You might be sceptical about this pumpkin seed butter recipe if you're like me and have been scarred from past bitter experiences ( literally) of bought pumpkin seed jars.
But with the benefits of pumpkin seeds being so good for the body, which I'll share with you below, I had to find a way to get more of these pepitas in my diet.
After a few mixes and churns of the food processor, I'm bringing you my pumpkin seed butter recipe. Trust me when I say I might even choose this over almond butter! It is a sweet, salty, creamy and nutritious combination. Did I mention that this pumpkin seed butter recipe is super easy to make? Zoom down to the bottom to try it out, and let me know your thoughts.
The Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds
The benefits of pumpkin seeds are aplenty. Packed with antioxidants, protein, heart-healthy fats, and loaded with beneficial minerals like magnesium, iron and zinc.
Zinc
Zinc is probably a word you will have heard a lot more in the news during coronavirus. Zinc is essential to our immune function, and just one tablespoon of pumpkin seeds provides almost 1mg of zinc. The recommended daily allowance is 9.5mg for men and 7mg for women.
A couple of slatherings of this pumpkin seed butter recipe on sourdough and you'll be on your way to your RDI!
Pumpkin seeds kill parasites
You may not have known this, but pumpkin seeds kill parasites - they are parasite paralysing powerhouses! (say that 5x times!)
An unlikely inspiration source, but this pumpkin seed butter recipe was actually born out of a late-night wormhole (if you will), researching parasites and subsequent pumpkin seeds parasite protocol experimentation. I like to try protocols out before prescribing them to clients and I thought I would share my findings and the resulting seed butter recipe!
Parasites
"Parasite" is a word with negative connotations. After all, the definition of a parasite is 'a helminth that feeds off its host to survive.' But did you know that some parasites can live in harmony with their host and aid it in detoxification in some cases?
Other parasites, however, such as tapeworms, can harm the body by stealing essential nutrients and drastically reducing our digestive systems' ability.
They are very tricky to diagnose and can be an uncaught underlying issue for patients. Many of the presenting symptoms can present as IBS ( which is diagnosed through elimination- rarely are parasites considered in these cases)
A Comprehensive Parasitology test can tell you right out if you have one, or if self-suspected you can try a natural parasite cleanse. And one parasite fighting food that caught my eye was something I had in my cupboards already - a kilo of pumpkin seeds!
How do pumpkin seeds kill parasites?
Pumpkin seeds are anti-parasitic and paralytic to worms. This means that when they paralyse, they detach from the wall of your tissues.
That is the first step - detach them from the tissue.
The second is making sure your bowel movements are frequent to clear them out. This means hydration, fibre, enemas if you need to. Toxins can be released as the parasite dies off so detoxification and evacuation are key. If you suspect you have parasites, book in with me for a consultation on a natural way to remove them.
The Recipe
Ok ok, so you know now how pumpkin seeds are packed with zinc and punching out parasites. Let's get to the recipe.
This pumpkin seed butter recipe technically doesn't need the coconut oil. If you blend it long enough it will form a smooth paste. But I was lazy, impatient and my food processor is on its last legs so I improvised with a bit of coconut oil and the result was... mwah! *chefs kiss*
It's so good I'm actually sitting here writing this sat next to a spoon and jar of pumpkin seed butter.
If you love pumpkin seeds or fancy a mix up from the usual almond or peanut butter, give this pumpkin seed butter recipe a go and tell me what you think!
I love seeing your photos - tag me on Instagram or post a comment below if you tried it!