Healthy Food For Living

Pumpkin’s bright orange color isn’t just for show. It’s a visible sign of one of the richest nutrients in any vegetable. So, is pumpkin high in vitamin A? Yes, very. Just half a cup of plain canned pumpkin provides more than a full day’s Daily Value for vitamin A. But the vitamin A in pumpkin…

Pumpkin bread smells like fall and feels wholesome. After all, there’s a vegetable in it. But is pumpkin bread healthy, or is it cake in loaf form? The honest answer: most pumpkin bread is closer to a treat than a health food, because sugar, refined flour and oil make up far more of the loaf…

Nothing announces fall quite like the first pumpkin spice latte of the season. It’s warm, sweet, cozy, and for many people an annual ritual. But is a pumpkin spice latte healthy? Not as a typical coffee-shop order. Most café versions are better described as dessert in a cup, with large amounts of added sugar, especially…

Pumpkin often gets called a “high-fiber food,” usually in a fall recipe or a constipation remedy. But how much fiber is actually in it, and how does it stack up against broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes or beans? Does pumpkin have fiber? Yes, but the amount depends heavily on which form you eat. Plain canned pumpkin…

Pumpkin pie is a fixture at fall gatherings, and a source of anxiety for anyone avoiding gluten. The pumpkin itself is a vegetable, so is the pie safe? Is pumpkin pie gluten free? Usually not, but the problem is almost always the crust, not the filling. Traditional pumpkin pie filling is naturally gluten-free, while standard…

Every fall, keto dieters face the same question: can I have pumpkin? It’s a vegetable, but it’s sweet, starchy and usually shows up in pies and lattes. So, is pumpkin keto? The answer is yes, in measured portions. Plain pumpkin is moderate in carbs, and a small serving fits within a typical keto carb limit….

Kabocha is the squat, dark-green squash with bright orange flesh you’ve probably seen in Japanese restaurants, simmered in sweet soy broth or fried as tempura. Often called “Japanese pumpkin,” it’s denser and sweeter than most squash, with a flavor somewhere between sweet potato and roasted chestnut. That sweetness makes people wonder: is kabocha squash healthy,…

If peeling and hacking through winter squash puts you off, delicata is the squash for you. It’s small, cream-colored with green stripes, and has a skin so thin you can eat it. No peeler needed. That convenience is a big part of its appeal. But is delicata squash healthy, too? Yes. Like its close relatives,…

Acorn squash is the little ridged, dark-green squash that shows up every fall, usually halved and roasted with butter and brown sugar. It looks like a cousin of butternut squash and pumpkin, so many people assume it has the same nutrition. It doesn’t, and that’s what makes the question interesting. So, is acorn squash healthy?…

That inexpensive can of pumpkin in your pantry may be one of the most nutritious foods in the store, or a sugary dessert mix in disguise. Two cans can look almost identical on the shelf. So, is canned pumpkin healthy? Plain canned pumpkin is: it’s just cooked, pureed pumpkin, rich in vitamin A and fiber….