Fairy tale - magic pumpkin. pumpkin kids

golden gourd

I'm used to the sun.

She drinks hot light

It pours, it grows.

Cool and tasty

Seeds ripen in a pumpkin.

The pumpkin has large leaves, thick stems. With antennae, she clings to any support. The stem and leaves of the pumpkin are densely dotted with stiff hairs that protect the plant from excessive moisture loss. It has large, bright yellow, fragrant flowers.

Pumpkin loves warm and bright sunlight, because she is a native of sultry Mexico. Mexican peasants have been cultivating it for over five thousand years. It was in this country that scientists found the most ancient remains of stems, peel, fruits and pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkins growing in Asia and Africa have the most diverse shapes: they are either elongated, like bottles, or flat, or spherical. Pumpkin peel can also be different color- from bright orange and golden yellow to greenish brown and dark green.

And how did you use the pumpkin, you know?

When the skin of a pumpkin dries out, it becomes very hard. In ancient times, people used this property and made utensils from it: plates, bottles, bowls and even buckets. The resourceful owners kept cereals, flour, oil and water in light vessels made of gourd, braided with mesh. Tobacco was placed in small gourds that looked like caskets. Skillful craftsmen have learned how to carve bizarre patterns on the smooth, hard surface of the pumpkin peel and paint them. Such pumpkins, similar to bright multi-colored lanterns, decorated the house.

The very first musical instruments were also made from gourds. When ancient people danced around the fire, celebrating the end of a successful hunt or wanting to appease evil spirits, they accompanied their dance with stone-on-stone strikes. Then someone came up with the idea of ​​pouring small pebbles into a dried pumpkin - it turned out to be a musical instrument! When the pumpkin was shaken, the pebbles in it spilled over and knocked loudly, setting a certain rhythm for the dance. And if you hit a large empty pumpkin with wooden sticks, it makes a loud, booming sound, reminiscent of the sound of a drum.

In ancient times, this vegetable had another use: it was used in the construction of rafts. Four large hollow gourds were attached along the edges to a wooden deck of branches and thin tree trunks. Pumpkins kept the light raft afloat well.

And in India, the peasants learned to catch monkeys with the help of a gourd. They did it like this. A small hole was cut in an empty gourd and filled with rice or delicious seeds. Several of these baits were scattered under the trees. Noticing a pumpkin, curious animals descended from the trees and immediately launched their paw into the hole. Having picked up a handful of rice or seeds, the monkey tried to pull out its paw, but it could not be done, but it did not want to release the prey. So the greedy monkey ran on three legs.

Indians in North America they made houses for starlings from pumpkins and hung them on tall trees near vegetable gardens and fields to protect crops from pests.

Now you know how many useful things can be made from the most ordinary pumpkin.

Listen to the poem.

Hey pumpkin!

Pumpkin was loved in ancient times

And made from a pumpkin

And vessels for wheat,

And jugs for water,

Tobacco boxes and caskets,

Drum cheerful booming,

And a fancy flashlight

And a colored patterned ball,

The house where the starling lives.

Hey pumpkin! Well done!

In the 16th century, pumpkin became known in Russia.

What nutrients are found in pumpkin?

This vegetable contains many useful and nutrients: sugars, proteins, vitamin C and carotene. Tender and juicy pumpkin pulp is used in dietary nutrition.

Listen to a fairy tale.

How to catch a monkey

Peasants' huts are located near the dense tropical forest. In one of them lived the boy Ofama. He often lay in a wicker hammock near the hut and watched the birds and animals. The rainforest was humid but not hot. Here and there, bright, red and white parrots fluttered from branch to branch, monkeys jumped and plucked various tasty fruits from the trees.

Ofama really wanted to catch the monkey and make it tame. But is it possible to grab a fast, dexterous, dodgy animal.

Ofama went to his grandfather and asked him how to catch the monkey.

"It's not that hard," said the old man. - Go to the garden and find the most beautiful bright pumpkin. Rip it off. With a sharp knife cut a small hole, clean the pumpkin inside - take out the seeds with pulp. Dry the shell in the sun, and then pour boiled rice, berries, seeds into it. Place the gourd in a conspicuous place under the tree and fasten it with a vine to the trunk. Hide nearby and see what happens. Remember that monkeys are very curious and greedy little animals.

Ofama did just that. He soon noticed that one monkey was interested in the pumpkin. She deftly climbed down from the tree, looked at the vegetable from all sides and noticed a small hole. The monkey put its paw into the hole, felt boiled rice and grabbed a whole handful of goodies. Then she tried to pull out the paw without opening her fist. But she couldn't do it. What to do? On three legs, the monkey ran into the forest, and Ofama ran after her. It cost nothing for the boy to catch up with her! He grabbed the monkey and ran with it to his hut.

