Pumpkin Fever

Despite hating the fall, I love pumpkins! I love pumpkin-flavored everything from coffee to beer to baked goods and more! There is something magical about that big orange squash. Here are some favorites:

Pumpkin Beverages

Coffee: I prefer my regular coffee unsweetened, so when it comes to commercial pumpkin coffee I really like Honey Dew Donuts Pumpkin Spice, it is not sweet, just a mix of spices to evoke that pumpkin pie deliciousness. Dunkin Donuts, on the other hand, only has sweetened pumpkin syrup.

Latte: I generally do the latte as a dessert item and as such do not mind it sweet. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is very sweet, so I always ask (with all their syrups actually) for half the syrup to cut down on the sugar.

Beer: Like coffee it is more about the spices than the pumpkin with the pumpkin ales. I can be adventurous with beer if I am just having one (which is about all I ever have now in a bar). Shipyard makes a tasty pumpkin ale that you can get locally!

Pumpkin Baked Goods

Pie: Pumpkin pie is one of the healthier pies out there for a couple of reasons. One it is a bottom crust only pie. Crust is the worst part of most pies and if you can skip half the crust you are cutting out a lot of fat and calories. Secondly, the main ingredient: pumpkin puree is full of nutrition. Make sure you buy real pumpkin and not artificially flavored and sweetened or bake your own pumpkin and scrape it. And finally, you can doctor some of the recipe to cut fat and calories, low fat condensed milk works just as well and results in an equally creamy pie and egg beaters can replace real eggs if cholesterol is a concern. It is still pie though, so eat a slice and not the whole thing...

Pumpkin Bread: I like mine loaded with raisins and walnuts, which in combination with the pure pumpkin ratchets up the nutritional value. Again, egg beaters can replace real eggs with little change in consistency. Portion control is key, but don't avoid this tasty fall treat altogether.

Pumpkin Cheesecake: Love it, shouldn't eat it. Have never found a satisfactory low fat cheesecake recipe, it is, after all, cake made out of cheese. Try to limit to once a year.

Misc.

Pumpkin Soup: Most pumpkin based soups are creamy, try to cut the cream with some chicken or veggie stock.

Roasted Pumpkin: It is a squash, cut it up and roast with a little brown sugar or maple syrup.

Pumpkin Seeds: My favorite part of Halloween as a kid (aside from the candy of course). After carving the top of the pumpkin for a jack-o-lantern I would scoop all the slimy innards into a colander, the earthy smell of pumpkin everywhere. I would rinse the seeds and spread them on a cookie sheet, toss with kosher salt and roast until golden. Now nutritionists recommend pumpkin seeds as a healthy snack and source of many minerals.

Pumpkins are also the source of one of the greatest cartoons of all time, don't miss It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown this Thursday on ABC.