Roasted Pepitas at http://www.organiceater.com

Yes, these can be Vegan, Vegetarian, or Paleo of course; I just enjoy the alliteration of “Paleo Pepitas”:) These are our new favorite snack, and the whole family loves them! Pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, are a surprisingly healthy source of manganese and several other nutrients you can read about on the link below. Of course you can eat them raw, but we prefer the crunch and flavor of roasting them. My 8 year old turned his nose up to the raw seeds, wouldn’t touch em, but gobbled down a cup of these bad boys (fast!) after they had been roasted. Hubs and the teen love em too!  I buy them (pictured above) at Trader Joes. I prefer the “green” ones, rather than the seeds with the white husk that looks like they’re right out of the pumpkin. Just add a little oil of your choice (I used coconut oil, just enough to cover them) and some natural sea salt, on a baking sheet at 325 for about 20 minutes, stirring after about 10 minutes. They will need to cool off before you can serve them, so tell your family to wait! You could roast a whole bag of these at once, and store them, to have on hand for fast snacks. You can also add cayenne pepper or any other spices to try to vary the flavors.  Here are the benefits of pepitas. I also researched the pesticide levels on pepitas, and they were not on the dirty dozen, and could not be found on the What’s On My Food site, so I think they should be fine. If you know otherwise, please leave a comment.

This is going into regular rotation here at our house now that the 8yo has declared “this is better than popcorn” (and score for the seed vs. grain. yay!) I am thrilled to find another real food, quick, easy, healthy snack idea that got 4 thumbs up here. I hope it helps you too!

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater