The Beauty of Cooking

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Abundant in the beautiful autumn months, pumpkin is a wonderful skin-healthy food. It is perfect for muffins, breads, soups, risotto, frittata, side dishes and yes, desserts. I wanted to share a tasty recipe for Pumpkin Mousse, made with skin (and waistline) healthy tofu, ginger and banana.

Research shows that eating bright colored foods like pumpkin, which are loaded with alpha and beta carotene, can give our skin a healthier glow then the sun. 

THIS STUDY, EXPLAINED: Eat These Foods & Glow

And the best part—it’s so easy. Fresh pumpkin is great, but canned pumpkin is equally healthy, just make sure that the only ingredient is pumpkin and it does not contain added sugars or syrups—which are linked with premature wrinkles.

Why Pumpkin Gives Great Skin

The alpha and beta-carotene in pumpkin are potent antioxidants that our bodies convert into vitamin A carotenoids. These nutrients may help reverse skin damage and keep your body stocked with free radical fighting antioxidants. This festive fall squash is just loaded with nutrients, and it’s super low-calorie too: One cup of cooked pumpkin contains just 49 calories! But it’s packed with 2,650 IU’s of Vitamin A, 33mg of Calcium, 564 mg of Potassium, Folate 21mcg, along with Fiber 3g, Iron 1.4mg, Vitamin E 3mg, Zinc 1mg, Selenium .50mg, Protein 2 g and 12mg of Vitamin C.

QUIZ: Measure Beauty Nutrients in Your Diet

Recipe: Ginger, Banana, Tofu and Pumpkin Mousse

Besides the skin-glowing benefits of pumpkin, this delish recipe delivers wrinkle-fighting and complexion-enhancing nutrients, too. The tofu provides body-building protein, isoflavones, omega-3 fatty acids and is considered a complete vegetable protein supplying the essential amino acids to replenish and rebuild our body’s cells, tissue and organs.