The older I get, the faster life flies by and summer, is well….sort of over, and we are now approaching fall?

Erinn’s favourite time of year!

Saying that, we now get to focus on savoury comfort foods. As I said in an earlier post, I LOVE pumpkin every day of the year, it doesn’t have to be cold weather for me. Pumpkin is a warming or comforting flavour, it’s easy to work with and totally full of a different kind of nutrition, that we really don’t get enough of during the other seasons.

Pumpkin is incredibly rich in vital anti-oxidants and vitamins like Vitamin A (a cancer protective anti-oxidant and one serving of pumpkin gives us 246% RDA). This humbly healthy vegetable is very low in calories yet a tremendous source of Copper, Magnesium (Bone Health), Calcium (who needs a cow?!), Phosphorus, Potassium. It is also an excellent natural source of poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds like alpha and beta-carotenes (carotenes convert to vitamin A in the body), lutein (eye health), zea-xanthin (natural UV filter and sunscreen) and cryptoxanthin. Pumpkin is also high in B Vitamins like niacin, folates, vitamin B-6, pantothenic acid and thiamin – which helps us all with stress management (that is ME!). This is just to name a few of the anti-aging and nutritious qualities of pumpkin.

…And the Seeds?? Well, they are full of fibre! As well as, protein, iron, niacin, selenium, tryptophan (brain calming food) and zinc!
In one lovely beautiful, colourful vegetable, we get a powerhouse of nutrition all packed into one big round veggie. Plants are an amazing source of nutrition just waiting for us to explore and enjoy. Just think if you ate for the whole rainbow of colours in the vegetable world, how healthy you’d be!
I’ve included a main dish today for you to enjoy for our upcoming Canadian Thanksgiving. I know it’s a couple of weeks away, but now you have the chance to practice before the big day. I love this dish! It’s one of my favourites and will make your Thanksgiving table look like you slaved all day over a hot stove.