Sugar Pumpkin Health Benefits – Bienfaits du Potiron
Did you know that pumpkins are actually loaded with health benefits and can be a great partner to your weight management as well? Pumpkins often remind us of Halloween but they are so much more than a place holder for the candle of your Jack-o’-lantern. Pumpkin health benefits are numerous and although you will find them in most pumpkins, we do prefer sugar pumpkins (potiron) for cooking and baking. Sugar pumpkins are sweeter and less fibrous than your typical large Halloween pumpkin (citrouille) making them ideal in the kitchen. Sugar pumpkins look less round (almost with a flat top) and you will notice that they have more ridges – they are also much smaller than most Halloween pumpkins.
Top 4 Sugar Pumpkin Health Benefits
For more info about sugar pumpkin health benefits, check below our top 4 reasons to save and enjoy the beautiful orange flesh of your pumpkins. Pumpkin health benefits can be enjoyed during fall and winter, not just on Halloween. Bon appétit!
Pumpkin health benefits – Art of the Home Top 4 Reasons to Eat Pumpkins
- Pumpkins are extra rich in vitamin A: like carrots, pumpkins are rich in vitamin A and an excellent source for that essential vitamin. Consider this, with 4,992 Vitamin A IU (International Unit), a 100g of cooked pumpkins (about 1/2 cup) gives you almost all of your daily requirements of Vitamin A. We’ll take it!
- Pumpkins are low in calories: pumpkins contain a lot of water (over 90%) so they count only 26 kcal for 100g cooked! They are a great nutritious vegetable and add a delicious sweetness to any dish: savory dish or dessert dish.
- Pumpkins Can Help with Weight Management: sorry, we don’t mean you can get an extra slice of pumpkin pie but we do mean however that you may want to add a pumpkin soup to your weekly diet in the fall and even get an extra serving if you’d like! Thanks to its high fiber content and low calorie count, pumpkins are very satisfying and make you fell less hungry in the evening or throughout the day. With its vibrant and uplifting orange color, sugar pumpkins make an appetizing soup (pumpkin veloute – velouté de potiron) and starting dinner with a soup is a great way to slow us down when we eat – a key step to help us lose weight.
- Pumpkins are Delicious: whether in a savory dish (pumpkin veloute, etc.) or for dessert (pumpkin pie, pumpkin madeleine, etc.), the texture and sweetness of sugar pumpkins will add a delicious touch to your fall menus and make you healthier at the same time – love that!
So, take advantage of the last months of Fall and enjoy these pumpkin health benefits through the end of the year!