Tag: eat for nourishment

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Good nutrition news: canned pumpkin (and pumpkin pie)

photo of pumpkins
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Today we’re talking canned pumpkin puree (and then pumpkin pie).

The type of pumpkin that is usually used to make pumpkin pie and other pumpkin goodies. (Note that this is about plain canned pumpkin, not canned pie filling. There’s nothing wrong with canned pie filling, it’s just not the same nutritionally as it already has sugars and spices mixed in)

First of all, pumpkin is a vegetable.

No one would argue about butternut squash being a vegetable, right? Pumpkin is very close nutritionally to butternut squash. It goes in the red-orange vegetable group with carrots, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. You can totally count pumpkin as part of your vegetable intake for the day. Now, the general amount of vegetables that the USDA recommends eating per day is 2 1/2 cups, so unless you’re sitting down to eat a big can of pumpkin, it won’t take care of all of your veggie intake, but it can certainly be part of it.

myplate diagram

Pumpkin provides some impressive nutrition

The way canned pumpkin is processed means that some of the water has been taken out (via cooking) so its nutrients are concentrated!

1/2 cup of cooked pumpkin has:

  • 3.5g of fiber (10% of the recommended daily amount for men and nearly 15% of the daily recommendation for women) – helps manage cholesterol and blood sugar, feeds good bacteria in our intestines, promotes regular bowel movements, helps us feel full
  • nearly 10% of the daily recommended amount of iron – vital for oxygenation of the blood
  • 25% of the recommended amount of vitamin K – important for blood clotting
  • over 350% recommended daily amount of vitamin A (no, that is not a typo, it is super high in vitamin A) – acts as an antioxidant, important for skin and immune health, important for healthy vision

Nutrition data from: https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2918/2

Canned pumpkin in context: pumpkin pie

Most of us probably will not just sit down and eat 1/2 cup of plain canned pumpkin by itself. So how much of that good nutrition will you get in a slice of pumpkin pie? Well, of course it depends on the the recipe and the size of the slice.

Let’s take Libby’s recipe for example (that’s the recipe on the back of the Libby’s pumpkin can). And we’ll say that we cut the pie into 8 slices because that’s easy math. In each slice, there will be about 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin (half the amount we calculated before), so it will have:

  • 1.8g fiber (about 5% of the recommended daily amount for men and 7% for women)
  • Nearly 5% of the daily recommended amount of iron
  • Over 10% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin K
  • and 190% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin A

Some of those amounts might seem small, but realistically, this is the way most people get nutrients from food. Small amounts from different foods that add up during the day. For comparison’s sake, one serving of Benefiber Original has 3 g of fiber, which is about 8% of the recommended daily value for men and 12% of the recommended daily value for women.

And it certainly has more vitamin A, iron, and fiber than many other desserts, like angel food cake or brownies.

Now of course, we must acknowledge that eating a slice of pumpkin pie (with ice cream or whipped cream perhaps too) also comes with more sugar, salt, and fats than just plain pumpkin, so if these are nutrients that you need to limit for a health condition, take those into account.

(and regardless, probably don’t make pumpkin pie the only way you eat vegetables)

However, a pumpkin pie having fats, sugar, and salt, doesn’t mean that you won’t get benefit from the fiber, iron, vitamin K, or massive amounts of vitamin A. You may also get extra calcium if the pie is made with evaporated milk, and extra fiber and/or B-vitamins if the crust is made with whole wheat flour

The bottom line: If you like pumpkin pie, enjoy it! (And know you’re getting a decent amount of fiber, iron, vitamin K, and a super amount of vitamin A!)

Want to try some savory pumpkin recipes?

Here’s some suggestions:

Pumpkin Soup from two peas & their pod

Creamy Pumpkin Marinara from Cookie + Kate

Healthy Pumpkin Chili from All the healthy things

This post is intended to be informational only and is not medical or nutritional advice. If you have questions about your unique needs, ask about a custom meal plan or speak with a registered dietitian-nutritionist near you.

