Well it’s September and that means only 3 months until Christmas! Officially only about 2 until the shopping begins. With the fall air and increasingly darker days comes the dawn of another wonder of the holidays, pumpkin. Many believe pumpkin to be a big part of the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays, but really this fantastic food is a wondrous thing to add to any meal.
Pumpkins are not only a fun food to carve, but they lend many health benefits including:
- Pumpkins Keep Eyesight Sharp
- Pumpkins Aid Weight Loss
- Pumpkin Seeds Can Help Your Heart
- Pumpkins May Reduce Cancer Risk
- Pumpkins Protect The Skin
- Pumpkin Seeds Can Boost Your Mood
- Pumpkins Can Help After A Hard Workout
- Pumpkins Can Boost Your Immune System
Information courtesy of The Huffington Post
10 Fun Facts about Pumpkin!
- The word “pumpkin” showed up for the first time in the fairy tale Cinderella.
- The original jack-o’-lanterns were made with turnips and potatoes by the Irish.
- Over 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin are produced each year in the United States.
- The world’s largest pumpkin was more than five feet in diameter and weighed over 1,800 pounds.
- The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds.
- Each pumpkin has about 500 seeds.
- Delaware hosts an annual “Punkin Chunkin” championship.
- There are over 45 different varieties of pumpkin.
- Pumpkins are fruits.
- Pumpkins are 90% water.
Information courtesy of Good Housekeeping
If you continue to search the web there are countless articles like the one above proclaiming this wondrous food as one that should be eaten all year. While I like my pumpkin particularly in a spice latte, I can’t help but dream of bigger and more delicious delicacies as the fall continues.
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