Pumpkin Seeds: Nutrition with Crunch!

Happy Halloween to all you trick-or-treaters out there!

If you’re responsible for handing out goodies to the ghosts, monsters, pirates, and princesses who come to your door, I’ve got the perfect trick for you so you don’t dip into the treats yourself: snack on pumpkin seeds instead!

Halloween is the perfect time to scoop these big, slimy seeds from the heart of a jack-o-lantern. But they’re a tasty snack any time of year. And you can use them to dodge some common health threats, too, like:

Say “BOO” to B.O. Pumpkin seeds provide a good, concentrated supply of the mineral zinc, a deficiency of which can lead to body odor.

Don’t be a zombie. Make pumpkin seeds part of your mid-day snack — their protein will keep you energized.

Cramps haunting you? Pumpkin seeds are loaded with fatty acids that lower levels of body chemicals responsible for muscle aches and menstrual cramps.

Dr. Frankenstein should have known about this…The minerals in pumpkin seeds, especially zinc, will help your body heal when you have a cut or other injury and especially after surgery.

Here’s the easy how-to for tasty pumpkin seeds that’ll make you forget all about that fun-size Snickers bar:

STEP 1. Rinse the seeds and separate them from the stringy flesh.

STEP 2. Add the seeds to a big pot of saltwater (2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt for every ½-cup of pumpkin seeds). Boil for 10 minutes.

STEP 3. Remove from heat and drain.

STEP 4. Spread the seeds in one layer on a baking sheet, and brush them with olive oil.

STEP 5. If you want a little extra flavor, season the seeds with your choice of flavors: garlic salt, cayenne pepper, Cajun spices, or whatever you like.

STEP 6. Preheat your oven to 350°F and bake the seeds for 45 minutes or so. Shake the pan every 10 minutes to keep them from burning.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween—Get Ready for a Sugar Rush!

Between the trick-or-treating, the scary costumes, the jack-o-lanterns, and the mountains of candy, your little monsters, super heroes, and princesses have been looking forward to tonight for months. And at the end of the day, when they dump their haul and start ripping open candy wrappers, you wonder if you’re ready for the sugar rush — and the morning-after miseries.

A recent study showed that trick-or-treaters bring home an average of 4,800 calories and 3 cups of sugar. And that’s just an average, folks! Kids who view Halloween as a competition to see who can bag the most loot can get that calorie count well over 10,000. So carve out a plan with your children before they go trick-or-treating. Decide how much candy they will keep for themselves, and how much they will give up. Then stick to the plan. As for what to do with the leftovers, here are some options:

Treat the troops. Operation Shoebox is a non-profit organization that sends care packages to troops overseas. Mail individually wrapped treats to: Operation Shoebox, 8360 East Highway 25, Belleview, FL  34420.

Swap with a dentist. Many offer Halloween candy buy-back programs. At $1 per pound of candy traded in, your child may end up a few bucks richer!

Supply a study break. College students live stressful lives. So let them relive their childhoods with a box of Halloween goodies.

Now for that “too-much-sugar” tummy ache. Here’s what to do if your little one has overindulged:

• Bring on the bland to help settle her stomach. Put easy-to-digest applesauce, a little plain rice, dry toast, or even a mild cooked vegetable on the day’s menu.
• Sometimes all it takes to settle a troubled tummy is the right scent. Have your “patient” scratch the peel of an uncut lemon and take a few whiffs, or open a bottle of peppermint oil and let him take a sniff. The odors will travel to his brain and help settle the topsy-turvy tummy turmoil.
• It may be tempting for your tot to curl up on the couch, but a walk around the block may be all she needs to let a little gravity give some relief to her grief.