If you love pumpkin and pancakes, then you might enjoy these pumpkin pancakes with pumpkin seeds.
As soon as pumpkin “season” hits, if you’re the first person to jump on the new pumpkin-flavored food, then you’re in for another treat. These pumpkin pancakes aren’t just another delicious way to get your pumpkin fix, but they’re also a nutritious breakfast!
Pancakes are rich in carbohydrates with all the flours typically used to make them. These pumpkin pancakes have more seed flours which boost the healthy fat, minerals, and plant-based sources of protein.
What’s The Deal With Pumpkin?
Pumpkin is so popular in the US from pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin hummus, pumpkin face masks, pumpkin smoothies, and the list goes on.
Beyond the novelty and seasonality of enjoying pumpkin in so many ways, pumpkin is very nutrient-dense!
Pumpkin is a winter squash hence the popularity around October when all the pumpkin foods are marketed in large. Pumpkin is technically a fruit because of the seeds, but is treated like a vegetable—pumpkin soups, roasted pumpkin—but also as a fruit in desserts like pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake.
The bright orange color of pumpkins also tells you a lot about the most abundant antioxidant in this fruit, beta-carotene. We know how powerful this antioxidant is to our health from supporting our immune system, eye health, heart health, healthy skin (hello, glow), and potential weight maintenance because of the fiber content.
Pumpkin is a great way to enjoy the seasonal and festive flavor with the boost of nutrients. When buying a pumpkin from the store, you can get it whole and bake off the entire squash, but most likely you’ll find it in a can. If buying it in a can, make sure it’s organic and without any additional ingredients—sugar and cinnamon and other flavorings are commonly found as a pumpkin pie filling. Opt for the pumpkin puree plain.
Stripped
Beta-carotene
The most notable nutrient found in pumpkin is beta-carotene (your body converts it to vitamin A). This antioxidant not only gives the pumpkin a beautiful golden orange color but also supplies your body with 245% RDA for vitamin A per 100g.
Pumpkin (the flesh) also contains minerals such as copper, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus.
Zinc and Minerals
Pumpkin seeds, on the other hand, are very rich in minerals zinc (71% RDA), iron (110% RDA), selenium (17% RDA), the amino acid tryptophan (which helps produce the good mood hormone serotonin), vitamin C, B vitamins, protein, and good fats- note this is with 100g, which would be about 1 cup or 4 servings of pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin seeds not only taste great but have been shown to help with general antioxidant support, most notably from vitamin E. Most diets, the Standard American Diet, in particular, are low in minerals — pumpkin seeds are loaded with minerals and are great to incorporate often.
Pumpkin seeds, oils, and extracts have unique anti-microbial benefits, from the lignans in these seeds. Pumpkin seeds have also been studied with anti-cancer benefits, cardiovascular benefits, decreasing blood pressure, benefits with benign prostatic hyperplasia (i.e. prostate enlargement).