Hallowe’en is nearly upon us. And that means something nutritious for our Scotties too. Pumpkin is the key word.
But did you know there are two categories of pumpkin? Carving pumpkins and cooking pumpkins?
I didn’t, until a few years ago, when I bought a “Monster” pumpkin for my Scotty to ‘pose’ on, subsequently realising that ‘re-use’ wasn’t really an option.
The flesh is miserly on them; great for ease if you want to carve out chunks for lantern purposes, or for size, for ‘hop-on and look-cute’ purposes, but for cooking up afterwards, there tends to be very little to work with. The carving pumpkin’s life-force is cultivated for size, not taste and nutritional value. However, if you intend to buy a carving pumpkin anyway for decorative purposes, and want to keep waste to a minimum, ensure you opt for a medium to small carving pumpkin, as this will significantly increase the amount and hopefully lessen the stringy texture of flesh that you will have available for culinary purposes.
Therefore, if you want to cook pumpkin for your Scottie – which I highly recommending you do – avoid the “pumped- up” pumpkins (aka “Monster” or “Jack O’Lantern”) and plump for the smaller, more compact versions (labelled as “cooking”); if you can get organic pumpkins even better, as all the benefits to this tangoed fruit – yes botanically it is a fruit (1) – are likely to be more enhanced.
To start with an obvious recommendation for the pumpkin is that currently it is in season; autumn is its time to shine. And anything in season will naturally ooze vitamins and minerals. Pumpkins also boast being an excellent antioxidant due to their vibrant orange flesh; many academic studies linking the orange pigment (i.e. beta-carotene) to a multitude of possible health benefits – for dogs and humans – including those of the heart, eyes, brain, immune system, skin, bones and even risk of cancer (2,3,4,5). Additionally, due to the flesh being very fibrous it is perfect for anything to do with the digestive process; it can soothe upset or sensitive stomachs by absorbing excess water in the stomach (5), and even help in the final stages of the digestive process by creating firmer, bulkier poops. It does this by creating work for under-utilised anal glands, often the result of not enough fibre in a diet, which can especially occur on many kibble fed diets (6)
Pumpkin can be fed raw or cooked; if serving the flesh raw, you will need to mulch or puree it for your Scottie for digestibility (5). However, for universal palatability – as it brings out the taste that most dogs love – just pop in the air fryer or in the oven to roast. However, as I recommend baking the pumpkin with its skin on – as once cooled the skin peels away easily – you will need to give the outside of the pumpkin a good scrub as store bought pumpkins, let alone pick-your-own, tend to be filthy! I find it is easiest to do this whilst giving a bath to your pumpkin in the kitchen sink, mixing in one tsp of bicarb of soda roughly per 2 cups of water and taking a vegetable scrubber to its surface. Once clean, you can then cut the pumpkin into quarters or eighths (depending on its size) ensuring you remove any remaining stalk.
The next stage is slightly more onerous, as it requires scooping out all the seeds; it is my preference to take these out before cooking as I find it less messy – before the flesh becomes soft and squidgy – and you will certainly find lots of seeds tucked away in the flesh.* Once baked, cooled and the skin peeled away you can then serve fresh to your Scottie, mixing in a little bit with their regular meal or as a treat; if you can combine your offering with a little olive oil or coconut oil this will help with the absorption of (fat soluble) vitamin A i.e. which is what beta carotene is converted into within the body (4,7).
The remainder of the pumpkin can then be cut into chunks or squished into ice cube trays, frozen and decanted for whenever you choose to spice up meals, bulk up poop or quieten sensitive tummies!
Happy Hallowe’en on 31 October!
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Carved Pumpkin
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Jimmy the Scottie on pumpkin
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Pumpkin goodies
