I was blown away by a friend's comment last night,
and had to simply post about it.
She has quite a few family members that celebrate Halloween, and so consequently, she had about 15 pumpkins lining her deck and walkway up to her house.
Here it is, only a few days after that day, and she told me that she was going to have to wait until next week to "finish filling up her trashcans"....
I used to think that way.......
Fast-Forward to a conversation with the Handy Hubby this morning, who remarks that he was "upset" to see the amount of produce waste that happens around this time of year.
In other words, it super bothers him to see the manager(s) of that department take cases of perfectly good pumpkins out to the back of the parking lot and smash them on the ground and then throw them in the trash.
I don't know, perhaps it is because we try to live as zero-waste as we can, or what, but knowing there are people struggling to feed their kids only doors down from where we live, and knowing that so much food, which is good, and nutritious, and easy to utilize is going down the trash,
really really bothers me.
Folks, save the pumpkins.
Really.
How do you use up, or do anything with those pumpkins that have been carved and burnt?
How do you take advantage of those awesome pumpkins at big box stores that are only $1 right now?
Well, let me tell you.
Pumpkin is one of the very best foods you can eat.
As a Yellow/Red vegetable, it is FILLED with really good vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and has many health benefits. It makes the best pies, bread, muffins, ravioli, and soups that you will ever have the chance to eat. Seriously.
So, please, if you have pumpkins that you want to know how to use up,
use the links below.
Last year we were given a LOT of pumpkins.
We gave them away at the end because we just could not put another pumpkin into a jar, freezer bag, or dehydrator. And it is the same reason we have not bought or accepted any pumpkins this year.
Because a full year later, 27 pumpkins are STILL FEEDING MY FAMILY.
Pies.
Bread.
Ravioli.
Soup or stew.
Still feeding us, a full year later, and it tastes just as good today as it did fresh from the pumpkin patch.
So, take heart. Want to feed your family?
Those pumpkins are a gold mine, and here are the links that will teach you how
to put it away for a rainy day:
Hope you learn something awesome and new from this, and save your pumpkin for later!
Blessings to you and yours,
~Heather
THis year was the first time I heard of making pumpkin flour. After giving away alot of my canning supplies, the bug has bit me again! I just ordered a dehydrator and that pumpkin flour will be one of the first things I do with it! Thaanks for the heads up there. I've always frozen my puree before, this will be different for sure and fun!
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness, you are soooo right! I know I too cringe when I see waste. We don't have any in this house of two. I do compost all vegetation and my gardens are organic. But the waste you speak of is definitely heart wrenching and I see it as societal psychopathy, when such waste is dismissed without thought.....definitely sickness. Also when I see people throwing ''garbage'' like greens, banana peels, orange peels etc into the same garbage can as glass and and cans and waste paper, I go nuts. I refuse to be a part of that. As it is, I have a hard I still produce any garbage at all, with cans even though we recycle and I rinse everything first, I still abhor this kind of ''throw away'' society.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes, I totally agree! I just did a post on the health benefits of pumpkin. I roast the seeds of all of ours, except the one carved guy, stock up on them and cook, puree and freeze the rest.
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