pumpkin Archives - Darling Darleen | A Lifestyle Design Blog

3 Healthy Pumpkin Breakfast Recipes

The best thing about Fall days are pumpkin days, and eating all things pumpkin! I am obsessed with pumpkins and for so many years thought of eating pumpkin in a dessert form, which isn’t so good for my waist. So to satisfy my cravings, I am adding pumpkin to just about anything breakfast and leaving out the sugar. After some research, I discovered that eating pumpkin in its raw form is actually really healthy. Add a little natural sweetener and cinnamon and pumpkin spice and it taste just like pumpkin pie! I am sharing 3 Healthy pumpkin breakfast recipes that are a great way to start off your morning and will satisfy all your Fall cravings.

Pumpkin Pancakes

These are a perfect pre-workout quick meal to get your blood sugar and energy going before you hit the gym

1 egg

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup oats

Cinnamon and pumpkin spice

Sweeten with stevia (optional)

Mix together. Spray your pan with oil and cook pancake mixture. This is good for 1 serving. I like to top with more cinnamon and add a little maple syrup on top. Add protein powder if desired.

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oat Cereal

I like to make this overnight in my crock pot so it’s all ready in the morning. And I love the spices that fill the air in my home.

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup steel cut oat

1/8 cup pumpkin

Cinnamon and Pumpkin Spice

A dash of salt

Walnuts and dried cranberries for garnish

This is for a single serving. If you are planning to make a huge a large crockpot make it with 3 1/4 cups water, 1 cup cereal, 3/4 cup pumpkin and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring water to boil over medium heat. Add other ingredients and reduce heat to low and cook forabout 15 minutes. Top with walnuts and dried cranberries and more cinnamon. Drizzle raw agave on top.

Healthy Pumpkin Protein Shake

This is the perfect post-workout breakfast

Ingredients:

8-10 ounces of unsweetened almond or coconut milk

1 heaping scoop of protein powder–vanilla or chocolate

1/2 cup of organic pumpkin puree

Half of a frozen banana

1 tsp of cinnamon

7-10 ice cubes

Optional: maple syrup or honey or stevia (if you need it to be sweeter)

Instructions:

Throw everything in a blender and blend until creamy and thick. Drink and enjoy! Get creative and add apples slices or pecans.

I originally posted this over at How Does She a few years ago, but this is still one of my favorite healthy pumpkin breakfast, and I always pull it out during the Fall season.

SHOP 3 Healthy Pumpkin Breakfast Recipes Post

DIY Fabric Pumpkin with Real Stem

Eeekk! Pumpkin decor for Halloween is always a festive away to get into the spooky season. Pumpkins are also an easy way to then transition right into Thanksgiving. I keep my pumpkins up all throughout October and November. So, it’s nice to have pumpkin decor that will last, well, forever! And fabric can easily do that trick! This DIY fabric pumpkin tutorial is so, so easy! If you don’t know how to sew, there is no excuse because this is a great beginner project! Also, if you have children who want to learn how to sew, this is also a great project for them to take on. Easy like learning how to tie a shoe. This DIY fabric pumpkins are also so cute! You can really get creative on the fabric choices. I had the black and white fabric laying around so I decided to stick with those fabrics and go with a more modern approach to making the pumpkins. The pumpkins are then finished off with a real pumpkin stems so it gives it a cute creative twist and brings them more to life.

DIY Fabric Pumpkin How To

Supplies for DIY Fabric Pumpkin

fabric–cotton, velvet works great too. Not too heavy of fabric

pumpkin stems

rice or beans

fiber filler

scissors

needles

thread

hot glue

Instructions for DIY Fabric Pumpkin

Cut a 9″ or greater circle out of your choice of fabric. I used a plate for my guide. Use anything circular to trace, but I suggest not to go smaller than 9″ (unless you want a really small pumpkin). The smaller pumpkins pictured are made from a 9″ circle. The larger ones are made from a 12″ circle.
Cut a long piece of thread, then thread your needle bringing the ends together. Double knot the two ends together. This will make the stitching a stronger hold.

3. Taking your circle fabric, you will baste stitch all around the edge of the circle, making long stitches. To baste stitch, you pull the needle and thread through the fabric, so there is a knot on one side and all the thread is on the opposite side of the fabric. Then insert your needle in the fabric to the underside and then bring the needle back up to the front side, like pictured. Then pull and the thread will follow through the stitch. Repeat until you have baste stitch all around the edge of the circle.

4. Now you may see that the stitch is trying to pull. Cinch the fabric together so you get a good gathering of fabric. Keep the thread and needle attached!

5. Leave the end open and fill about 2/3 with rice or beans. With the rest of the space, fill with fiberfill until you get a good plump pumpkin.

6. Once filled, pull the thread and needle tightly together, closing up the end. Stitch the edges together, stitching back and forth until the end is tightly close. Then tight a knot in the thread, but don’t cut the thread and needle off quite yet. If you want a round, plumper pumpkin, you are pretty much done and could cut the thread and needle off. But if you want more of an oval shaped pumpkin, follow the next two steps.

7. Take the remaining attached thread and needle and push the needle from the top of the pumpkin and thread to the bottom of the center part pumpkin. Pull through tightly so there is a depression in the center.

8. Go up and down a few times until you get the desired results. Then knot the thread and cut off the last of the thread and needle.

9. Then take your hot glue and glue on the pumpkin stem in the middle, holding in place until it sticks.

You are done! See how simple and easy that is creating these cute DIY fabric pumpkin? You can make a whole little pumpkin family in just a few minutes.