PUMPKIN EVERYTHING! 60-179 calorie recipes.

Has anyone even eaten baked 'sugar' pumpkin, mashed, like squash? (It's gotta be a sugar pumpkin. Sometimes also called a pie pumpkin.)
It is absolutely amazing. They eat it in Africa a lot.
Cut the pumpkin in half and discard the stem part and the seeds.
Place the halves face down on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in a 375 degree F oven for about an hour and a half.
Scrape the soft flesh out of the skin and mash it, with a bit of butter and brown sugar. Or, just mash it plain.
It is absolutely amazing.
In Alexander McCall Smith's The Number One Lady Detective's Agency, the story's protagonist, Mma Precious Ramotswe, eats pumpkin a lot. I was curious about that. I am an American, and so I know that the pumpkin is indigenous to North America. When I read the book, and read the part about the pumpkin, I figured that was their word for some kind of African squash. So, I emailed the author. He responded. No, he said. It is the American pumpkin. The pumpkin is a common staple in many parts of southern Africa, he said.
We think it is limited to pies, and that the only edible pumpkin you can find comes in cans.
Not true. It is delish.

I'm on a crazy pumpkin kick (who isn't this time of year) and I went and found some delicious pumpkin recipes! I made pumpkin cake bars last night, as well as pumpkin cookies (although they taste more like little loaves of pumpkin bread, still delicious!) Tonight, I'm making 70 calorie protein bars pumpkin protein bites. Here they all are! Let me know how yours turn out, if you make any. :drinker:
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Pumpkin Cookies (That taste like little loaves of pumpkin bread!)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15-18 minutes
Yields: About 32 cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon of almond extract (you can use vanilla if you prefer)
1 cup of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
Cooking spray
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
Cream sugars, applesauce, pumpkin and almond extract together.
In another bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spice. Once mixed, add to the wet stff. (Yep, that’s what she said).
Form little blobs and bake for 15 – 18 minutes, or until browned.
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Pumpkin Protein Bars
I calculated it out to 65 calories, 9 grams of protein and 2 grams of sugar!

Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
6 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (approx 100 cals and 20 grams of protein per scoop, I use Bioplex)
4 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1-2 tsp powdered stevia (such as Nu Naturals)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix wet ingredients (egg whites, pumpkin and vanilla); set aside.
In another bowl, combine dry ingredients. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mix with an electric mixer.
Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 baking dish. Bake at 20-30 minutes.
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Oatmeal Pumpkin Protein Bites

Ingredients:
1.5 cups Rolled Oats
1/4 cup nut butter
1/4 cup local honey
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup pureed apples
1/2 mashed ripe banana
3 scoops vanilla protein powder (Again, I use Bioplex!)
2 Tbsp pumpkin spice
1 tsp Cinnamon
**Optional - raisins, nuts, date, chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast oats for 10 minutes as you mix rest of ingredients.
Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients in, one at a time.
Spread mix into greased 8x8 baking dish.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
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Low-Fat Pumpkin Cake Bars
Yields: About 16 cake bars

Ingredients:

For the cake:
•1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
•2/3 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•4 egg whites
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1 cup white sugar
•3 teaspoons baking powder
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1/2 teaspoon of salt
•2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
•Cooking spray

For the frosting:
•5 ounces light cream cheese
•1 cup powdered sugar
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped

Directions:
1.To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8-inch glass cake plate with cooking spray.
2.Mix pumpkin, yogurt, vanilla, egg whites and sugar well in a large mixing bowl. Once combined, add in baking soda, baking powder, flour, salt and pumpkin pie spice until fully mixed.
3.Bake for about 30 minutes, or until cake comes out dry when inserted with a toothpick.
4.To make the frosting: Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together. Once cake has cooled, frost and garnish with toasted almonds.