How to Make the Most of Your Halloween Pumpkin

By Angela Sellari

Pumpkins are typically purchased in the Fall for Halloween or Fall decor. However, they aren’t just for carving Jack-O-Lanterns and creating Fall centerpieces. From roasting pumpkin seeds to the compost bin, there are many different things you can do to make the most of your Halloween Pumpkin

Use it For Food
When carving your Halloween Jack-o-Lantern, be sure to roast the pumpkin seeds and scoop out the flesh for fresh pumpkin pies. Check out these 5 mouth watering pumpkin seed recipes. If you don’t like pumpkin seeds, some zoos will accept them as donations as seasonal treats for their animal. You can also spread them in your yard for squirrels and birds.

When carving your pumpkin, be sure to scoop the inside with a spoon until it is about 1 inch thick. You can use the pumpkin flesh for a homemade fresh pumpkin pie or this quick and easy pumpkin cake.

Skin Care
Pumpkin contains more than 100 beneficial nutrients, which help to reverse the signs of aging.

Use it For Decorating After Halloween
If your pumpkin is not showing signs of rot after Halloween, you can use it as a vase for dried flowers, or place a glass vase inside with water and fill with fresh flowers.

Recycle
You can use your pumpkin for compost. If you don’t have a compost bin, break it up and bury it around your rose bushes. It will add valuable nutrients to the soil. Many cities will accept pumpkins in yard waste bins, or you might be able to take it to an organic material recycling center.

As we buy our Halloween pumpkins this year, let’s all try to be eco-conscious and get the most use possible out of our Halloween pumpkins.