Food and New Year’s Resolutions Series

Stuffed candied mini pumpkins, recipe below

My father once told me that as a toddler, he and I gained so much weight that he put both of us on a diet. I mention this because it New Year’s resolution time again when folks try and lose weight. North Americans are historically more overweight than residents of any other nation in the world; African-American eating habits are just as problematic as the eating habits of other ethnic groups within the United States. According to Joan B. Lewis, a member of the American Dietitian Association and a registered dietitian with more than forty years of experience, historically, most of the eating patterns that you see among Americans are “sugar, salt, fat, you know fatty products, a whole lot of fried stuff, a whole lot of pork products, a whole lot of fast food, no vegetables, no fruit, [and generally] no good wholesome things.” Lewis goes on to say that, over the last eight to ten years, the younger generation has “leaned heavily” on “vegetarian items. It was a blessing in disguise” because those that do are consuming less fat and reducing their chance of obesity and risk factors for high blood pressure and diabetes. If you must make a New Year’s resolution, commit to making it a habit to eat more vegetables and fruits. Here is a stuffed candied mini pumpkins recipe that my friends and family say is sensational.

Stuffed Candied Pumpkins

Ingredients

Syrup

2 cups sugar or sugar

3 cups water or more

¼ cup of diced crystallized ginger

1/4 cup lemon juice

6 mini pumpkins

Filling

2 cups quick oats

Sweeten to taste with sugar

½ cup of diced crystallized ginger

½ cup of raisins

½ cup to cup of margarine

½ to 1 cup of sweetened coconut flakes

Ground cinnamon, cloves, and Jamaican spice to taste

Optional: sliced almonds or pecan pieces and dried fruit

Method

Syrup—cut the tops off the pumpkins and gut them (save the seeds and roast themhttp://frederickdouglassopie.blogspot.com/search?q=pumpkin+seeds). In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, 3 cups water, ginger, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and continue to stir; reduced the heat so it simmers and place the gutted pumpkins in the sauce pan and cover. Let simmer until they turn color and get soft but can still be moved without breaking apart—about 20 minutes. Filling—in a mixing bowl mix all the dry ingredients and then had enough melted margarine so that the mix is damp but not soaked. Had raisins (nuts and dried applies are optional), ginger, and ground spices to taste and mix. Pre-heat the oven to 350 and remove the pumpkins from the sauce pan and let them cool for 5 minutes. Stuff the cooled pumpkins with the filling which is essentially a brown betty mixture (http://frederickdouglassopie.blogspot.com/search?q=brown+betty) and bake on a cookie sheet until golden orange—about 45 minutes to one hour. Remove from the oven and drench them in the syrup from the sauce pan so the pumpkin becomes completely saturated with the lemon ginger syrup. Let them cool before serving. These are great as a meal or dessert at anytime during the day.