Health & Wellness Wednesday - The Power of Pumpkin

Despite being under the weather, and running a fever, Emmie badgered me into baking cookies a little over a week ago. I did not have any dark chocolate (magic food) chips on hand and thus resorted to pumpkin (superfood) cookies. A week later, I now find myself a few pounds under my normal weight. With no other explanation, I further researched exactly what makes pumpkin a superfood - FIBER! Many consider the sole purpose of fiber to be "regularity" for lack of a better term. However, "fiber plays a much more crucial role in metabolism and particularly in weight control," according to the Superfoods book.

On a fiber to calories scale, pumpkin packs the highest punch! A 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin has 3.5 grams of fiber, yet only 40 calories. An added bonus, fiber-rich foods curb your appetite!

Further, pumpkin is also "one of the best sources of healthy carotenoids available. Carotenoids are the orange, red, or yellow fat-soluble compounds found in plants that protect the skin from sun damage. More than 600 carotenoids have been identified so far and they've been linked to a host of health-promoting and disease-fighting activities."

Personally, I am trying to put those few pounds lost back on....in the form of muscle of course! :)

However, for those of you trying to shed a few pounds (and/or lead a healthier lifestyle), perhaps reaching for a cookie isn't so bad after all? Here is the link to the recipe I used. I left the cranberries out, substituted WHOLE WHEAT flour and used far less sugar, and butter than called for. I plan to try this recipe again using fruit puree instead of butter all together. Since fruit puree is sweet, the sugar can be reduced even more so. How about pumpkin cookies with prune puree? That might be pushing the topic of "regularity" though... ;)

Thank you in advance to Betty Damisch, who has agreed to make pumpkin muffins for this weekend. And lastly, I'm guessing Curtis will think twice the next time he asks me about the pumpkin cookies in the tennis office. Believe it took him close to 10 minutes to escape my ramblings.....

Happy Wednesday!