Healthy diet pumpkin not just for Halloween

The pumpkin - a very healthy all-rounder
Although there are still a few weeks until Halloween, but the first preparations are already running. What is never to be missed at this festival is pumpkin: usually as a scary face or as a lantern holder. The pulp that remains after being hollowed out is perfect for a delicious soup.

Pumpkin is a true all-rounder
In autumn this country is pumpkin season. There are around 850 different pumpkin varieties worldwide, including popular zucchini. Pumpkin is the super veggie par excellence: The all-rounder is the largest berry fruit, full of healthy ingredients and also a pretty decorative article.

Hollowed out he comes as scary face or as a wind light holder for use. And it is suitable as a natural soup terrine, which of course is best filled with a delicious pumpkin soup. However, healthy pumpkins are not just for Halloween, to prepare delicious dishes. You can also freeze it well and enjoy it all year round.

Pumpkins taste and health an asset to the diet. (Image: drubig-photo / fotolia.com)

Low in calories and rich in vitamins
The health insurance AOK reported on its website that the squash consists of about 90 percent water. It is also safe to consume without a guilty conscience: 100 grams of pulp contain only 27 calories. Pumpkins are rich in vitamins C, D and E, beta carotene and potassium. In smaller pumpkins may also be included so-called cucurbitacins. These are poisonous and can lead to severe indigestion. Although this happens very rarely, according to AOK, but only in August had been reported on the death of a man from Baden-Württemberg, who died from poisonous zucchini from the garden. These had cucurbitacin included. Actually, you can taste the incompatible ingredient but out: If the pumpkin meat is very bitter, it should be disposed of.

Stimulates digestion and has a dehydrating effect
Due to the high potassium content pumpkin acts dehydrating. The fiber of the fiber-rich pulp helps to stimulate digestion. Pumpkin seeds are a tried and tested home remedy for irritable bladder. And with benign prostate enlargement, both the seeds and their oil are recommended. Since pumpkin is well-tolerated, it can already be given to babies as complementary food. The vegetables are also suitable for light whole foods as well as for calorie-reduced recipes. Pumpkin seeds, however, are not for the figure-conscious: with over 500 calories per 100 grams they are true calorie bombs. Pumpkin seed oil is very healthy and can almost be called "natural medicine". It contains valuable polyunsaturated fatty acids and has the same health promoting properties as the seeds.

How come the pumpkin for Halloween?
Pumpkin tastes not only as a soup, but also in casseroles or as a dessert. The most popular squash in this country is Hokkaido. Its shell is so thin that it can be eaten along. Other varieties that can be found in domestic markets: the up to 15 kilograms "heavyweight", turmeric squash, chayote, butternut squash, Muscade de Provence, the well-known giant squash and the firmer and aromatic nutmeg squash. The AOK also explains how the pumpkin comes to Halloween, the festival that is always celebrated on the 31st of October. In older spellings the word "Hallowe'en" is a variation of "All Hallows' Eve", so it names the "Day before All Saints Day". The light in the hollowed out pumpkin therefore has references to the grave light on All Saints Day. Originally the custom of setting up pumpkins for the Halloween festival comes from Ireland. To scare off evil spirits, we cut grimaces into pumpkins, which illuminated the yard in front of the house. (Ad)