- I caught a monkey! the baby shouted joyfully.

A little time passed, and the monkey became a friend of Ofam.

She ate rice and nuts, played with the boy, and even brought him ripe bananas.

Ofama named the monkey Obie and they became friends. And the pumpkin helped him.

Answer the questions

Who wanted to catch a monkey?

What did grandfather advise his grandson to do?

Which vegetable was useful to Ofama?

How did the boy catch the monkey?

Has she become tame?

And what dishes can be prepared from pumpkin?

Right! Rice and millet porridge with pumpkin, salad, soup, pudding, pancakes.

Inside the pumpkin there are quite large and delicious seeds. They can be dried and fed in winter to birds, as well as put in a cleaned form in the dough when baking cookies and gingerbread.

Pumpkins are planted in the spring on well-fertilized soil with seeds or seedlings.

During pumpkin flowering, experienced gardeners bring beehives from apiaries. Hardworking bees will not only collect a lot of honey nectar, but also pollinate all the flowers.

Pumpkins are harvested in August and September. Thanks to the hard shell, the pumpkin can be easily transported and stored for a long time. In an insulated shed or in a straw-lined attic, many varieties of squash survive to the next harvest with little to no loss of nutritional value.

Answer the questions

What does a pumpkin look like?

Where is pumpkin from?

What do people make from pumpkins?

What are beneficial features pumpkins?

What dishes are prepared from pumpkin?

Why do gardeners put beehives with bees between the beds during pumpkin flowering?

In a village at the foot of a high mountain there lived a lonely woman. Her husband died, she had no children, and a bleak old age awaited the woman. Day after day she swept the house, brought water from the river, collected firewood in the forest, cultivated her field, and kept dreaming about how good it would be if she had children to help her.

The villagers were often cruel to her, saying that she must be a very bad woman, since she had no children. In those days, people believed that a powerful spirit lives on the top of the mountain, and turned their prayers to him. The lonely woman also prayed to the spirit for help, and finally the spirit heard her. It happened like this.

One day a woman planted pumpkin seeds in a field. The young plants grew surprisingly fast, and fruit soon appeared. The woman carefully weeded each plant and dreamed of how she would harvest pumpkins and make calabash out of them - dry the pumpkins, cut them up and sell them in the market for bowls and ladles.

The pumpkins soon ripened. The woman carefully cut them off and brought them home. She scraped the pulp from each gourd and laid the fruit on the rafters to dry, then they would make beautiful calabash.

And the most good pumpkin the woman put it near the hearth so that the pumpkin would dry faster and she could use it herself. The next morning the woman went to work in the fields. In her absence, a messenger of the spirit of the mountain came to the house and, touching the pumpkins, turned them into children.

- Kitete! Kitete! Our older brother! Help us get down! - called the pumpkin children, which were laid by the woman on the rafters.

The boy, who had turned into a pumpkin lying by the hearth, got up and helped the children down from the rafters. The children began to sweep the house and feed the chickens, brought water, and several boys ran into the forest for firewood.

Only Kitete did not work, but sat motionless by the hearth. When all the household chores were done, the children shouted:

- Kitete! Kitete! Help us get back up!

And the elder brother raised them to the rafters.

The boys immediately turned into pumpkins, and Kitete, too, as soon as he took his place at the hearth, turned into a pumpkin. The woman walked slowly home, she dragged a large armful of grass in order to cover the roof. In the hut she saw that all Homework done. She looked into all the corners, walked around the yard, but did not find anyone. Then she went to the neighbors.

“Someone did all the work for me while I was in the field,” she said. “Do you know who visited my house?

“We saw the children, they were running around the yard today,” the village women answered. “We thought they were your relatives, but we didn’t talk to them.

The woman went home to prepare supper and kept wondering what had happened in her absence. The next day the same thing happened. The children called Kitete, who helped them down from the rafters, diligently set to work around the house and even covered the roof with the grass that the woman had brought the day before. When they had finished their work, they entered the hut, and all was quiet again.

But this time the neighbors tracked them down, and when the woman returned from the field in the evening, they told her everything they had seen. Then the woman decided to see for herself everything.

The next morning, she pretended to leave for the field, while she herself cautiously crept to the door of the hut to see everything that was happening there.

With noise, screams, the children poured out of the hut and suddenly froze - they saw a woman.

"So you're helping me?" she said. “Thank you!”