Also links go to third-party sites, I’m not responsible for those sites or the ads they display, so go at your own risk.

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Snacks are not a weakness. They can actually make you healthier.

Snacking for real humans part 2

Also this post contains brief discussion of calories so if reading about that will be a struggle, maybe skip this post 🙂

Snacking is totally valid and anyone who says otherwise can go eat a snack*.

Have you ever felt that snacking between meals was a weakness? Something you give into because you aren’t strong enough to wait until the next meal? Or something you eat because you didn’t have time to make lunch or were super busy and didn’t feel like eating earlier and now you are starving? Something that messes up your healthy meal plan?

Do you feel guilty about eating snacks?

Stop it.

And even if you don’t, I have good news:

Snacks can make you healthier

This study, done in 19,427 adults, found that more frequent eating (higher number of meals/snacks per day) was associated with a higher score on the Healthy Eating Index 2010. The Healthy Eating Index is a tool that measures how close to the USDA healthy eating guidelines someone’s eating is – things like servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, etc.

The TLDR: people who eat snacks generally meet more of their nutrient goals!

That study was done in adults, but there was also one done in children that showed similar results. And actually, dietitians recommend feeding small children multiple snacks a day because they need so many nutrients to fuel their growth and activity that they can’t fit it into 3 meals!

Count your snacks

A different study of data from 14,263 adults, and found that on average, 18-24% of calories eaten in a day came from snacks. (That’s about 1 in 5 in case you prefer ratios to percentages). That is a pretty big portion of daily energy intake! If you eat snacks every day, they are a big part of your nutrition – so you should count them, and make them count!

Now listen before I go any further, this is not to say that we should be eating fewer calories from snacks. (Or that everyone should be counting calories.) I only bring up the 18-24% to show that snacks can be a big portion of what we eat!

TLDR: On average, about 1/5 of our dietary intake comes from snacks

Now, you can take this one way and be like, oh no, I must only eat carrots and hummus for my snacks because I have to count those calories. NO. I mean, if you’re counting calories then, yes, you have to count those calories. But thinking you should only eat low-calorie snacks is making snacks seem like a bad thing that you are trying to minimize.

You need calories. Calories are just a measurement of energy we get from the food we eat – something that we all need to be living, functioning humans.

Snacks are one of the ways we can get energy (calories) from food. You should count them as part of your daily energy intake. And you should think of them as ways to get the nutrients you need.

Make snacks count: Are there nutrition goals you are overwhelmed by?

  • 5-9 fruits and vegetables a day
  • 3 servings calcium-rich food
  • 8 glasses of water/day
  • 25-35 grams fiber a day
  • x grams of protein per day
  • more antioxidants, more iron, etc.

Take into account your snacks when thinking about those goals. You might find you are closer to meeting them than you thought.

Sometimes because a snack is not a meal, it doesn’t fit into the “what I ate today” box. It gets forgotten or just doesn’t get taken into account. If you count the trail mix that you snack on when you’re hungry in the car, you might find you are eating more fiber than you thought. If you count your night cheese, you might find you are closer to your calcium goals than you thought.

Liz Lemon from 30 Rock – working on her night cheese

This can go both ways of course, a few of those studies did note that most sweets and sweetened beverages were eaten as snacks, so maybe you’ll find that you are eating more sodium or sugar than you thought and need to adjust a little so you can meet your goals

If there’s a goal you aren’t quite meeting, think of how you can leverage a snack to get there. Can you add a glass of milk or a cheese stick to get more calcium? Can you choose a whole grain granola bar or a handful of nuts to get to your fiber goal?

Anyway, remember this 2nd part of snacking for real humans:

Snacks are not a weakness. They are just a part of your nourishment and can make you healthier! Own those snacks!

*If you don’t like to eat snacks and are happy with just eating meals, and you’re meeting your nutrition goals, no worries. It’s not required to eat snacks. Unless your dietitian or doctor tells you otherwise. This whole blog post is not medical or nutrition advice for you and is for informational purposes only. If you have questions, speak with a registered dietitian or doctor.

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