Have you heard that a pumpkin a day keeps the goblins away? While we don’t REALLY know if this is true, it’s another great reason to add this gourd to your plate!

Pumpkins may be a festive fall decoration, but they also provide our bodies with some wonderful benefits and taste delicious! Categorized as a vegetable on MyPlate, pumpkins are loaded with vitamins and minerals to help keep us healthy. Rich in Vitamin A, K, E, and copper pumpkins support eye, blood and bone health, protection of cells, as well as, maintaining our nervous and immune systems. Beyond this, pumpkins are a good source of Vitamin C, iron, and folate, all of which strengthen the body to stay healthy.

Pumpkins grow best in California and thrive in the fall when the dirt is cooler, along with their fellow fall friends: sweet potatoes, winter squash and kale. Although they come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes it’s best to choose the small ‘pie pumpkin’, a smaller, sweeter variety when making a homemade puree. When picking fresh pumpkins, look for ones that are bright orange, firm and heavy for their size. Just make sure not to drop it, because then we’d have to consider it a SQUASH!

This versatile gourd can be used in so many delicious ways, both savory and sweet. Use it to make soups, chili, desserts, breads and so much more. You can even roast the seeds and save them for an easy on-the-go snack. Fun fact: the largest pumpkin pie ever made used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin to make a pie that was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. Now that’s what we call a pie to give THANKS for!

Whether you choose canned or homemade pumpkin puree, have a GOURD time adding this exquisite veggie to your fall dishes!