cup of pumpkin seeds provides 46 percent of the daily recommended value for magnesium, 29 percent of iron, 52 percent of manganese and 24 percent of copper. Pumpkin seeds also are a good source of zinc, with 17 percent of the daily recommended value.

One quarter cup of roasted pumpkin seeds contains 169 calories and 4.34 g of carbohydrates. They serve as a good, vegetarian source of protein with 8.8 g, or about 16 percent of a day’s worth. Fiber in pumpkin seeds comes in at almost 2 g per 1/4-cup serving.

To roast simply rinse in cool water pulling off the pulp and string.  Lay in a single layer on a non stick baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast at 325 for 20- 30 minutes checking and stirring the seeds at 10 minute intervals.  Some people like to coat the seeds with oil.  If you choose to do this use it very sparingly so as not to make the seeds too greasy.

Sprinkle the seeds on soup, over stews or vegetable side dishes, or eat them straight up as a snack.  Store in an airtight container.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 at 1:01 am and is filed under Budget & Finance, Menu suggestions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.