We’re a few days past Halloween’s sweetness and that means only one thing: With Thanksgiving on approach and December holidays close behind, the food world’s officially drenched in pumpkin and the orangey, spicy forecast ain’t changing soon.
Does that bring glee to your pumpkin-lovin’ heart or is your palate on squash overload? If you thought cold-pressed juices were safe from flavors of da-spice, you’re wrong: At The Juice Standard, we get psyched each fall for the return of a few pumpkin-spicy menu treats (which you can read about here). But unlike lots of other p-based products on the market, when we say our sumpin’ sumpins have pumpkin, we really use pumpkin. As in, real 100 percent organic pumpkin puree.
The ingredients in our Harvest Spice Bee Invincible make for one kickin’ pumpkin latte thanks to our not-so-secret ingredient: Real, honestagoodness pumpkin. (Photo courtesy of TJS Kitchen Supervisor Giselle Caceres and Bee Grace Rincon)
Here’s why: Aside from being a dependable holiday flave in everything from coffee to ice cream, pumpkin’s one of the world’s oldest members of the produce family, dating to when Colonists were introduced to it after arriving in America (thank you, Native Americans). All it took was that first Thanksgiving to fall in love in love with its fleshy orange insides, and by the end of the century—when Colonists chatted up alllll the pumpkiny fun they’d have making pies and lattes standing strong with their new BFFs for their every joint-Thanksgiving to come (sorry, Native Americans)—pumpkin became the First Fruit of the New World. Right along with the corn we stole were gifted by our new friends.
Food history lesson aside, we use pumpkin because it tastes good. And, beecause…
-
vitamins A and C (for peepers and immunity)
-
beta carotene (also good for peepers)
-
fiber (for digestion and weight loss)
-
low-cal (49 per cup)
-
phytosterols (in the seeds, which reduces bad cholesterol)
-
carenotoids (for pretty skin)
-
troptophan (an amino acid that helps your gut produce smile-inducing seratonin)
-
potassium (more than a ‘nana; way less sugar)
Moral? Like we said in this month’s inbox e-newsie, maybe we oughtta cut pumpkin some slack and not whine so loud when the industry goes a little cray by adding it to anything that’s edible. It’s the foundation of Thanksgiving, after all, and dang if it cures a lot of what might ail you. We should show respect, and not just in November.
(And we know just where you can start….)
#KnowPumpkinKnowThanksgivingNoPumpkinNoThanksgiving