Tuesday: Pumpkins & TV Picks for Tonight!

With everything pumpkin coming back in I think you should know - pumpkin puree is excellent for your health.

Pumpkin is one of the lowest calorie fruits grown.  It has 26 calories per 100 grams of pureed pumpkin.  It also has zero fat and zero cholesterol.  These two facts alone is why many dietitians recommend pumpkin for those seeking to lose weight or better control high cholesterol levels.

(I'm going to share with you a fabulous way to use pumpkin in a heart healthy, waistline healthy way in a matter of lines.)



Pumpkin is high in Vitamins A, C, and E - these guys are also called the antioxidant group.  They assist in eliminating bad guys (called free radicals) in your body.  You need these!  They help with your cells and that means you look pretty and feel good.

Pumpkin can help you with reducing eye dysfunction and disease.  The Vitamin A levels in pumpkin help aid in the protection against UVB rays across the retina.  This means you save yourself from macular disease as you age.



I need you to realize the value of rich levels of Vitamin A for a second.  Vitamin A (not my street name but should be) is incredibly important to you for these reasons:

• Maintains skin integirty
• Maintains mucousa
• Key to good vision (even if you are blind without assistance as I am)
• Vitamin A helps assist in the prevention of lung and oral cancers

The orange fruit of fall also has a nice range of the Complex B vitamins.  This is something women need as we age - B vitamins out the wazoooo.  These complex life sustainers give us energy and keep our bodies pumping.

Minerals are also a major part of the pumpkin.  In a serving you will get a nice dose of copper, calcium, potassium, and phospherous.  Your bones and heart will thank you for that.

I'm telling you this because you need more pumpkin in your diet....and not just the coffee variety!  It is also available year round at your grocery store.  However, we're in the fall (almost) and people are latching on the pumpkin like its the cure all during the plague.  I felt it a great time to promote the pretty little fat orange guys in an its-really-good-for-you-way.

And now one of my favorite Hungry Girl recipes of all time....

1 can of Libby's Pumpkin Puree (regular 15oz can)

1 devil's food cake box mix

In a large bowl empty the canned pumpkin and the cake mix.

Using a hand mixer mix it up - it will be thick

In a greased muffin tin (I generally make 6-8 large muffins), spoon the cups half to 3/4 full.

Bake in a preheated oven set at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Devour.

No eggs, no oil, no water.

Simple, yes.

***

Back to premiere week on telley....



I love some Muppets and guess what?  They're on tonight, 8PM, ABC.  So far I have gathered this is a "reality" show that focuses in on the lives of certain famous muppets.  It is a comedy but I'm not so sure this is totally family friendly.  As a mom of an 8 year old - a little nuts here but I am not too cool with The Muppets being a total adult thing.  We'll see how it pans out tonight.




Scream Queens is a new show on Fox at 8pm.  If you have an Ibotta account then you have had to watch the trailer for this show over and over.  Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michelle (Glee), and Nick Jonas are all in this show.  It is basically a thriller television show from Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story) and is set on a college campus where there is a serial killer doing his thang. This actually sounds like a pretty good show....we'll watch and see or rather DVR it because my 8 year old may get freaked out.



Finally over on the CSI network CBS at 10pm you can catch Bradley Cooper in the television version of his movie, Limitless.