PUMPKIN SCONES

Pumpkins started showing up in our local shop, which means only one – it’s time to eat all the pumpkins!

Therefore, brace yourselves – all the pumpkin recipes are coming your way.

While I must admit, I’m not much of a – eat a plane, baked pumpkin kinda person; I find it tastes a bit weird, I do enjoy creations with pumpkin puree. I love it because it’s so easy to include in tons of recipes & create some pretty amazing, delicious & cozy dishes. And let’s not forget homemade pumpkin spice latte, which smells so good I don’t even need to drink it to feel all the coziness.

Of course, aside from creativity pumpkin offers, there’s a nutritional benefit from it. Pumpkins are nutrient dense, containing all sorts of vitamins, minerals & plant compounds – not bad for a Halloween decoration, ha? 🙂

Pumpkins are rich in vitamin K, which is highly important for our blood & bones. It’s also fat soluble, so make sure to consume vitamin K rich foods with some sort of fat – no worries, here we’ll be using coconut oil. They’ll also provide us with vitamin C, making them especially useful this time of the year when people start sneezing & catching nasty colds. What I wanna mention is that vitamin C is much more useful BEFORE you catch any colds, as a prevention.

Another note on that, kinda unrelated, I’m not sure where in the world you’re located, but here in Germany people buy a lot of “hot lemon” powder, which they dissolve in hot water & that’s supposed to offer them tons of vitamin C & keep them healthy or help them fight cold, according to the package. Now, while it does indeed feel good to drink a hot beverage when your throat is sore & you’re in that “having a cold” state – vitamin C is highly sensitive to heat, which means that aside from a nice hot fluid running down your throat, you won’t get much benefit. What I’d suggest instead of giving your money to the pharmaceutical industry is to take loving care of your body all the time & use food as a medicine – because it has so much power that never ceases to amaze!

P.S. this is the same reason why you don’t want to squeeze your lemon directly to the hot tea, wait till it’s just warm. Otherwise, you get a nice taste from the lemon, but vitamin C dies.

Now, back to pumpkins – they contain potassium, which is a wonderful little fella helping our blood pressure, heart rythm, water balance, muscles, nerves & even digestion work flawlessly. Another nutrients pumpking offer in smaller amounts are riboflavin, iron, copper, folate, manganese & a few other B vitamins.

However, where pumpkins really shine are their beta-carotene amounts. They’re incredibly rich in bera-carotene, which is a powerful antioxidant & some of it gets converted to vitamin A in our bodies. What this means in real life is that pumpkins help keeping our immune system up & running, protecting us from infections. It also means we’re gonna have healthy eyes, skin & heart. How awesome is that?!

All from eating scones – no wonder I love food 🙂

 

Pumpkin type I used here is hokkaido pumpkin, I love there because they’re cute & have such a vibrant color (more color = more beta-carotene). Also, I suggest making your own pumpkin puree – it’s as simple as cutting your pumpkin in half, removing the seeds (which I also bake till they’re dry & then eat) & baking it for ca 40mins at 350°F / 180 ºC. You will know it’s done if it’s easy to poke with a fork – it will have, well, a mashiness of a puree. Then you just take it out, let it cool & scoop out your puree. Keep it in a clean jar in your fridge, unopened it can last for some time, I’m not 100% sure because I usually start using it right away. 🙂 If you do know, however, please let me know so I can share it with the world!

These scones are so good, even the smell is enough to make it feel like fall. I love their color, like the leaves you can watch through the window while enjoying them for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, with a cup of tea. I’m telling you, you’re gonna love them!

 

You need these pumpkin scones in your life because:

• • color is just perfect

 

• • that smell

 

• • all the coziness!

 

• • they’ll keep the cold away

 

• • comfort of the fall afternoon

 

• and of course – tons of nutrients

 

I prefer using whole grain spelt flour because it’s richer in proteins, iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, zinc, as well as unsaturated fatty acids then whole grain wheat flour (although you can use whole grain wheat flour as well, result will be delicious). It’s also great source of fiber, thiamin & niacin – which will show some love to our metabolism, energy conversion & nervous system.

I mentioned earlier we’re gonna need some coconut oil – you guys know already how much I love it. Fatty acids in coconut oil will keep our hair, skin & nails beautiful + our brain loves them. Therefore, we’re gonna be pretty and smart 😀

As a sweetener, I use honey – I’m a bit honey fan since it’s delicious & provides us with a couple of vitamins + minerals, but more importantly enyzmes & antioxidants. The darker the color, the more goodies it contains, usually. Also, I use only 2 tbsp because that’s sweet enough for me, but you can use a bit more if needed.

Another amazing thing about these scones is that they’re packed with best proteins, thanks to eggs. I know eggs are one of those foods that spike up discussions. If you ask some people, they’re deadly & horrible because of the cholesterol they contain. What I’d like to adress is the fact that cholesterol in eggs doesn’t affect cholesterol levels in our bodies. The thing is, the more cholesterol you eat, the less your body produces (of course, this doesn’t encourage diet extremely high in cholesterol, it’s just a soothing fact for those of us who care for our bodies). Which brings me to another point – cholesterol occurs naturally in our bodies & plays a vital role when it comes to, well, keeping us alive. You can find it in every cell membrane, it’s used to make hormones, vitamin D & digestive fluids. 

However, if you’re trying to avoid too much cholesterol, you can limit your egg intake to one or you could eat only egg whites – they’re mainly only protein. However, I would recommend eating whole egg, because yolk is where all the nutrients are. And the nutrient profile of eggs is incredible – they offers us vitamin A, which, as said earlier, we need for vision, immune system & our brains. They’re also one of the rare dietary sources of vitamin D, which is essential for our bones & absorption of calcium.

Another super important vitamin eggs will provide us with is B12 – it can be found only in animal products, but is crucial for our wellbeing. Vitamin B12 prevents anemia, keeps our nerves + blood cells healthy, and gives energy.

They’ll also give us another incredibly important vitamin – folate. Folate deficiencies are common, especially in diets rich in processed foods & poor in fresh greens. But folate is needed to produce our DNA + RNA & blood cells. It also helps convert carbs into energy.

Eggs also contain zinc, which helps our wounds heal & is important for immune system. Iron in eggs is a part of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin in red blood cells transports oxygen all around the body, which means it’s crucial for our lives.

Common argument against eggs, aside from cholesterol, are saturated fatty acids eggs contain. While too much saturated fatty acids will not be beneficial for our health, fatty acids we really should be avoiding are trans fats.

When we make a list of pros & cons, I’d say eggs are pretty awesome.

 

Some serving ideas for your new favorite scones – I usually top them with chocolate sauce from my yogurt brownies – it’s easy, quick & can make it while scones are baking.

Other foods I love eating pumpkin scones with are – vegan yogurt, some nuts, fresh fruits.

And of course, a cup of either pumpkin spice latte or tea; depending on the time of the day.

 

To sum it all up,

WHY YOU SHOULD EAT IT:

• • Pumpkin: potassium, vitamin K, vitamin C, B vitamins, copper, manganese, zinc, beta-carotene

 

• • Honey: a bit of minerals + vitamins, phenolic acid & flavonoids, enzymes

 

• • Eggs: vitamin A, folate, pantothenic acid, vitamin B2, B12, phosphorus, selenium, Vitamin E, D, K & B6, zinc & the best protein

 

• • Cinnamon: antioxidants,  manganese, calcium, iron, several more vitamins + minerals & fiber

 

• • Coconut oil: MTC, vitamin E

 

• Whole grain spelt flour: fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, zinc, iron, phosphorus