Friday, January 18, 2008

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown


If you're a child of the 1980s like me, you must remember Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin on Halloween and missing all the fun of the holiday. Perhaps, Linus knew something back then that we didn't. That pumpkin is a great big superfood.

From Superfoods Rx, "Pumpkin is extremely high in fiber and low in calories, pumpkin packs an abundance of disease-fighting nutrients, including potassium, pantothenic acid, magnesium, and vitamins C and E."

And guess what? It's mighty tasty, too. I'm a big pumpkin pie fan, but I'm always willing to mix things up. Today I went to Whole Foods (insert angels singing) and purchased four cans of pumpkin puree. I'm on a mission this weekend to expand my pumpkin palate.

You may have seen somewhere on the internet that pumpkin puree can replace eggs, milk and oil when using a brownie mix. I decided to try it so I bought the Whole Foods Organic Brownie Mix. Let me just tell you that it was divine. Totally scrumptious. I cooked it for 40 minutes, then immediately put it in the fridge to cool and turn into gooey, fudgy goodness. The best part? I only ate two small pieces. I was totally full. The fiber in the pumpkin did it's job and helped me to get my chocolate fix while controlling my appetite today.

Quick update: the pan of brownies in my fridge is disappearing fast. One thing I wanted to add was the mix from Whole Foods had chocolate chips in it. So everytime I warm up a small piece in the microwave, it melts. The lucious chocolate mixes with the pumpkin even more. It is reminding me more and more of a warm molten chocolate cake rather than a brownie. Serve this dessert warm with a spoonful of Cool Whip Lite and some fresh berries. This is a winner, folks.

I can't wait to hear what you think about it. Try it, you won't regret it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Karen - thank you for the kind comments over at my blog. It's great to have response just starting out!

I also love pureed pumpkin. My favourite use is one of my breakfast staples:
1/3c old-fashioned rolled oats, 1/3c pumpkin, splash skim or soy milk, pumpkin pie spice, and brown or demera sugar to taste (I use about 1tsp for this amount) cooked over medium heat until creamy.

I often make a big batch on Sunday with a whole can of pumpkin and eat it cold as a custard throughout the week. I love your idea of using it in brownies, too.

Cakespy said...

That is so cool! I never knew you could do that with pumpkin, but want to try it myself now!

cheryl said...

What a great blog! I look forward to reading often :)
Cheryl
(cherylopal)

Anonymous said...

This sounds fabulous. There's a great recipe for brownies with sweet potatoes in them, from Ellen Abraham in her book Simple Treats. I make them all the time and often give them away so I don't eat the whole thing!