{"id":170,"date":"2015-10-28T10:07:39","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T14:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/?p=170"},"modified":"2015-12-18T10:37:59","modified_gmt":"2015-12-18T14:37:59","slug":"pumpkin-power-learn-the-surprising-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/pumpkin-power-learn-the-surprising-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Pumpkin Power! Learn the Surprising Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For Trinis, pumpkin is a lot like salt \u2013 it shows up in almost everything we cook! From pelau to callaloo to ochro and rice, orange and green flecks are sure to make an appearance. And when we allow it to be the star of the show like the delicious and always belly-warming pumpkin talkari? It\u2019s a lip-smacking treat with universal appeal! As popular as this humble but tasty gourd is, did you know how many health benefits it carries? Here is just a sampling of a long list of nutritional goodies we get from pumpkin.<\/p>\n<h3>Fibre<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever found yourself groaning after that second helping of pelau, it might be because of the pumpkin! With 3 grams of fibre per cup, pumpkin aids in producing satiety, which keeps you feeling fuller longer.<\/p>\n<h3>Vision<\/h3>\n<p>Eating pumpkin won\u2019t give you x-ray vision, but its Vitamin A will boost your eyesight in low light.<\/p>\n<h3>Heart Health<\/h3>\n<p>Pumpkin seeds have been found to be rich in phytosterols, a plant-based chemical that lowers LDL or \u201cbad\u201d cholesterol.<\/p>\n<h3>Cancer Prevention<\/h3>\n<p>Pumpkin, along with sweet potato, carrots and squash, belongs to an orange dream team of superfoods as they all contain beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant shown to play a role in cancer prevention.<\/p>\n<h3>Immune System Health<\/h3>\n<p>If the acid from citrus gives you dental and digestive woes, pumpkin can step up to save the day! A good source of Vitamin C, pumpkin is an excellent alternative for your daily needs.<\/p>\n<p>If we\u2019ve inspired you to experiment with pumpkin, try this tasty recipe!<\/p>\n<h1>Pumpkin Punch<\/h1>\n<p><em>Serves 10<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Ingredients<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 lb. pumpkin<\/li>\n<li>3 cups water<\/li>\n<li>1 cup granulated sugar or to taste<\/li>\n<li>2 \u00bd cups pineapple juice<\/li>\n<li>Ice cubes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Method:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Peel and cut pumpkin in small pieces.<\/li>\n<li>Boil pumpkin in a little water until tender. Cool.<\/li>\n<li>Puree in an electric blender with 3 cups water. Sweeten to taste with sugar.<\/li>\n<li>Add pineapple juice and chill.<\/li>\n<li>Add ice cubes and serve.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Note: for a thicker consistency, you may add milk or evaporated milk<\/p>\n<p><em>Recipe courtesy The Naparima Girls\u2019 High School Cookbook, Second Edition<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Header image via <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1H42MHR\" target=\"_blank\">jehancancook.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hungry for more? Read all our <a href=\"http:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\">Health and Wellness<\/a> tips!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"btn btn-momo\" href=\"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/pumpkin-power-learn-the-surprising-benefits\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,37,11,36,38,14,35,39,12],"class_list":["post-170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-diet","tag-fibre","tag-health","tag-health-benefits-of-pumpkin","tag-healthy-eating","tag-lifestyle","tag-pumpkin","tag-recipes","tag-trinidad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243,"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170\/revisions\/243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ultra-pharm.com\/loyalty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}