Picture Book Month: Pick A Perfect Pumpkin + Pumpkin Seed Recipe

The month of November is Picture Book Month. I have teamed up with a fantastic group of ladies to bring you a picture book review and a corresponding activity every day this month. You can find all the reviews and activities on this board on Pinterest.

When I was asked to join this #picturebookmonth collaboration I knew I wanted to do a book that I could make a recipe for. I’m not the craftiest person and I have a lot more fun coming up with recipes than crafts. 🙂

I chose the book Pick A Perfect Pumpkin by Robin Koontz for two reasons; one, it is fall and, two, we had just gotten some pumpkins from Grandma’s garden.

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Pick A Perfect Pumpkin takes you through a pumpkin’s growth cycle, starting as a seed and ending as some sort of food or decoration. You’ll learn about a pumpkin’s classification; whether it is a vegetable or a fruit. You’ll also read about all the different colors pumpkins can be.

We made Cinnamon and Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds as our corresponding activity. So many times we throw away perfectly good food simply because we don’t know how to use it. Roasting your pumpkin seeds is a great way to use up those “pumpkin guts”, and they are really good for you.

Roasted pumpkin seeds aren’t as good for you as raw pumpkin seeds but you’ll still get some of the benefits which include magnesium, fiber and tryptophan.

We made these two ways, BBQ and Cinnamon and Sugar. I loved the savory, smokey taste of the BBQ flavored seeds but Seth and Cameron preferred the sweet ones. 🙂

You only need a few ingredients for this recipe. Pumpkin or squash seeds, vanilla, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and cinnamon.

Cinnamon and Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons coconut oil
2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Put the first three ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for ten minutes.
While the seeds are simmering preheat the oven to 400* F.
Once seeds have simmered for ten minutes drain them and pat dry. Spread in a single layer on a piece of parchment paper which is on a cookie sheet. Drizzle melted coconut oil over the seeds and then stir them around. Spread the seeds out again and sprinkle cinnamon and coconut sugar over them. Roast for 10-20 minutes, stirring every five minutes, or until seeds are dry. The big time difference is dependent on how dry your seeds are when you put them in the oven.

 

Allow to cool and enjoy your snack while you read Pick A Perfect Pumpkin.