National Pumpkin Day!

The first sign of Fall is the PSL (raise your hand if you drank one in August!) but Fall, and Pumpkin Szn are far from over. We’re celebrating National Pumpkin Day with easy DIY recipes from our Members, and a fun pumpkin carving contest.

We asked Members who work in health and wellness to contribute tasty pumpkin recipes that you could make at home. Pull on some flannel and cozy up with these pumpkin delights.

Mooch and Mel at Move. love pumpkin more than we do, and have been sharing pumpkin inspired recipes all month on @Move.withmm, so of course they had to share more than one recipe for National Pumpkin Day!

Maca Pumpkin Blondies

Ingredients:

1 can white beans
1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup gluten free quick oats
1/4 cup almond butter
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (add a dash of cinnamon, too!)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp maca root powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chocolate chips

Directions:

Line an 8-inch pan with parchment or grease well. Preheat oven to 350 F. Drain and rinse the beans very well. Process all ingredients except chocolate chips in a high-quality food processor until completely smooth. Stir in the chocolate 

chips. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, press a few chocolate chips into the top if desired, and bake on the center rack for 28 minutes.

BostonYPA Member Eliza Goode brings us a the Pumpkin Snack Mash, which you can enjoy any time of the day, or for dessert! The dairy free, gluten free recipe uses pumpkin puree as the base, and you improvise based on what you like or have in your kitchen!

Read Eliza’s notes on how to buy the best ingredients below while customizing your own Pumpkin Snack Mash!

You can find Eliza @goodecleanliving

Improvised ingredients:

• 16 oz can of Pumpkin puree (ensure no additives in the one you buy!)

• 1 cup of Non-dairy milk (Coconut/oat milk/almond milk)

• 1/4 cup (or as much as you want) Seeds (Sunflower/Pumpkin/Hemp/Chia)

• 1/4 cup (or as much as you want) Nut Butter (Peanut/Almond/Cashew/Sunflower)

• 1/4 cup cacao powder (healthy alternative to cocoa powder to get the chocolatey taste - I like Terrasoul brand)

• 1/4 cup (or as much as you want) Carob chocolate chip (healthy alternative to chocolate - feel free to use dark chocolate chips or whatever you fancy)

• Feel free to add other nuts (hazelnuts) for a crunchier texture or raisins for a sweeter taste. 

Fool-proof directions:

Mash up in a bowl / mix in a food processor if you have one. If you want it to be thicker, add some more nut butter or a banana. If it needs to be more liquidy, add some liquid coconut oil, more puree or milk. No need to bake - just roll in 1 inch balls or eat as chocolate mousse out of a jar! Keep refrigerated for up to a few weeks. 

PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST!

We asked our community to submit photos of their carved pumpkin for our carving contest! At stake is a $100 gift certificate to the Boston restaurant of their choice (must be locally owned and offer gift cards). Voting is taking place in our IG stories this afternoon. View the entries below and go to @bostonypa to vote!

@davidfoxphotographer

@tripstravel

@classandsunshine