LIVINGLIVING MAKING CARBS COUNT
Picking, carving… and, most importantly,
eating! Boiled, baked, steamed and roasted,
discover the goodness of nutritious and
sweet-tasting pumpkin this season
PICK UP A PUMPKIN
Following the trend from the
United States, pumpkins
have risen in popularity
here in the UK - with
picking patches popping
up in most areas - perfect for a muddy
autumn afternoon activity and, later,
carving your Halloween masterpieces.
But, even better, the nutritious and tasty
flesh provides a multitude of goodness
and lends itself easily to many savoury
and sweet seasonal dishes from soups
and curries to custards and pies.
Pumpkin typically refers to Cucurbita
pepo, the orange type of winter squash
we are so familiar with for Halloween.
Packed with vitamins and minerals, and
being around 90% water, pumpkin is fairly
low in calories yet particularly high betacarotene
that your body processes into
vitamin A, which strengthens your immune
system and can help fight infections -
perfect for this time of year. What's more,
it's on the lower end of the carb scale
compared with other winter squash -
almost half the carbs of butternut squash.
A few facts
Pumpkin is native to North America but
now grows around the world - pretty
much anywhere apart from Antarctica.
Pumpkins take up to five months to
grow. In the UK, pumpkins are harvested
between October and December. These
days UK farmers produce more and more
each year. Europe's largest pumpkin