OCTOBER FOOD OF THE MONTH: PUMPKIN

• Taste: Sweet

• Temperature: Cooling

• Post-Digestive Effect: Building

• Dosha: Vata & Pitta pacifying

• Qualities:  Heavy, Cooling, Drying/Moist (can be considered drying in nature if not paired with other moist foods, but has overall demulcent (coats inflamed mucus membranes) properties)

• Properties: Tonic (strengthens the body), expectorant (clears mucus), alterative (cleans the blood), liver tonic (strengthens the liver), muscle relaxant, sedative (makes you sleepy), grounding, diuretic (makes you pee)

• How to prep:

  • To cut fresh pumpkin into cubes: place the tip of the knife at the top, in the center, just outside the stem. Apply downward pressure and lever the knife down to slice in half, using a firm grip with your other hand to stabilize the pumpkin. Remove the skin using the peeling instructions below. Scoop out the seeds using a spoon, then slice into cubes.

  • To peel: once cut in half, use a knife to cut away the skin, making sure to cut away from yourself.

  • Alternative way to peel if you just want the puree: place the half-ed and de-seeded pumpkin slices face down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the skin peels off at about 35-45 minutes. Once the pumpkin is cooled, you can peel off the skin using your hands and place the pumpkin in the blender/ food processor to blend into a puree.

  • Roast cubes: 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 60 minutes.

  • If you are busy: consider organic canned pumpkin puree! Sure, anything canned is typically considered tamasic (dulling and creating lethargy in the mind & body), BUT it is more sattvic (harmonizing) to just make your life easier, especially when you are spread thin. Go easy on yourself. And do NOT get the pumpkin pie filling, the ingredients should just say "pumpkin."

• Best flavor combos: apples, allspice, bay leaf, black beans, ghee, cardamom, cheese, chiles, cinnamon, clove, coconut, coriander, cranberries, cumin, curry, ginger, garlic, leeks, lemon, honey, maple syrup, nutmeg, olive oil, orange, pastas, pecans, raisins, rice, rosemary, sage, walnuts, vinegar

• Season: September - November

Pumpkin is an all-time favorite in October. How could it not be our food of the month?!

Pumpkin is an early fall medicinal powerhouse. Its cooling nature helps to off-set the random hot days in early fall and the long-term heat that summer has been created in our bodies and environment. When paired with classic warming spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove, you get a warm and cozy welcome into the cool crisp days of fall. Not only are these spices tasty when paired with pumpkin, they also help to make the cooling, heavy, and drying, nature of pumpkin more digestible.

Pumpkin is a natural sedative, muscle relaxant, and is highly grounding to the mind - easing racing thoughts, sleep issues, and overstimulation. It's heavy and downward-moving energy combined with high magnesium and tryptophan helps to regulate both sleep and mood.

Pumpkin's cooling demulcent properties help to moisturize and soothe inflamed mucus membranes. This makes it medicine for both Vata and Pitta constitutions. Pumpkin is especially helpful for acidity, IBS, burning in the digestive tract, and ulcers.

If you notice its qualities of being drying PLUS a demulcent, you could see how helpful it would be for an overheated and inflamed type of digestion (Pitta digestion). This makes it especially helpful in cases of diarrhea as it heals the mucus membranes and acts as a bulk laxative. In the case of constipation, just make sure you pair pumpkin with the warming spices from above and a moist fat or broth.

Pumpkin SEEDS are also very interesting. They are anti-parasitic, antifungal, antimicrobial, and considered warming and oily (as opposed to the cooling and somewhat drying nature of pumpkin). Pumpkin seed oil is also known to promote glowing skin and hair growth.

Feel free to save your pumpkin seeds after chopping your pumpkin, rinse them and use your fingers to remove the stringy membrane while rinsing them, allow them to dry on a towel overnight, and roast them in the oven with oil, salt, garam masala at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. PS: you can actually use that same process with any seed from any gourd or squash during the fall season.

Pumpkin also helps to strengthen the liver and expel excess mucus from the lungs. It is an interesting veggie for Kaphas. It is heavy and satisfies the stomach but it can also be light and drying due to its expectorant and diuretic qualities. It also helps to stabilize blood sugar. This actually makes pumpkin a solid fall veggie choice for weight loss for Kaphas, provided it is not paired with too much fat, grains, salt, and sugar. For Kaphas, think of a pumpkin veggie roast with wilted kale.

But, you know who would WANT to pair pumpkin with some fat, grains, & salt - Vatas. Vata does best when pumpkin is paired with ghee, coconut milk, broth, and the warming spices from above. This antidotes their dry & cool properties. Think of a pumpkin soup, risotto, bread, or pasta.

Regardless, you can check out some of the pumpkin recipes below for well-balanced digestible pumpkin. Enjoy!

References

• Joyful Belly Ayurveda. “Pumpkin.” Joyful Belly Ayurvedic Diet & Recipes. https://www.joyfulbelly.com/Ayurveda/ingredient/Pumpkin/105

• Wargala, E., Chrzanowska, A., Bernatek-Samoraj, W., & Kot, I. (2023). Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) seed oil – cosmetic, food and medical raw material. Herba Polonica, 69(3), 7–14. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0053.8859

• Page, K. (2014). The vegetarian flavor bible. Little, Brown and Company.

PUMPKIN RISSOTO

PUMPKIN SPICE (with latte)

CREAMY PUMPKIN SAUCE