Oven Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Hey all.

I don't know about you, but my child only eats a few things....mainly 4 items. However, one thing that he will eat are peanuts. He loves to shell them and he will even eat the raw peanut. Strange, I know.

This recipe is for Toasted Pumpkin seeds. I don't know if your kids will eat them or not...I do know they are a great source of fiber which sometimes, with the diet our kids have...fiber is not really on the list.

We just carved our pumpkins and tonight begins the process of making these loving football shapes of fiber and crunchiness! We shall see. Just wanted to share this recipe.

Hey...if you all have a great GF/CF or other holiday recipes that you have found your children on the spectrum like, email them to angelt@oasisautism.org and we will place them on our site/blog to share with others!

Oven Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

By Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, About.com

Don't toss those pumpkin seeds! Toast or roast pumpkin seeds in your oven in no time at all. They can can be salted or spiced to suit your palate. The shells are edible and are a good source of fiber. Use this method with other seeds such as acorn squash and butternut squash. Pumpkin seeds are also known as pepitas.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hours

Ingredients:
· Pumpkin seeds
· Cooking spray, olive oil, or butter
· Optional: Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, or other seasoning of choice

Preparation:Rinse pumpkin seeds. Use your fingers to remove all the pulp. Drain pumpkin seeds and discard pulp. Spread out on paper towels on a cookie sheet to dry overnight. Preheat oven to 250 F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil. Toss pumpkin seeds in olive oil, butter, or spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, or your choice of seasonings. Toss to coat. Bake about 1 hour, tossing every 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool pumpkin seeds before eating. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 months or refrigerate up to 1 year. If you like your toasted pumpkin seeds extra-salty, soak overnight in a solution of 1/4 cup salt to 2 cups of water. Dry an additional day, then proceed as above.