Recipe Redux: Fresh off the vine – pumpkin yogurt dip for waffle sticks
Posted on October 21, 2011 by eatingtheweek| 10 Comments
In October, pumpkins seem to have just two (and very different) jobs: scaring passersby with gaping, candle-light sneers and cajoling us with their sweetness inside a pie crust. But since we apparently produce an astounding 1.5 billion pounds of these big orange squash every year in the United States, one has to wonder if there aren’t a few more things we can do with them.
The foodie dietitians of Recipe Redux have certainly answered that question, with over 30 recipes for fresh pumpkin. This month’s Redux recipes include so many inventive uses for pumpkin – muffins, soups, risotto, stuffing, sliders, pizza, smoothies – that you could be well into November before trying my contribution, pumpkin yogurt dip for waffle sticks:
Wait, pumpkin for breakfast? I’m more familiar with pumpkin in dinner and dessert recipes. But since the Recipe Redux for me has been about expanding my horizons, I thought I’d try to incorporate pumpkin into the first meal of the day. The result – a very simple dip that can be smeared on pancakes, mixed into oatmeal, used to dunk waffle sticks, or (not that I’m admitting to this) shoveled straight into your mouth with a spoon.
Without further ado, here’s the recipe (text file here). Sure, you can used the canned stuff; but it takes only a little bit of time to work with a fresh pumpkin, and the payback is much more vibrant color, fresher flavor, and (I think) a much more interesting texture. If you need guidance on cooking pumpkin yourself (recommended!), this tutorial from Elana’s Pantry shows how easy it is.
4 servings, approx. 80 calories each
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked pumpkin flesh
½ cup plain strained (Greek) yogurt
½ Tbs cinnamon
3 Tbs maple syrup
Add all ingredients to a food processor & pulse until smooth and well-mixed (30 seconds or so). Divide into ½ cup portions, and serve with waffle sticks or other breakfast grain. This can be stored in the fridge for a few days, also.
Willing to spare a few pumpkins from a tour as jack o’lanterns? Check out this list of inventive recipes from my fellow Reduxers:
- Cherie Schetselaar – Grain Crazy – Fresh Pumpkin Risotto
- Alexandra Caspero- Delicious Knowledge – Pumpkin Enchiladas
- Alysa Bajenaru – Inspired RD – Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Fries
- Everyday Tastiness – Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
- Dr Barb, Nutriton Budgeteer – Pumpkin Chili Chicken Pizza
- Elizabeth Jarrard- Don’t (White) Sugar Coat It – Vegan Pumpkin Soup
- Kristen Bourque- Swanky Dietitian – baked pumpkin oatmeal
- Marie Spano – Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
- Regan @ The Professional Palate – Pumpkin Ravioli in a Walnut-Sage Cider Sauce
- Danielle Omar – Food Confidence RD – Pumpkin Goulash
- Emma @ The Hearty Heart – (Vegan) Cocoa Pumpkin (Whiskey) Mousse
- gretchen – kumquat – baked mini pumpkins
- Emma Stirling – The Scoop on Nutrition – Recipe Redux Chermoula Chickpea & Pumpkin Sliders
- Janel Funk: Eat Well with Janel – Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
- Nicole @ Whole Health RD – Kaddo Bourani – Candied Pumpkin with Yogurt and Meat Sauce
- Yuri – Chef Pandita – Pumpkin Apple Soup
- Lisa @ Healthful Sense – Pumpkin Cream Pie Filling & Pudding
- Jessica Fishman Levinson – Nutritioulicious – Recipe Redux: Pumpkin Pancakes
- Katie Caputo- East Meats West – Pumpkin Stuffing
- Serena @ Teaspoon of Spice – Whole Pumpkin Cheddar Gratin
- Kristina @ Love and Zest – Pumpkin Mash
- Carrie Miller – Nutrition Know How – Baked Stuffed Pumpkin & Pumpkin Orange Muffins
- Ann Dunaway Teh – Eat to Nourish, Energize & Flourish – Pumpkin, Squash and Apple Soup
- Kara Lydon – Peace, Love, and Food – Pumpkin Yogurt Dip
- Stephanie Howard – Give Them Something Better – Fall Harvest Chili
- Karman Meyer-Nutrition Adventures – Pumpkin-Potato Breakfast Hash
- Ayla Withee- Eat Simply – Salt and Vinegar Pumpkin Seeds
- Heather Calcote – Dietitian on the Run – Pumpkin Rosemary & Mushroom Quinoa
- Jill Melton-The Relish Dish – Ham and Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin
- EA-The Spicy RD – Pumpkin Pesto Bruschetta
- Liz Weiss & Janice Newell Bissex – Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen – Ghoulishly Good Stuffed Sugar Pumpkin
- Diane Welland – Eat Well, Eat Clean – Pumpkin Cranberry Scones
This entry was posted in Breakfast, Brunch, Recipe ReDux, Recipes, Vegetable, vegetarian, Week 39 and tagged breakfast, Food, pumpkin, recipe, recipe redux, vegetable, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.
10 Responses to Recipe Redux: Fresh off the vine – pumpkin yogurt dip for waffle sticks
I love that this is so kid friendly – would pair well too with cinnamon crisps too! Going to make this with my 4 yr old.
My 5yo complains about waffle sticks, saying he doesn’t like maple syrup dripping off them. So he was intrigued by the idea of a thicker dip that includes pumpkins, even though it violates his “only cook pumpkins to make pumpkin pie” rule.
Great culinary minds think alike! Great idea using the dip with breakfast grains!
Heh, I thought the same when I saw yours! I have so much pumpkin leftover in my freezer, I will probably end up making multiple batches of both dips
bet you could also use this as a stuffing for French toast… yay! pumpkin for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Don’t forget pumpkin dip & crackers for snack time!
Love your contribution to the Recipe ReDux pumpkin theme
. We do pumpkin pancakes a lot at our house, but pumpkin dip with waffle sticks sounds delicious too!
I haven’t yet tried this yet, but I bet this dip would be good as a spread on pancakes (though maybe plain ones, unless someone *really* likes pumpkin)
This looks delish! Did you make those waffle sticks? they look great too!
I wish I could claim credit, but those are just frozen-from-a-box sticks!