Sheila Patterson is a registered dietitian with over a decade of experience and a specialization in helping manage blood sugars.
Also known as The Sugar Dietitian, her goal is to help individuals navigate food and sweets with confidence and in combination of a healthy diet.
Sheila joined us with three recipes that are perfect for fall because they use pumpkin puree, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice.
Recipe #1: Pumpkin, Apple Chia Crockpot Oatmeal.
Cooking tips: Select 100% Pumpkin puree to retain all nutrients without added ingredients. Pumpkin puree is 90% water (same as a regular pumpkin, no change) so you can reduce the liquid for a traditional crockpot recipe (1:2 water to oats recipe) and in this recipe use 1:3 ratio to account for the pumpkin puree. So easy to stir everything together and let the Crockpot do its work for a sweet and filling breakfast.
Nutrition highlight: FIBER: The recipe is high in fiber with 10g of fiber in one serving. Fiber is from the rolled oats, chia seeds, ground flaxseed meal and pumpkin puree, The fiber helps slow digestion which benefits blood sugars, lasting fullness and gut regularity and healthy gut bacteria growth.
Recipe #2: Pumpkin Pie Graham Cracker Crumble Ramekin
Cooking benefits & tips: This is great for meal prep and an easy, on-the-go breakfast in individual portions. Pumpkin puree is good for 3-4 days in the refrigerator after opening so great to have a few for the weekday mornings. These are no-bake! You just crumble the graham cracker pieces in a Ziplock bag and add butter. Place the graham cracker mixture at the bottom of the ramekin. Then mix your key ingredients (pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and 2 tbsp maple syrup) added with Greek yogurt for some extra protein and softened low fat cream cheese with a hand mixer. Decorate with leftover crumbles!
Nutrition highlight: IMMUNE HEALTH. Pumpkin puree contains good amounts of vitamin C which we know helps immune health for cold and flu season. It also has vitamins E an antioxidant that fights off viruses and bacteria along with iron that defends against infection. Maple syrup contains trace anti-oxidants (up to 24 different anti-oxidant compounds). It also has a slightly lower glycemic index than table sugar so it raises blood sugars more slowly than table sugar.
Recipe #3: Pumpkin Ricotta French Toast
Cooking benefits & tips: French toast is a great way to combine a carb + protein for breakfast. Lightly coast the bread in the custard or it can get more soggy/less firm. Two slices will have 21g of protein and 5g of fiber. This recipe has a whipped topping: ricotta, Greek yogurt, pumpkin puree and spices. Garnish with pumpkins seeds!
Nutrition benefits: EYE HEALTH: A half cup of pumpkin puree has 100% of the daily value. Vitamin A protects the cornea, the surface of the eye, and allows us to see under conditions of low light," Vitamins C and E, promote long-term eye health by protecting against oxidative stress or protecting from cell damage.
Follow Sheila Patterson on Instagram and TikTok along with her website thesugardietitian.com for all of the latest healthy recipes for fall and to join her nutrition email list.
