Keep Holidays Healthy!

 

Youth & Family Services Team Wellness is promoting this 6 week national challenge to encourage staff to learn about making healthy decisions through the "challenging" holiday season.  Challenge begins  November 17th!  

Pumpkins!

Pumpkin season is here and what a fully loaded nutritious food to enjoy packed with vitamin A, potassium, fiber, and naturally low in sodium.  Beyond pumpkin pie and baked goods like muffins and cookies consider enjoying this sweet gourd added into soups and casseroles. a mashed  pumpkin side dish can be prepared just like mashed potatoes using half potatoes and half pumpkin.  

 The nutrition facts of 1 cup of pumpkin:  

• has less than 50 calories
• contains 3 grams of dietary fiber
• naturally a fat free food
• provides more than 240% of the daily vitamin A recommendation

 Check out the recipes below and the soothing video of the life cycle of a pumpkin plant at the bottom of this page.

 

Pumpkin Soup 

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoons salt
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup milk or half & half 
pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
2. Puree the soup in small batches (1 cup at a time) using a food processor or blender.
3. Return to pan and continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes, Stir in the milk or half and half (this adds creaminess). Serve. 

Makes 8-10 servings                                              (source allrecipes.com)
       

 

Classroom food experience: Pumpkin Pudding 

2 package instant vanilla pudding

2 cups  canned or mashed pumpkin

3 cups skim milk

1/2-teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

Beat pudding mix and milk together until well blended, about 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and cinnamon. Blend until mixed. Portion into 1/4 cup serving sizes and chill. The pudding will thicken as it chills. This recipe provides about 20 "sample" servings.

 

 

The life cycle of a pumpkin plant