What goes into pumpkin seed loaf?

You may be absolutely floored to learn that the ingredients in pumpkin loaf are flour, water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt, cranberries, and (*drumroll please*) pumpkin seeds! I personally enjoy a nice fresh baked loaf from my local safeway bakery and this one and the olive bread are my new favourites (try them and thank me later).

What is a pumpkin seed?

Well, big shocker, it’s the seed inside a pumpkin (but which came first? the pumpkin or the seed?). Pumpkin seed are also known as pepitas (which translates from the spanish term “little seeds of squash”) when they come from a particular strain of the squash. They can be fried, roasted, baked, and put into other things like salads and breads! They’re a really great source of plant based protein, fat, magnesium, calcium, iron, antioxidants, Vitamin E, and mainly zinc.

Squash and it’s seeds are considered a New World food, and they orginated in areas like Mexico and Latin America along with other types in the squash family! They were introduced to the Old World during the 16th century by transoceanic voyagers and migrators. They were a really important source of energy (high in calories) along with the rest of their squash bodies to both those who grew it in it’s native environment and those who adopted the plant in the Old World, and were quite easy to grow in environments all over the Americas and Europe making it a staple crop for a long time!

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=82 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_seed https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2803533/ https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-xipzw https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-iywei http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3576vj