LOW CARB | KETO | VEGAN | HIGH PROTEIN | LOW SUGAR (1g) | HIGH MAGNESIUM

It's pumpkin carving time!

Pumpkin carving is one of my most favorite things to do this time of year. I love the whole process. Deciding on your pumpkin design, the excitement of first lifting the lid off of your pumpkin, the smell, the yummy seeds just begging to be roasted, and yes, I even love the slimy feel of the pumpkin guts while I'm scooping that sucker out.

I can't help it, I'm a hopeless Halloween weirdo.

My girls are just as bad as me. They love the whole process too, even the slimy, gooey part. We giggle as we play in the guts.

Dad is on a little bit of a different level. He takes this shit seriously. He takes great effort in picking the perfect design... and it's usually a design that is so beyond expert that my hands cramp up just looking at the pattern. And last night, for the 15th year running, he did not disappoint.

Both of the girls decided to go old school and make traditional Jack-o-lanterns without using patterns and I picked a simple pattern of a skeleton pirate.

But Dad, oh, he picked a pattern that would've given me arthritis. His pattern had two big bats that were flying over an intricate castle which was next to an even more intricate scary tree that had around 500 branches. Okay, whatever show off.

I couldn't help but chuckle a few times when I caught him rotating his wrist and massaging his hand a bit. That's right, that's what you get for being Mr. Awesome At Everything. Did I mention he finished before any of us? How? No idea. I'm telling you, he's a pumpkin carving freak. It's extremely impressive... and even more annoying. He is the best at everything. It doesn't matter what we are talking about.

You know that kid in gym class that you wanted to bitchslap because he made you and the rest of your class look like wimpy losers?

Yup, that was my husband.

When the whole class had to run a mile and everyone was crawling and limping still so far away from the finish line, he was the one who blew past you like the road runner, knees to chest with a smile on his face...while reading a book.

He also won first place for best penmanship and won first place in the spelling bee. I mean COME ON! Normally, I deal pretty well with his perfectionism, in fact it's one of the things I’ve come to rely on him for. I know that no matter what, he can fix whatever it is that's broken...whether it be my phone, a dining room chair, or even my heart.

But last night I grimaced at his perfect pumpkin. It probably wouldn't have been so annoying if my pumpkin came out even somewhat recognizable.

Normally I'm not horrible at carving but this year it looks like I was blindfolded... and that I was forced to carve with my feet.

My pattern was super cool. It was a skeleton pirate. It looked totally rad and I was really excited... Until I saw my finished product. In the light I still couldn't tell it was bad. I mean you really can't tell what they truly look like until you turn the lights off and see them lit up. The girls' pumpkins came out super cute.

This is Gia's. She’s a girly girl. Everything is shiny and glittery and sunshine in her life. So it was only natural her pumpkin would sport a cute hair bow.

This is Jossy's. Our Little Mouse is a tomboy and embraces anything and everything rough, tough, and icky. Her pumpkin is sporting a scary cut-up mouth that according to Josser is supposed to look like it has stitches. Lol.

I especially like Jossy's message on the side of her stitched pumpkin. Hahaha!

Two amazing little girls... who are very, VERY different. Funny how that happens. But I kind of love it that way :)

And Jay's pumpkin, well duh... Mr. Gold Medal had a work of art sitting there glowing like a giant pumpkin prize.

Behold Mr. Wonderful's masterpiece...

Whatevs. Well you wanna know what mine looked like?

A damn monkey.

Not. Even. Joking.

Nobody could even deny it to try to make me feel better. Everybody agreed I carved a friggin' monkey.

Wanna see it? I know you do. It's okay to laugh.

HAHAHAHA. DEAR LORD.

That does not look like a pirate! Oh well, you win some and you lose some. We all ended up laughing hysterically at it. I mean really, how could you not? On the bright side maybe my monkey can climb Jay's 10 foot tall award winning tree... Next to his kingdom castle.... with the flying bats.

MONKEY IN THE MIDDLE, LOL!

But despite my monkey pumpkin fail, we had fun carving our pumpkins and my most favorite part is always roasting up all the yummy seeds!

Omg I just love smelling them roast while we are all sitting at the table carving our primates, I mean pumpkins.

Pumpkins seeds are so healthy for you! They are nutritional powerhouses! Don't ever throw away all that healthy goodness away with the slime. Roast those babies up!

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There are a kazillian ways to not only roast pumpkin seeds but to season them as well. We are pretty simple folk when it comes to our pumpkin seeds. We actually love the taste of the actual pumpkin seeds so I don't venture into any seasonings that will mask their true taste.

But I encourage you to experiment with any spices and seasonings that your little pumpkin roastin' heart desires.

THE PERFECT ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS RECIPE

WHATCHU NEED:

Pumpkin Seeds
Olive Oil (Start with 1 tsp and add as you go. You just want to coat the seeds so the seasoning sticks.)
Seasoned Salt
Himalayan Salt (or sea salt)
Ground Black Pepper
Parchment Paper

WHATCHU DO:

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Scoop out the insides of your pumpkins and put in a large bowl.

3. Pick out all of the bigger chunks of the pumpkin pulp and guts.

4. Put your seeds in a colander and rinse them very thoroughly. Get your hands in there and pick out the pieces of pulp that aren't rinsing out. Once done, no need to dry seeds. Just simply shake the colander as best you can. The seeds will still be wet, it's okay. Don’t skip this step. It makes a big difference in how your seeds come out!

5. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

You can oil or spray the sheets as well, but parchment paper is like a miracle. It works the best. Absolutely no clean up afterwards. Mama likes that.

6. Spread out the seeds in a single layer on sheets and bake for 30 minutes. Do NOT season at this point.

*This step is to dry out the seeds only.

7. Carefully take sheets out of oven and dump seeds into large bowl. Add oil and spices and seasonings and stir well.

Other than the olive oil, I didn't measure exact amounts of the seasonings. The amount of seasonings/spices are going to depend on how many seeds you have. I had seeds from four large pumpkins. Just keep adding things until it's just perfect for you. Or even make a couple different batches with different flavors. Everybody's preferences are so different. The beauty of adding seasoning after roasting the seeds is that you can control exactly how you want it to taste. Sprinkle that shiz until you get it exactly how you want it.

You can use just about anything: Curry, garlic powder, garlic salt, Old Bay, Parmesan Cheese, barbecue seasonings, chili powder, cinnamon and stevia, pumpkin pie spices, cajun seasonings, or just anything you can dream up!

8. Once you have your seasonings and oil just right and mixed well, spread the seeds out again in single layers on your baking sheets (no need to use new parchment paper, just reuse what you already had). Bake for another 20 minutes. This really bakes the seasonings into the seeds.

9. Eat up!!

They are so good for you and they are delicious! Just try not to fight over them.

Have a super fun night carving your own pumpkins! And if you have any epic failures like my monkey pirate, at least you can eat yummy healthy seeds while you wonder where you went wrong in your life.

Nutritional Information: Serving size 1/2 cup Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

170 calories, 14g fat, 4.4g carbs, 1.3g fiber, 1g sugar, 11g protein, 3.1g NET carbs, 92% of the recommended daily value of magnesium!

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