PUMPKIN

SIDEKICKS:

carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, orange bell peppers

TRY TO EAT:

1/2 cup most days

WHY PUMPKIN?

Most nutritionally valuable foods. Inexpensive, easy to put in recipes, high in fiber and low in calories

Packs an abundance of disease fighting nutrients, most important is the synergistic combination of carotenoids. A 1/2 cups serving of pumpkin gives you more than two times recommended daily dietary intake of alpha carotene and 100 percent recommended daily dietary goal of beta carotene.

QUICK CAROTENOID BOOSTS

Sliced orange, red bell pepper, peeled baby carrots, fresh or dried apricots or prunes, a slice of cantaloupe or watermelon, slice of mango, or persimmon. FUN: Haagen Dazs mango sorbet (Very good, I've tried it!)

ALPHA CAROTENE ALL STARS

Pumpkin (cooked 1 cup) 11.7 mg

Carrots (cooked 1 cup) 6.6 mg

Butternut Squash (cooked 1 cup) 2.3 mg

Orange bell pepper (1 cup) .3 mg

Collards (cooked 1 cup) .2 mg

BETA CAROTENE ALL STARS

(All below are 1 cup cooked servings)

Sweet Potato 23 mg

Pumpkin 17 mg

Carrots 13 mg

Spinach 11.3 mg

Butternut Squash 9.4 mg

WHEN BUYING PUMPKIN

Since pumpkin is only fresh in the fall, you can buy it in the can all year long. Canned pumpkin is actually more nutritious (except for the seeds)

Make sure you buy canned pumpkin puree, not pie pumpkin

**At only 83 calories a cup, it offers more than 400 percent recommended alpha carotene and close to 300 percent beta carotene recommendation as well as almost half of the iron requirement for adult men and postmenopausal women.

Other winter squash is full of beneficial carotenes. Butternut squash is full of flavor and great for soups

Look for winter squash that is HARD, STEM ON, DULL SKIN, DEEP RICH COLOR

IDEAS

Cooked carrots are easy to make and kids usually will love the sweet flavor. (cooked have more nutritional benefit)

Pumpkin seeds are a great plant based source of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids. I will add them to my blueberries and yogurt everyday with my walnuts...yummy.

Sweet potatoes are always good. Microwave them for a quick meal addition (5 minutes)

Slice them to make sweet potato fries, spray them with olive oil and back for 20 minutes at 400 degrees

WILL POST SOME GOOD RECIPES SOON!

ORANGES

HOW MUCH?

Try to eat 1 a day

HOW TO GET YOUR 350 MILLIGRAMS A DAY

1 large yellow bell pepper 341 mg

1 large red bell pepper 312 mg

1 large orange bell pepper 238 mg

1 Large green bell pepper 132 mg

1 cup raw chopped broccoli 79 mg

1 cup fresh strawberries slice 97mg

1 cup papaya cubes 87 mg

1 navel orange 83 mg

1 medium kiwi 70 mg

1 cup cubed cantaloupe 59 mg

1 cup Odwalla C Monster 350mg

1 cup fresh orange juice 124 mg

1 cup orange juice from concentrate 97 mg

Citrus flavonoids are found in the whole fruit of the orange (tissue, juice, skin, pulp etc)

The power of citrus flavonoids are amazing. They have the ability to prevent cells from mutating and initiating one of the first steps in the development of cancer and other chronic diseases. They have been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth, strengthen capillaries, act as anti inflammatories, and they are antiallergenic and antimicrobial.

They promote cardiovascular health.

Major cancer agent when eaten in the whole form

Reduce the risk of stroke by 25%

Known to elevate HDL cholesterol (good) and lower LDL (bad)

Pectin found in the white lining of citrus fruit is good fiber and helps to reduce cholesterol and is also helpful in stabilizing blood sugar

***Eating a whole orange hold many more benefits than juice will provide***

Eat the pulp and buy high pulp juice

The peel of the orange and other citrus fruits contain lots of nutritional power. If you are to use the peel in cooking, wash with warm water and a little soap or buy organic citrus.

SUPPLEMENTS

It's always better to get it from the source but if you take a Vitamin supplement it is best to take a 250 mg supplement in the morning and 250mg in the evening instead of 500 at a time. Keep your daily supplement intake below the Food and Nutrition Board's tolerable upper limit of 2000 mg a day. 1000mg a day is more than enough.

HOW TO PICK YOUR ORANGES

They do not ripen after they have been picked.

Heavier and smaller with thinner skin have more juice

More juice if you let it go to room temp and roll it on the counter before juicing it.

GET SOME!

Eat an orange, tangerine, or clementine daily

Add mandarin orange segments to a spinach salad

Sprinkle grapefruit halves with brown sugar and broil for a great desert

Add orange juice to a fruit smoothie

Keep orange and lemon zest in your fridge or freezer and add to cakes, cookies, muffins, yogurt, fruit salad, and hot tea.

IDEAS FOR KIDS

Have orange wedges for snacks or after playing/exercising

Kids always love smoothies!

BLUEBERRIES

A mess worth cleaning:)
Don't forget your blueberries every day!