Healthy Snacks: Pumpkin Bread

By: Mackenzie Schieck

With these snack ideas, your child's love of pumpkins won’t end with the jack-o'-lantern.

Color Me Healthy

A pumpkin's vibrant orange color tells us everything we need to know about its health benefits: pumpkins are an excellent source of beta carotene. Our bodies translate beta carotene into Vitamin A and reap its rewards, making us less likely to develop certain cancers as well as other diseases. So basically, it's really good stuff.

Wha’d’ya Know About Pumpkins, Huh?

They're a fruit!
Pumpkins are 90 percent water. (And don't let anyone tell you otherwise.)
Native Americans used to flatten and dry strips of pumpkin, then weave them into mats.

Which Pumpkin?

Keep in mind the jack-o'-lantern pumpkins are mainly for show, and it's the smaller sugar pumpkins you'll want to use if you're baking from scratch.

If you're after convenience, the canned variety works just great, but make sure you get the kind without the spices already mixed in. For more information about baking with fresh pumpkin, read our advice article:

Baking with Fresh Pumpkin

Freezable, portable, and oh-so-snackable, pumpkin bread is a great choice for your kid's healthy fall snacking.

Pumpkin Bread on the Move

What with school, extra-curricular activities, and homework, kids need sustenance to help them power through. And parents need something easy they can grab for the kids and go. Enter pumpkin bread. It's packed with beta carotene, easy for little hands to hold onto, and--best of all--has a relatively low mess probability (one solid piece doesn't require utensils, and isn't quite as prone to crumbs as a crunchier snack).

Ways to serve it up:

Bake a loaf fresh for the week, then slice as you go.
Bake several loaves and freeze, pulling them out as needed. (Muffins and quick breads can be frozen for up to 3 months.)
Slice loaves and freeze servings individually (wrap each in cellophane, then in a resealable plastic bag). Kids can grab one from the freezer in the morning for a snack if they are going straight from school to an after-school activity.

Try these recipes: