Pumpkin is in season and with this cheerful orange vegetable comes a lot of treats. Many of the traditional pumpkin goodies are junky. They negate the nutritional value of this delicious veggie because they are doused in sugar and other additives. Luckily we have a real food recipe to enjoy pumpkin in a healthy way - let’s get pumpkin powered!
Pumpkin is rich in fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin K as well as iron and manganese. Vitamins A and K are both fat soluble. This means that in order to optimize absorption, the pumpkin needs to be paired with a fat. In our breakfast cookies, we have coconut oil and pumpkin seeds to optimize the absorption of these two nutrients. The following is a kid-friendly, clean-eating pumpkin cookie recipe that the whole family will love!
Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies
Makes 12 cookies
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 cup rolled old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- ⅔ cup unsweetened, dried cranberries
- ⅔ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl warm coconut oil and honey (either microwave, inside preheating the oven or on the stovetop).
- In a large bowl combine both kinds of oats, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, ground flax, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, warmed coconut oil, and honey. Stir until fully combined.
- Drop about ¼ cup-sized scoops of the mixture onto a cookie sheet and flatten (cookies won't spread while baking). Bake for about 15-20 minutes until edges are lightly browned.
- Let cookies cool on a baking sheet before moving them to an airtight storage container.
About Balance 360 Clean Eating Nutrition System
Life is full of demands and challenges, whether you’re a growing child, or an adult working and juggling home life. What you eat determines the quality of the nutrients available to support growth, development, and optimal performance. The Balance 360 proprietary nutrition program is a part of all Brain Balance programs and is available to actively enrolled participants. The program is designed to focus on increasing the amount of whole, healthy foods that are eaten daily, and decreasing highly processed foods that provide fewer nutrients and are harder for the body to utilize. The program also includes a focus on reducing foods that drive an inflammation response in the body that can interfere with focus, mood, behaviors, and overall well-being. At Brain Balance, we understand that each person is different, so the program guides you through a process to help learn about the importance of what you do and how it may be impacting you or your child. Improving the quality of foods you eat not only has the potential to positively impact the outcomes of your Brain Balance program but helps to support overall wellness going forward!n.
To learn how Brain Balance's integrated, holistic program helps families achieve greater success, contact us online or find a center near you.