The children kept silent, immediately set to work on the household chores, redid everything and began to ask Kitete to help them climb the rafters. Only the woman did not allow it.

- Oh no! she exclaimed. “Now you are my children!” I don't want you to be pumpkins again. I'll cook dinner for you, and then go to bed on the floor by the fire, as all children do.

The woman thanked the spirit of the mountain for her kindness and began to take care of the children as if they were her own. The children continued to help her around the house, and soon prosperity came to the house - the woman now had everything in abundance: vegetables, sheep, and cattle.

But Kitete never worked. He spent whole days at the hearth. And every day the woman found fault with Kitet more and more, scolded him for idleness.

Once she decided to put a pot of stewed vegetables on the hearth, but she stumbled over Kitet, who was lying by the fire. The pot broke and all the food spilled onto the ground. Angry woman:

"What a useless creature you are!" How many times have I said don't lie here. Pumpkin you useless!

Then she heard the rest of the children returning from the field, and she shouted even louder:

"And they're just pumpkins too!" Why do I have to feed them?!

He looks - instead of Kitete, a pumpkin lies by the hearth, and the children, as soon as they enter the hut, immediately fall down and also become pumpkins.

- Oh, how stupid I am! the woman wailed. “I called the children pumpkins and killed them!” The spirit of the mountain is angry with me! I don't have any more children!

So the woman was left all alone.

My friends! Very soon, half the world will be celebrating a fun scary Halloween holiday. Blogim, together with one of the most wonderful mothers, Ira Cherashnya, organized an attractive literary competition "A terrible, terrible tale on a merry night." And I couldn't ignore this event. Here is our Halloween story.

It happened in the middle. stood last days October. The sun shone sadly, with difficulty breaking through the veil of clouds. And these same clouds were getting heavier every day, pressing on cities and houses.

One day, mother and sons went to the market. The boys ordered for lunch and to buy the most delicious pumpkin they decided to go together. Even approaching the market, they were surprised at how many people gathered around. Everywhere someone shouted something, in a singsong voice selling vegetables and fruits. A large carousel for children was placed in the middle of the square. She sang and spun, and the children laughed loudly and rejoiced! And right behind the carousel, a wonderful view opened up to the eyes of our heroes. There was an incredible size mountain ... a mountain of !

A thousand bright orange "balls" shimmered in unison in the sun, as if smiling at every passer-by. The pumpkin seller joyfully called everyone to his miracle mountain. When my mother, Alyosha and Arseny approached him, the seller with a satisfied smile began to offer them first one pumpkin, then another.

While mom was choosing a pumpkin and talking to the seller, Alexei and Arseniy walked around the mountain of pumpkins in amazement. Suddenly, on one of the pumpkins, they saw someone moving along it. They came closer and saw that it was a little Woman with a three-cornered hat and a long black dress. She was beautiful, but for some reason her eyes were angry and dissatisfied. She was anxiously looking for something, trying to look into the gaps between the pumpkins.

"Hi," the boys greeted her.

The witch (and it was she) was taken aback by surprise. And then suddenly she said: - Do you see me? Hey, where's my wand? Not only have I become less than my cat's favorite mouse, but the children also see me! ..

The boys were not afraid of her, on the contrary, they offered to help her find her. magic wand. The witch agreed through her teeth: - If you want - look for it! But I'm still an evil witch and will certainly scare you tonight!

The brothers only smiled: they were very brave. And what could a tiny witch do? Then Arseny stepped on something and it crunched loudly. He looked down at his feet and saw a small, carved stick broken in two.

- Here she is! - Witch Carmen, crying, with great difficulty began to descend from the pumpkins to the ground. You, you, you broke her...

Alyosha gently picked it up, took it in his palm and lowered it to the ground. Carmen began to swear even more than before:

"Let me go, you bastard!" What a humiliation, - she held her head, - a boy took me in his hands! Poor me, my poor wand,” the witch picked up the halves of her wand.

"Let's fix it," the boys suggested. And without waiting for an answer, they took a wand and carefully tied it with a petal of an aster dropped by someone. The "whole" wand was returned to the witch by the brothers. Carmen grabbed her, waved her hand and, without thanking the guys, disappeared into the air, promising to come at night and scare her rescuers.

All the way back, helping her mother carry two wonderful orange ones, Alyosha and Arseny vied with each other to tell her about the meeting with the sorceress.

- Mom, now we have to wait for her to visit. She promised to come today to scare us.

- Scare? Mom asked worriedly. - Aren't you afraid?

