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Use Every Part of Your Pumpkin for Tasty Savings

Get creative with this fall favorite to save money and prevent waste

fotog / Getty Images There’s no more obvious sign that fall has arrived than the bright orange pumpkins decorating neighbors’ porches, piled high at the local farm stand or featured as the at your favorite coffee bar. But don’t limit yourself to buying a giant pumpkin for Halloween and then discarding it once trick-or-treaters have come and gone. There’s so much you can do with this versatile winter squash. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. More than 2 billion pumpkins are produced annually, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, so make full use of the harvest and get your money’s worth. Pumpkins are packed with vitamin A, are a good source of vitamin C and potassium, and are loaded with , a powerful, cancer-fighting antioxidant, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. The pumpkins most people select for their jack-o’-lanterns are typically grown for size and shape, but bigger doesn’t necessarily mean more flavorful. Different types of pumpkins contain varying amounts of water and offer varying textures, so keep that in mind if you plan to cook them. The good news is that all pumpkins can be consumed in their entirety (except for the stem). If you’re following a recipe, you’ll want to see if a particular variety is best. Consider one of the many heirloom varieties available at your local store or farmers market. Whatever kind of pumpkin you buy, using the whole thing is fun, saves you money and will yield many a meal long after the have been packed away.

Pumpkins for decoration

Inside Creative House / Getty Images There is one type of pumpkin that’s not for cooking, and that’s the one you carved and have displayed by your front door. “Once you cut open a pumpkin, it begins to rot,” says Joe Frillman, executive chef of Daisies restaurant in Chicago. You can use the guts and the seeds that you pull out of a fresh pumpkin prior to carving it, but whatever is left sitting outside runs the risk of animal contamination and should not be consumed. Pumpkins used as part of a are OK to eat, but do not consume anything that’s been decorated with permanent marker or other potentially toxic art supplies. . Or fill it with soil and plant hearty fall flowers like mums or pansies. It can even make a beautiful centerpiece for Thanksgiving — pumpkins can last eight to 12 weeks if they’re not cut open.

Peels for stocks and sauces

Michael Moeller / EyeEm / Getty Images Peeling your pumpkin is easy – many chefs suggest peeling with a paring knife or pulling off strips of peel after roasting or microwaving pumpkin chunks. But most peels end up in the compost bin , even though there are myriad ways to cook with them. Frillman adds the peels to vegetable stock as a starter for soups, stews and even pasta sauces. If you plan to slice and roast your pumpkin, feel free to leave the skin on during roasting and then dig out the flesh. Entertainment 30% off a 1-year subscription See more Entertainment offers >

Consume the fantastic flesh

Olgaorly / Getty Images There are many ways to use the flesh, or meat, of the pumpkin. To roast, simply halve your pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and guts, and coat with a little olive oil and seasonings, whether sweet (cinnamon, clove, pumpkin pie flavors) or savory (salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika). You can also cube the pumpkin before cooking. Eat the roasted cubes as a delicious side dish, or puree them with the juice from the pumpkin guts (see below) to make a filling for a pie or pasta. Most pumpkin recipes call for cooking or baking the flesh, but did you know you can also eat it raw? “Raw pumpkin is a sleeper,” Frillman says. “Take a peeler and shave raw pumpkin and make a salad out of it. It’s like a cross between a green papaya and a muted melon flavor — catches people by surprise.”

Snack on pumpkin seeds

MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images Part of the fun of making jack-o’-lanterns is roasting and eating the pumpkin seeds. And for good reason — they are delicious! Pumpkin seeds also pack in the nutrition, delivering a healthy dose of fiber, magnesium and other nutrients. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Samantha Lande is a contributing writer who covers food, health and human interest stories for several national publications. Her work has appeared in Real Simple and Allrecipes, on the Food Network and more. MORE FROM AARP AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Restaurants offers > See more Travel Planning offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Groceries offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS