We’re sure you’ve read lots of pumpkin recipe ideas to use at Halloween – pumpkin pies, soups, curries, even biscuits – but what if (dare we say) you actually DON’T like the taste of pumpkins?!? If you have children, chances are they’ll want their yearly pumpkin to decorate and they’re not alone. It’s estimated that a staggering 17 - 24 million pumpkins are bought each year in the UK to celebrate Halloween. Thankfully most are sourced locally, with between 10 and 15 million of these pumpkins grown in the UK, but it’s also sadly estimated that around 13 million of the total pumpkins bought at Halloween go straight to waste after the event. We thought it’s time to look at some of the ways you can help lower that – whilst not having to eat pumpkin soup for the first 2 weeks of November!..
A truly terrifying side effect of Halloween - with over 65% of pumpkins going straight from the windowsill to the bin, it’s time to find some alternative uses for them after Halloween for non-pumpkin fans – without a soup or curry in sight!
CUT IT OUT!
Top tip – do not buy those plastic “Pumpkin carving” sets you see in supermarkets or pound shops. They are not strong enough to cut through a real life thick pumpkin skin, they break, and we’re trying to reduce waste here not add plastic waste too! Start with a sharp knife from your kitchen, thick metal spoon, and two bowls - one for flesh and one for seeds (separating them at this stage makes life easier later). Cut open the pumpkin by carving a circle into the top (or bottom) of the pumpkin. Scoop out seeds & strings (aka "guts") into one bowl, and then for the other bowl use a strong spoon to scrape the walls for the "flesh". Then you’re ready to carve you design as desired – just remember it doesn’t matter if it comes out different to how you planned! (Spoiler alert – it probably will!)
Now, after the festivities of the event, what to do with the shell, seeds and flesh?...
FEED THE BIRDS!
As nature quietens down, Autumn is a great time to feed the local birds! Repurpose carved pumpkins by turning them into bird feeders! Cut your carved pumpkins in half and fill the bottom with bird seed - don't forget to scrape off any wax from the pumpkin base so it doesn't get eaten! The top part with the hole can be composted. Unlike pumpkin carving kits, Pound shops are a great place to get bags of bird feed. Then you get the fun of watching out the window as the birds come to visit! You’ll probably (definitely) see some squirrels joining in too!
If you have a compost bin, pumpkins are a great source of nitrogen and break down quickly into nutrient-rich fertiliser. You can also drop them off at a composting collection site along with other food waste.
We’ve also seen them be used as ‘pumpkin planters’ if you’d like to add some Autumn feels to your garden!
Roasted pumpkin seeds can be great to eat for those less excited about the taste of pumpkin flesh itself. They can be a stand-alone snack, or added to salads, soups, granola bars and more. But if they’re really not to your taste, they have other non-edible uses too!
How to roast them;
Ingredients: Raw Seeds, Water, Olive Oil, Salt.
Rinse the seeds off, removing any tagged on pumpkin flesh. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Coat the base of the baking tray with a thin layer of olive oil. Spread the seeds onto the tray ensuring any clumps are separated - toss them to coat with the olive oil & add a little salt. Bake them in the of the oven until seeds begin to brown, around 20 minutes. When lightly browned, remove and leave them to cool. You can then store the baked seeds in jar until you’re ready to use them.
LIVEN UP YOUR CLEANSER!
Roasted seeds can make a great exfoliator! Grind a few in a pestle and mortar and add a small amount to your usual cleanser to turn it into an scrub – a natural exfoliating treatment is great for your skin after all that Halloween make up! Grind them more for a gentler treatment or leave them in larger pieces for a harsher scrub - it’s up to you & your skin type.
This also works with shower gels - add some ground-up seeds to make your own body scrub!
PREP YOUR PURÉE!
Boil some water in the kettle and add it to a saucepan. Remove any remnants of skin from pumpkin flesh & slice into similarly sized chunks. Place chunks into a metal colander and lower it into the saucepan, pop the lid on and simmer for approximately 40 minutes or until it’s soft & mushy. (You can also use a steamer if you have one.) Remove the colander, discard the water and squash the veg with fork, potato masher or blender to make purée. Leave this to cool, ready for your chosen treatment recipe - like hair masks, face masks. You can also freeze leftovers for later use.
A MASK FOR AFTER HALLOWEEN!
Post Halloween face masks!
Revitalise your skin after all that face paint with a DIY pumpkin face mask. Mix pumpkin purée with honey and almond milk for a vitamin-filled (and edible) way to nourish your skin. These home-made face masks are great for little ones that want to join in on spa time too – with no nasty ingredients or worries if they start to lick their lips! It’s a lovely relaxing activity for everyone to join in! This recipe creates a gentle, all-round nourishing mask. There are many other face mask recipes that people have posted online, tailored to different skin types - so do have a look to find the one that’s best for you!
LESS SCARY HAIR!
Post Halloween hair treatment!
Now your skin is sorted – wash out that Halloween hairspray and give your hair a new lease of life with a homemade pumpkin hair conditioning treatment. Many sources say homemade pumpkin puree works wonders for dry hair. Why pay for expensive hair products when we can cut down on our food waste at the same time as nourishing our locks?!
You’ll need your prepped puree and we found this simple hair mask recipe.
Ingredients needed are;
125ml Pumpkin Puree
60ml Yogurt
2 Tablespoons Raw Honey
1 Tablespoon Gelatin Powder, dissolved into 120ml of water
1 teaspoon Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (optional - helpful if you do not have dry hair, leave out if you do)
Simply mixed the ingredients together, apply to dry or damp (unwashed) hair, cover with a shower cap or plastic bag clipped tight, relax for 15-20 minutes (perhaps whilst in the bath?) then shampoo and condition as usual. As a natural recipe, it’s safe for little ones who want to join in on a spa evening too.
Once you've used up all the pumpkin that you can, take a moment to be proud of yourself and your contribution to helping cut down on pumpkin waste post Halloween! Relax for a well-deserved spa evening at home after the hecticness of excited children at this time of year. Get the kids involved too - or don't... Happy Halloween!