Tag Archives: pumpkin

Jack O’ Lanterns 101

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Halloween is approaching us, and anticipation is growing. There are hundreds of festive ways to decorate your home and get it ready for Halloween. Fun lawn decorations and spooky décor can always be a great addition to your home. Many people love the activity of creating their very own jack o’ lantern. Jack o’ lanterns are hollowed out pumpkins with holes and features carved into them. A light is then placed inside, which allows these features to glow. This fun tradition is great for the home. If you are looking to add some to your house, here are some basic tips:

The Right Pumpkin

When designing your pumpkin, you need to have the right canvas. Picking the perfect pumpkin can be more challenging than you initially realize. Look for a clean pumpkin with a large surface area. You should know what design you are planning to make prior to picking your pumpkin. When you get home with your pumpkin, draw the face or design your desire on your pumpkin with a sharpie. When you flesh out your pumpkin, it is going to begin the decaying process. So try to time carving your pumpkin as close to Halloween as you can.

Decaying Process

The internals of the pumpkin prolong the decaying process. Once removed, the decaying of your pumpkin will increase tenfold. There are several techniques to help extend this aging process. Most jack o’ lanterns usually have a lid. Instead of carving a lid, cut your hole at the bottom. You can now just sit your pumpkin directly over the candle. Bleach or peppermint castile soap can also be applied to your pumpkin to slow down the decaying process. Use a rag or spray bottle to add bleach or soap to your jack o’ lantern after it has been carved. Petroleum jelly and olive oil can also be used to help seal in some of the moisture of the pumpkin. You will not completely stop the aging process, but you can slow it down some.

Emergency Restoration

If your jack o’ lantern did not survive until Halloween night, you still have one last chance. Instead of buying a new pumpkin and carving it again, you can use this emergency fix. Take your jack o’ lantern and submerge it into a tub of water. The water will absorb back into the vegetable and make it fuller again. This trick does not last a long time but may help it survive the night for Halloween.

Choosing a design and carving your jack o’ lantern is always fun. Enjoy this time with your loved ones when creating the perfect jack o’ lantern. You can make spooky faces or unique artwork. Have fun, and enjoy these seasonal décors while you can, and for more tips and tricks, make sure to subscribe.

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie Recipe

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If you are like us, everywhere we turn, we see something to do with pumpkins: pumpkin decorations, pumpkin pies, pumpkin cupcakes, and pumpkin lattes. The color orange is the perfect fall color since orange is a happy color, and it is that highlighter color that grabs your attention! With the smell of pumpkin spice permeating the air, what better way to celebrate fall than by making a healthy and tasty pumpkin smoothie!

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Prep time – 5 Minutes | Cook/Chill Time – 3 hours | Total Time – 3 hours 5 minutes

Serving Size – One Serving

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Puree
  • 2 Pitted Dates or 1 to 1 ½ Tbsp of Honey or Maple Syrup
  • 1 Cup Rolled Oats (Gluten-Free if Preferred)
  • ¼ to ½ tsp Instant Coffee Granules (If you are unsure about adding coffee, start with ¼ tsp and increase to ½ tsp according to personal preference)
  • ¾ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
  • ½ Tbsp Almond Butter
  • ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg

Directions:

  1. The night before, add all ingredients to your blender and make sure you stir them well (you are not blending yet). Cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. You can eliminate this step, but soaking the oats overnight- it will make the smoothie creamier.  
  2. When ready to make, blend on high until the oats and dates are fully broken down. Blend until you have a smooth and creamy consistency. If the smoothie is too thick, just add a little almond milk. 
  3. You can enjoy the smoothie cold or warm. To drink warm, add the mixture to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. If the smoothie becomes too thick when cooking, simply add a splash of almond milk.  

We hope this recipe helps you to kick off the fall season. Happy October!

Unique but Simple Halloween Decorating

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If you want to decorate the outside of your home for Halloween but would like to create something much more unusual than the choices available in stores, here are a couple of ideas to spark up the front of your home that rely on imagination and creativity rather than a lot of effort or dollars.

This first choice requires you to expand beyond the standard rounded pumpkin. Look for pumpkins, gourds and squash with unusual shapes and colors such as the three elongated ones shown here. You could also add one of the newer white “ghost pumpkins.” You only need to carve a few of them, but create unique faces. Set in front of a group of uncut pumpkins and gourds, you create a gathering of Halloween creatures.

Another option that is a bit more complex but very entertaining is placing two pumpkins together to show a conversation between them.

The pumpkin on the right has a more complex carving approach. There are directions and patterns on the Internet to help you create one of these, but you could stick with the standard carving style and still get an interesting vignette.

The stick hand on the right pumpkin also pushes this Halloween display out of the ordinary. Adding hands and feet to your carvings adds personality and charm.

You could add fall leaves to these arrangements, use props such as hats or other accessories, and even tell a simple story with your pumpkins. Halloween provides a terrific opportunity to stretch your imagination by thinking outside the squash.