‘Tis the season to indulge in pumpkin-everything! These tasty snacks are a great-nutrient dense treat to keep on hand throughout the fall season. Although they may be tedious to prep, they are tooootally worth the slimy mess!
HEALTH BENEFITS
- Nutrient Dense – packed with Vitamins + Minerals such as iron (calling all vegans + vegetarians!), magnesium, fibre, zinc, potassium, healthy EFA’s (essential fatty acids), protein, Vitamin K, phosphorus, manganese, copper and even tryptophan (which can boost your mood and help you sleep).
- High in antioxidants – such as carotenoids and Vitamin E
- Could lower blood sugar levels
- Improve cardiovascular health and help lower blood pressure
- Could reduce risk of certain cancers
- Extremely high in Vitamins + Minerals (as mentioned above)
- Boost immunity
- Improve sperm quality (calling all males!!)
INGREDIENTS
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Sea Salt + Pepper
- 1 tsp avocado oil (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to lowest temperature setting.
- Clean the seeds. This annoying-but-necessary task is the hardest part of this recipe! Place guts + seeds into a bowl of water and use your hands to break it apart. The seeds will float to the top of the water which makes it waaaay easier!
- *Optional* Boil for 10 minutes in salt water. This is something I had never done until I started reading other peoples recipes! Apparently, this method helps make the pumpkin seeds easier to digest and produce a crispy outer shell during roasting. It’s not necessary to do this step but does make them extra tasty!
- Rinse the seeds and dry lightly with paper towel. Don’t worry about making them bone dry, just not as sopping wet. This step is also not 100% necessary but helps to even out the salt/pepper.
- Add salt + pepper – generously. This is when you can add the avocado oil or any other spices you may want to try (see notes below). Toss and/or massage seeds with spices.
- Spread seeds onto parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Try to spread out the seeds as thin as possible with minor overlapping.
- Roast seeds for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and stir. Roast for another 10 minutes. Continue this process until you get desired consistency (I find it usually takes between 20 – 30min). Test a seed each time you pull it out of the oven to see if they are palatable to your tasting.
NOTES
- Oven Temperature: Nuts + Seeds contain a lot of vitamins, minerals and EFA’s – with that being said, some of these nutrients are also extremely sensitive to heat and can be damaged when heated at too high of a temperature which can cause free radicals in the body! Although it may be a bit tastier to heat these guys at a higher temperature, to keep the nutrient-levels high opt for the low-and-slow way to go.
- Seasonings: Get creative with the seasonings! Make them sweet, savoury or keep them simple like the recipe listed here. Some spices could be: paprika, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric or garlic!
With love,
Heidi MacAulay
“Eat more plants. Do more yoga. Read more books.”
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