Pumpkin Seeds
This is a free excerpt from God's Banquet Table!

PUMPKIN SEEDS  Raw, shelled pumpkin seeds are dark green and absolutely delicious. Until recently they were difficult to find, but have become more plentiful due to government effort. The U. S. Department of Agriculture combined the flavor of a good tasting pumpkin seed with the genetics of a shell-less seed variety, resulting in a gourmet pumpkin seed that does not have to be dehulled.

Pumpkin seed oil is dark green with a full bodied butter-like nutty flavor. It can now be purchased cold-pressed in dark bottles in the refrigerator of your local health food store. Always check the expiration date. Pumpkin seed oil contains both omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids making them a delicate oil. Pumpkin seed oil is a tasty replacement for flax seed oil and delicious over fruit or vegetable salads. Pumpkin seed is a high source of vitamin A, calcium and iron, containing small amounts of protein, B1, B2 and B3.

Each nut carries the blueprint of a living monolith that will stretch to the heavens and fill the sky with a canopy of green. Giants that will stand outstretched in worship, bringing glory to a Creator who is not small. When we harvest nuts we gather a blessing of highly concentrated nutrients. Little packages of proteins, oils, vitamins and minerals essential to growth and germination.

Fresh raw nuts in their shells make the best snack food for two reasons. First, the oil will be fresh because of the natural protection of the outer shell. Secondly, cracking open the shell forces you to eat more slowly instead of handfuls of nuts that are improperly chewed and swallowed. You have time to mix this concentrated food with ample saliva, making it much easier on the digestive system. We eat food far too quickly and this is unhealthy, especially with highly concentrated foods. Chewing nuts slowly will help to eliminate the heaviness in the stomach. Mixing nuts with dried fruits increases their digestibility and the combinations of flavors are splendiciously delicious.

It is easy to overeat this luxurious treat. Learn to be content with small amounts, unless you are a serious bodybuilder or active.

Peanuts, which are not in the nut family, are 26% protein, compared to 20% lean beef. Snacking on the variety of raw nuts available to us is far more desirable than the average 4 to 6 billion dollars per year North Americans spend on snack foods. Nuts as a snack food are filling and satisfying, being slower to digest than fruits and vegetables. The high oil content wards off hunger pains for hours.

Do not be beguiled by the flavor of roasted nuts. They may taste delicious, especially when they are coated with salt and monosodium glutamate, but the delicate oils have been transformed into cancer-causing compounds. It will not take long for you to readjust your taste to the delicate, fresh flavor of salt-free, raw nuts. Once you do, you will never go back.

Raw food lends itself well to a disciplined life. When nuts are roasted and salted, they become addictive. In one evening, you can munch down a one pound container without a thought—until you go to bed and your stomach hurts. Yet, when the nuts are raw, a couple of handfuls are completely satisfying and can actually contribute to weight-loss.

Unshelled nuts should be purchased and stored in the refrigerator. There are many nut butters sold in health food stores but are completely useless because the nuts have been roasted, exposed to light, air and heat, the three culprits that transform essential oils. Besides, why not make your own nut butter fresh every day? It’s simple and easy.