Pumpkin Seeds – Don’t Throw Them Away!!!!

Public Service Announcement: Roast the pumpkin seeds! 

These seeds are nutritional powerhouses. They are packed full of magnesium (Mg), potassium, and calcium.  Pumpkin seeds are great for everyone, but particularly for people with diabetes.  Often times, when blood sugar is high, the body is depleted of magnesium.  For those of you without diabetes, if you drink alcohol on a regular basis, you may also be at risk of low Mg as well. Add these seeds to salads, stand alone as part of a meal or snack.

Pumpkin seeds are great for diabetes, heart health, bone health, sleep, and most other “body parts”.  They also make a great post workout snack!

So, get to carving!

Here are my tips for roasting pumpkin seeds:

1. Clean out all the seeds from the pumpkin and put them in a big bowl or pot filled with warm water and let them soak overnight.  The next morning, rinse them using a collander.  By soaking, you will absorb more of the vitamins and nutrients in the seeds.  In a hurry?  You could boil them in water to get the gunk off fast… you choose.

2. Lay them out on parchment paper and make your best attempt at drying them off.  After they have stuck to your paper towel and they don’t feel fully dry….put them on parchment paper on a pan and put them in the oven for about 5 minutes or so at 300 degrees.

3. Pull them out, don’t burn yourself….see if they are a little more dry and a little less sticky.  If so, spray them with avocado oil or olive oil and add your favorite seasoning.  This year I did taco seasoning.  There are sooooooo many options here…..do a google search and see what seasonings sound best to you!

4. Put them back in the oven, after they have been seasoned, and let them roast at 300 degrees for another 20 minutes or so.  Stir them every 10 minutes, you are looking for a slightly tan/brown color (the seasoning will also affect the color).

ENJOY!!!!!