It's fall y'all. My favorite time of year, and I seriously cannot get enough pumpkin. Usually pumpkin is accompanied with cinnamon & nutmeg, otherwise know as Fall's best friends, but it can be savory too! Here is one of my all time favorite fall snacks to enjoy all year round!

What you need:

• 1/2 can of Pure Pumpkin (read the ingredients!)
• 1 can Chickpeas (Again, read the ingredients! sometimes they like to sneak in preservatives!)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 T water
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 tsp 100% Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sea salt

Let's get down to business:
 
Throw all of the ingredients into your blender/food processor of choice, I like to use my Ninja. I usually find that everything blends better if you put the pumpkin in first, but that's just me! Blend away until nice and smooth. And yum! pumpkiny, garlicy goodness encapsulated in every creamy bite. Serve with fresh veggies or try my Clean Whole Wheat Crackers or Clean Whole Wheat Pita Bread!

So with all of the squash i've been cooking, I decided to try roasting the seeds too. They look just like pumpkin seeds certainly these cousins must tastes similar, and they do!

The name doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but these puppies taste exactly like pumpkin seeds!

What you need:

• Seeds from acorn/butternut/whatever squash (and you can DEFINITELY use pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• A Sprinkle of sea salt
• A Sprinkle of garlic powder
  
• (feel free to flavor with anything you like! sea salt and pepper is another good choice, a little chili powder or cayenne for those who like it hot...)

Let's get down to business:

Rinse seeds and remove any squash still hanging around, pat dry. (I find if you put them in a strainer and put the faucet on full blast, you can almost powerwash the squash off the seeds

Mix all ingredients together

Spread out in single layer on a foil-lined pan

Bake for 15 minutes, I usually put mine in while the squash is doing its thing at 375°
 you can shake the pan halfway through if you want, but i didn't find the need to.

and there you have it! Super yummy, crunchy seed to snack on AND none of your squash went to waste! Now what's better than that?