These days, fall is all about the food. Everyone is making pumpkin spice this and pumpkin spice that, trying to cash in on the hottest autumn trend. But I decided I needed to take it up a notch, beyond just sipping on pumpkin spice lattes and eating pumpkin spice muffins. I decided I needed to attempt to survive off the humble pumpkin for three days straight, and really get into the fall spirit.
Outside of being the perfect food to celebrate fall with, pumpkins are also great for you. Full of vitamin A, vitamin E, and iron, eating pumpkin is a great way to keep your immune system strong. A single cup of pumpkin puree also has 7.1 grams of dietary fiber, to assist with digestion.
Day 1
Breakfast
I started out my first day with a sizeable bowl of pumpkin oatmeal topped with a fair amount of maple syrup. While definitely tasty, this combination of pumpkin puree and oatmeal was a very hefty breakfast. So hefty, in fact, that I threw out half of my bowl, while the other half sat in my stomach like a rock. This breakfast definitely put a damper on my day. Must’ve been the fiber!
Lunch
For lunch, I whipped up some fancy quinoa the night before with some nice veggies, and the puree of the glorious pumpkin. Like my breakfast, this lunch was FILLING. It was super tasty though. I ate it in class and all my friends were raving about how great of a chef I am. I felt like a star! Little did they know I was literally turning into a pumpkin as they spoke.
Dinner
My first pumpkin dinner was the pairing of Annie’s Mac and Cheese and pumpkin puree. First, I was impressed by the color of it, as it turned the normally white mac and cheese to orange, like Kraft Dinner. The taste was pretty normal too, and didn’t taste very different. The texture was the issue for me. The pumpkin’s only real addition to the mac and cheese was giving it a weird, grainy texture. Overall though, not a terrible meal.
Day 2
Breakfast
I didn’t have any classes on day two of my pumpkin diet, so I had time to make a longer recipe for breakfast: 3-ingredient pumpkin banana pancakes. With just eggs, bananas, and pumpkin puree, I even had the energy to plate them up nicely. These were super yummy, although they didn’t taste like pumpkin. Drowning them in maple syrup probably didn’t help with that either. They were delicious though and weren’t heavy like my oatmeal the day before.
Lunch
OK, I may have burnt the bread on this one, but it was a really good sandwich. I put pumpkin puree on each slice of bread, and topped it with turkey, spinach, and lots of cheese. The pumpkin made this sandwich extra creamy, and along with the cheese—overall, an awesome sandwich. Who knew pumpkin puree could be the best new condiment?
Dinner
Pumpkin chili was the first thing I knew I’d make for this food challenge, and it didn’t disappoint. It didn’t taste much like pumpkin, but it was delicious. Topping it with cheese made it even better than it already was. I’d definitely eat this normally when I’m not spending my days turning into a pumpkin.
Day 3
Breakfast
This pumpkin yogurt was kind of like the mac and cheese I made on the first day. It didn’t taste much different than it normally would, but the pumpkin made it grainy, and gave it a weird texture. Definitely made me regret voluntarily wanting to eat pumpkin for three days. The cereal and honey on top made it bearable though.
Lunch
I made way too much quinoa on the first day, so I ate it again on day three. It grew on me as I ate more of it, but it was still so heavy. If I wasn’t hungry when I ate this, I would have hated it with all of my pumpkin-filled heart. But I was very hungry, so I graciously consumed all of it as I started to turn orange and grow a stem on top of my head.
Dinner
My last meal of the great pumpkin diet challenge was quesadillas filled with peppers, onions, cheese, and of coarse, pumpkin puree from a can. The pumpkin was probably more prominent in this than in all my other meals. The pumpkin made the quesadillas creamy just like in my panini, but I liked it more in these. I don’t think I’d eat these normally, but they were still delicious.
At the end of this food challenge, I became a pumpkin in every sense of the word. OK, just kidding. But I went off to the store to buy one of my own, and carved it to celebrate the fall season.