PUREE'D PUMPKIN
1 Pumpkin
Zero PointsPlus™
Cut off the stem from the top of the pumpkin. (In reality, dig out the chain saw because this bad boy is hard as a rock! See that big, sharp knife? It was a struggle!)
Cut the pumpkin in half. (Again, keep that chain saw handy!) Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff. (I used a spoon to scoop it out because it felt 'creepy' in my hand.) If you're a fan of pepitas (ok, pumpkin seeds), save them to bake/roast. At this point, I was not friends with this pumpkin so I didn't save them.
Cover a baking sheet with foil and lay the pumpkin halves face down on the pan. Cover with another layer of foil. Bake, covered, at 350ยบ for 1 1/2 hours.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, peel the skin off. Find an air pocket in the skin for an easy start. Ok.....mine didn't have any 'air pockets' and the pumpkin is NOT easy to peel! I used a spoon and scooped the the pumpkin out.
Put the pumpkin in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
If you decide to do this, may I recommend using a food processor instead of a blender. The final product will be the same, BUT after putting all the pumpkin in the blender, I had to take some out in order to get the blender to cooperate with me, puree some of it and then add more.
At this point you can either spoon into freezer bags/containers or put into a container to use within a week. I chose to put it in a container because I'm going to use it later to make something....maybe pumpkin cupcakes.
Now for the comparison.
The above whole pumpkin cost $3.20 (tax included) and yielded 24 ounces of pureed pumpkin which comes out to about 13 cents an ounce. A 15 ounce can of Libby's 100% Pure pumpkin cost $1.88 (tax included) which also comes out to about 13 cents an ounce. The whole pumpkin took over 2 hours from start to finish and used 1 1/2 hours of electricity (my electric oven) as well as @10 minutes of electricity for the blender. Not to mention ALOT of 'elbow grease' and talking to myself! A can of Libby's takes mere seconds of electicity to open the can using an electric can opener OR none using a (fe)manual opener. Both have ZERO PointsPlus™. You make the choice. I've already made mine. Will I do this again? NO!!!! I'm all about convenience as well as taste and Libby's has my vote! But at least I can say I did it. Can you?
Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!! *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***
Later!
Loving Life(time)!
Jan
No comments:
Post a Comment