Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree -so easy

Do you love butternut squash? It's pumpkin season and it's just as easy to cook up small sugar pumpkins and make your own healthy pumpkin puree. Who Knew?

Cooking or baking a pumpkin is not any different than cooking a butternut or acorn squash! 

 Cans have lots of toxins from the metals including BPA- so why expose your family to those toxins when you can make own easily.

sugar pumpkins best for pumpkin puree

I'm not really comfortable even buying the organic canned pumpkin unless I'm really in a rush because of the toxins in that can be in the can.

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Always use a sugar pumpkin for puree

You definitely want to use a sugar pumpkin for your puree. 

The larger varieties are usually blander as opposed to the sugar pumpkins with are sweeter and more flavorful. 

Sugar pumpkins usually show up at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and even local supermarkets. Of course if you live in an area where they grow pumpkins, local farms and farmer's markets will have them too.

The  "sugar pumpkins" are so cute, I decided to buy one, bake it, and puree my own pumpkin. It just $1.99 at Trader Joe's, and it made what would be equivalent to two cans of pureed pumpkin.

Health Reasons to Make Your Own
Why would I bother to make my own puree?  BPA, Aluminum, and Copper are part of the reasons

• First of all canned foods are not all that healthy because of the cans. 
• There is BPA in cans!!
• Also, cans  are usually made of tin ( which contains considerable amounts of aluminum and copper and can leak into the food), and who knows what else lurks in there. Heavy metals are toxic, especially for little children !
• Even organic canned pumpkin may still expose us to the undesirables that lurk in the can. 
• The pulp of my "sugar pumpkin" was so sweet- it tasted like butternut squash! I wanted to eat it as a side dish for dinner!

Author: Judee Algazi
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Scoop and Mash Time: 5 minutes
Vegan, Gluten free

cut in half and scoop out seeds- 

Place on cookie sheet ( rimmed) with a cup and half of water 

scoop and mash with a fork or use an immersion blender for a whipped version

Bonus: scoop out seeds, soak in water , and rinse and drain. Spread on cookie sheet and roast for 25 minutes on 375. Season and eat!

Easy Steps to Making Your Own Puree

1. Cut the pumpkin in half- ( first cut from stem to bottom on one side, turn the pumpkin and then do the other side.

2. Scoop out the seeds ( wash them well and you can roast them at 375 for about 25 minutes- they are tasty and healthy)** see below for how to roast the seeds.

3. Place the two halves of the pumpkin face down on a rimmed cookie sheet or large casserole pan. Add 1 and half  cups of water to the pan ( pierce the pumpkins a  few time with a fork)

4. Bake for about 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. ( It is done you can pierce a knife easily into the skin)

5. Allow to cool enough to scoop out the soft flesh and blend with an immersion blender or mash with a fork ( I used a fork)

THAT'S IT!! So Easy!!

Use it within two days or freeze it.
It will only stay fresh for two days in the refrigerator.
However, it freezes for about 3-6 months. 

If you want to freeze it, do this first to remove liquid:
Put the puree into a small mesh colander with a small plate on top to release excess liquid before freezing. Your puree will be firmer after thawing.

Don't forget the pumpkin spices!
You can make your own pumpkin spice mix very easily too.
You can buy a container of pumpkin spice mix iOR use this very easy recipe make your own pumpkin spice mix from ingredients you have in your kitchen.

Try my gluten free  pumpkin pie recipes and other pumpkin desserts 

                                                      My pumpkin recipes 

Note: Pumpkin is considered a winter squash and it not only tastes great, it provides excellent nutrients. 

• High in Fiber -1 cup cooked 3 grams
• Very Low in Calories- 1 cup cooked 49 calories
• Rich source of Beta Carotene ( which converts to Vitamin A in the body) 
• High in antioxidants
• Rich orange color gives it the properties for anti aging for eyesight

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Food is my passion. I am gluten intolerant, busy. and strive for a healthy balanced lifestyle. It has taken me many years to develop and discover easy healthy recipes that meet gluten free, vegetarian and real food standards. On my blog I share my journey, my struggles, my discoveries, and my new recipes. I hope you find ideas, resources, and recipes that will be helpful to you. Come Back soon.

Author: Judee Algazi

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Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

Almost any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree will also call for pumpkin pie spice mix. They sell the pumpkin spice mix in the store, but it is expensive and you only need it occasionally during pumpkin season. It's so easy to use the spices that you already have in your pantry to make your own pumpkin spice mix .

Let's face it, we want our spices to be fresh so they taste their best. I found that a small can or jar of pumpkin spice mix would last me for over 5 years ( and then I usually discarded it when it didn't have a strong smell of the spices). Spices are freshest that are stored for only 6 months ( of course we all keep them longer)

The ingredients that go into the pumpkin spice mix are very common and more likely to be spices you may have on hand because they are used in a variety of recipes. The ingredients are spices you may already be using daily. I find that my spices are fresher, more potent, and tasty when I make my own mixtures.

Did you know that spices actually add vital nutrients and antioxidants to our food? Research convinces us that they are more than just seasoning. For centuries and all throughout civilization spices were counted on for their protective and medicinal properties.

My husband often buys ground ginger (caspsules ) in the health food store before we go on a cruise. He has successfully taken ginger when he has felt nauseous ( sea sick)  on the cruise . It works great.

A typical pumpkin spice recipe will call for cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, and
allspice - I've sometimes just used only the spices that I've had like on hand like cinnamon, ground ginger, and all spice. Any combination of these spices seem to work in a pie recipe depending on your taste. I think the cinnamon is essential, but If you leave one of the other spices out, personally I have not noticed a considerable difference.

Here is the typical pumpkin pie spice mix formula that you can make at home for this season~
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 Here are some seasonal recipes that may use pumpkin pie mix

Pumpkin PIe Soup

Cider Glazed Butternut squash

Pumpkin Cupcakes

                                                 Vegan ( blender) Pumpkin Pie

Hasselback Sweet Potato with cranberry pecan topping for Thanksgiving

                                                      Pumpkin Pudding Bars 

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This post will  be shared on  

My blog carnival list

including Gluten Free Homemaker and Allergy Free Wednesday and 
Healthy Vegan Fridays 

Wan't to be added to My blog list? Let me know

If you are new to my blog and would like me to email you my recipes when I post them, please enter your email on my subscribe box in the right top column of the blog.  Don't miss a recipe - about one or two a week.  ( you can unsubscribe at any time)

Food is my passion. I am gluten intolerant, busy. and strive for a healthy balanced lifestyle. It has taken me many years to develop and discover easy healthy recipes that meet gluten free, vegetarian and real food standards. On my blog I share my journey, my struggles, my discoveries, and my new recipes. I hope you find ideas, resources, and recipes that will be helpful to you. Come Back soon.- Judee 

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 Please leave a comment so I know you stopped by. I love comments and love to be introduced to your blog. I usually visit and follow your blog on G+ , Bloglovin, and Twitter. Thanks for stopping by. To Comment: Scroll down to the end of the post and click on comments

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Amazon and receive a very small compensation when you buy anything from Amazon by clicking on to Amazon from my blog - This helps me defray the cost of my blog expenses. Thank you for your support.

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