So Halloween is over and you have left over pumpkins because you bought one too many for carving. How can you use your unwanted pumpkins in an earth friendly, healthy, yummy way? Believe it or not, pumpkins are a good source of vitamin A and vitamin C. There are many things that you could make with a pumpkin, using every part of it. After cutting open your pumpkins you can make delicious pumpkin seeds by toasting the seeds that you and your little ones can snack on, instead of a bag of chips. With the rest of the pumpkin you can make great-tasting low-fat pumpkin muffins to have for breakfast. How do you think you can do this? Here are a few healthy recipes that you can make with your leftover pumpkins.

Orange Pumpkin Muffins
From EatingWell.com
1 dozen muffins
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 1/4 hours (including cooling time)
INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large seedless orange, scrubbed and cut into 8 sections (peel left on)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 2/3 cup canned unseasoned pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar or 1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 standard 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Puree orange sections in a food processor. Add egg, egg white, pumpkin, sugar or other sweetener such as maple syrup, molasses, or agave nector, honey and oil; process until mixed. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and dates, and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan
4. Bake the muffins until the tops spring back when touched lightly, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Can you guess the topic of the first ever television broadcast from the White House?

Eating less meat.

You read that right. In 1947, two years after the end of World War II, Europeans were still hungry, if not downright starving. (You may recall that as a child, Audrey Hepburn lived in the Netherlands during the war, and never forgot what hunger was like. Later in life she became an advocate for UNICEF).

President Truman was joined in the broadcast by George C. Marshall (of Marshall Plan fame), Secretary of State Averill Harriman, and Clinton Anderson, the Secretary of Agriculture. Anderson explained that to help Europe, “we must conserve at home, both at our dinner table and in our farm feed lots.”  Marshall asked Americans to “tighten our belts, clean our plates, and push ourselves away from the table” as a way to assist our straitened allies. (Please recall that in England, food rationing lasted until 1954).

You can be sure there were other motives besides altruism in the call for Americans to eat less meat (the New York Times story dated October 5, 1947, also mentions price caps and the cost of living).

The article also provides a poignant glimpse into the prejudices of the times. Officials repeatedly refer to “the housewife” as the buyer of food (like nobody else, such as perhaps men, ever bought food), and one is quoted as saying, “It is time the American housewife learned how to cook the cheaper cuts.”  Outrageous, isn’t it?

Today hunger exists all over the globe. You have probably read that one out of six humans on the planet experiences “food insecurity” or outright hunger. That’s a billion people – actually more, now that today marks the arrival of the seven billionth.

What can you do? Some of the reasons for hunger remain the same as they were in 1947, and so do solutions. Topping the list: eat less meat, or none.

Are you trying to add sustainability to your everyday lifestyle? This Halloween you can give out healthy treats that not only taste good but healthy for the earth and the children. Here is a list of items that you can feel good about giving out to your trick-or-treat:
• Organic apple sauce snack packs
• Real-fruit strips and rolls from Stretch Island Fruit
• Boxes of organic raisins and other organic dried fruits.
• 100% honey sticks
• Raw or roasted nuts (ask parents before giving out nuts due to allergies)
• Organic Twisted Fruit
• Organic licorice bars, rope, and gum
Something else to think about is making treats for your trick-or-treat that they will enjoy. Here is a recipe for kid-friendly granola:
Ingredients
3 c old-fashioned oats
2 c rice cereal
1 c shredded coconut
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c maple syrup or honey, warmed slightly
1/4 vegetable oil
3/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon (optional)
1 c raisins (optional)
1/4 to 3/4 c chopped nuts (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
Combine all ingredients except raisins in a very large bowl and mix until everything is well combined. You may need to slightly warm the syrup or honey if it is too sticky – it needs to be runny to coat everything.
Spread onto a cookie sheet and place in oven. Stir about every 10 to 15 minutes until everything is golden brown, usually about an hour. Keep an eye on it – don’t let it burn!
Remove from oven and add raisins or other dried fruit, if using. Let cool completely and store in airtight containers.
Courtesy of: Farm Bell Recipes submitted by Kelly in TX
After your granola is made it can be packaged individually in small brown paper or you can even make pouches out of wax paper my ironing the edges to create a sealed bag.