✦ A LITTLE HALLOWEEN MAGIC. A LOT LESS WASTE.

Too good to
haunt the bin.

The scares are over. The good stuff isn’t.
Give your pumpkin a delicious second act with two simple recipes and a few planet-friendly habits.

Find your pumpkin’s next act ↘

Good food. Fewer scraps. No tricks.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR PUMPKIN
Illustration of a bright orange pumpkin, a cut pumpkin wedge and scattered seeds
Still full of
good things. ⤴
✳✦
USE THE FLESH✦SAVE THE SEEDS✦COMPOST THE REST✦KEEP THE GOOD GOING

FIRST, A QUICK PUMPKIN CHECK

Kitchen or compost?

Less waste starts with making the right call.
What kind of pumpkin have you got?

✦

Meet your next cosy meal.

A sound, uncarved food pumpkin is your kitchen candidate. Wash it under running water before cutting. Small sugar or pie pumpkins give the sweetest, smoothest results. Use the flesh for soup and save the seeds for a snack.

Put that pumpkin to work ↓

ONE PUMPKIN. TWO VERY GOOD REASONS.

A cosy bowl.
A crunchy handful.

Make a meal from the flesh and a snack from the seeds. These recipes use a fresh, food-safe pumpkin — keep the doorstep decorations for compost.

RECIPE 01 · THE COSY ONE

Roasted pumpkin & coconut soup

◷ 60 minServes 4Plant-based
Let’s make it ＋

What you’ll need

Tap an ingredient as you go.

Make something delicious

  1. Wash hands, utensils and the pumpkin before preparing. Heat oven to 200°C / 400°F. Toss the pumpkin with 1 tbsp oil on a baking tray. Roast for 30–35 minutes, turning halfway, until tender and golden.
  2. Warm the remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 7–8 minutes until soft. Add garlic and cumin; stir for 1 minute.
  3. Add roasted pumpkin, stock and coconut milk. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and blend carefully with an immersion blender until smooth. Add stock if you prefer a thinner soup.
  4. Stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust. Serve with crusty bread and a sprinkle of roasted seeds.

Waste less: Freeze extra soup in meal-sized portions. Label it with the date so your next easy dinner doesn’t get forgotten.

RECIPE 02 · THE CRUNCHY ONE

Smoky maple pumpkin seeds

◷ 35 minMakes about 1 cupPlant-based
Let’s make it ＋

What you’ll need

Tap an ingredient as you go.

Make something delicious

  1. Heat oven to 160°C / 325°F. Separate the fresh seeds from the stringy flesh, rinse in a colander and pat very dry with a clean tea towel. Compost the stringy scraps.
  2. Toss the dry seeds with oil, maple syrup, paprika, salt and cayenne if using. Spread in a single layer on a lined baking tray.
  3. Roast for 20–30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until lightly golden and crisp. Bigger seeds may take a little longer; watch closely near the end so the syrup doesn’t burn.
  4. Let cool completely — they crisp as they cool. Scatter over soup or salads, or enjoy by the handful. Store dry, fully cooled seeds in an airtight container and use within a few days.

Waste less: Only have ½ cup of seeds? Halve the seasonings. You don’t need a full batch to make the most of them.

SMALL HABITS, BEYOND HALLOWEEN

Keep the good going.

01 / PLAN

Give it a dinner date.

Pick your recipe before you shop. Choose a food pumpkin and plan when you’ll cook it.

02 / SAVE

Make the freezer your friend.

Cook extra pumpkin, mash it and freeze in measured portions for a future soup or sauce.

03 / RETURN

Let the scraps grow something.

Compost unavoidable scraps where accepted. Remove decorations first and follow local organics rules.

YOUR PUMPKIN IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

Less food waste.
More possibility.

Want to learn more? Discover why food waste happens, why it matters, and what we can do about it in Ecodemy’s Food Waste course.

Explore the Food Waste course ↗

Practical sustainability learning, all year round.

Like this food? Explore mushrooms.

Keep your curiosity growing with Ecodemy’s mushroom microsite.

Explore Mushroom.ecodemy.ca