- No, what are you! Mom, she must be very fond of pumpkins. And having lost a wand, I completely forgot to buy it. Can we decorate a pumpkin and give it to her?

“Well, let’s try it,” Mom agreed.

In the evening after dinner, they all set to work together. Soon the beautiful pumpkin turned into a big smiling head!

When, closer to midnight, the window opened with a sharp thud, Arseny and Aleksey were not afraid, they ran out into the wind, but to their amazement, they saw how a witch was already flying on a broom outside the window, taking their mother with her.

- Mother! the boys shouted!

"You broke my wand!" For this I will take your mother!

Here on the windowsill reverse side window they saw a big black cat. The cat ... smiled and suddenly began to say: - If you want to return your mother, you need to come to the witch's ball and bring it as a gift. Then find your mother and persuade her to go home. Murrr!

- What gift do you need? Alyosha asked.

- Where is mom? Kitty, de mother? asked Arseny, who was just learning to speak.

- A gift must be brought in a gift! Murrr! And you can get to the ball only by turning into me! Murrr! Well, if you're not scared, of course!

“We are not afraid. We need our mom. Alyosha stated confidently. He was already in the second grade and understood perfectly well that good wins in fairy tales and was not afraid to go towards adventures.

- Far away! - said Arseny, pointing to the pumpkin head.

- Exactly. We have a gift for the witch!

The cat, which had already entered the apartment, lazily walked around the boys' creation and purred contentedly:

- It will do. Murrr! Carmen didn't bring home a pumpkin today and should be pleased...

- A gift within a gift... A gift within a gift…. …. Alyosha muttered. - Maybe it will be a pumpkin costume? Somewhere we had one, I'm on it New Year dressed.

And Alyosha ran to inspect the cabinets in search of a suit. When he found it, then, not having time to be happy, he was immediately upset: the suit was very, very small for him. At this time, his brother ran up to him. He took the suit and began clumsily pulling it on himself.

- No, brother, you can't. After all, there will be many witches and other evil spirits, you will be scared, - Alyosha tried to dissuade the kid.

- Mother! Mother! cried Arsenechka, not abandoning his attempts to pull on his plump pumpkin belly.

"Okay, let's try," the brother agreed.

A few minutes later, a strange picture appeared on the windowsill on the other side of the window. Two black cats, one of which was the size of an 8-year-old boy, held in their paws a little boy in a pumpkin costume, who, in turn, tightly clutched a huge pumpkin head.

Soon this whole strange company flew across the sky. They flew for a long time, flew over many cities and villages, fields and forests. Finally, below they saw many lights. It was a witch's ball. They landed. There were witches, sorcerers, vampires, ghosts, black cats and bats everywhere. They all had fun talking, dancing and eating the sweets that were everywhere!!!

— Murrr! Look for your mother if you find it, - blinked slyly green eye the cat disappeared into the crowd.

The boys felt strange. A little scary and uncomfortable. But, holding hands, they entered the common room. They quickly glanced at the invitees, looking for their mother, and only then they saw that all the female guests were like two drops of water similar to each other, namely, the very beautiful witch Carmen, whom the children first encountered at the pumpkin fair.

They stood bewildered and looked at the merrymakers. Suddenly, a small pumpkin, confidently grabbing his brother's hand, led him somewhere deep into the hall. Arsenyusha walked straight, not paying attention to the terrible faces of vampires and flying ghosts.

They got to the tables. Behind one of them sat a woman who looked like two peas in a pod like the sorceress Carmen, only her eyes were very sad.

- Mother! the baby shouted.

- Mother! - picked up the cat boy and together they ran up to her and began to hug and kiss her.

The boys' mother (and it was SHE) was also very happy with them and rushed to meet them. She was not at all embarrassed that her sons turned from boys into a cat and a pumpkin.

Soon a witch approached them. It was the same Carmen from the pumpkin, whose wand Arseny so carelessly broke. It turns out that now all women had their own special faces, and, most importantly, mom became like mom!!!

- Well, you did it! You are brave! And you know how to love! - said the sorceress, smiling and taking away her gift - a pumpkin, which Alyosha had been holding until now. Now she has become kind and even more beautiful than before. Thanks to you, your kindness and the fact that you fixed my wand with a petal beautiful flower, I am now not an evil witch at all, but a good sorceress. I won't take moms anymore. And I really want you to remain brave and responsive!

Soon they were all at home. The boys did not leave their mother for a long time. She told her sons good fairy tale and put to sleep. Tired but satisfied with themselves, the boys fell asleep soundly.

Mom went to the window to draw the curtains. Against the background of the yellow-eyed moon, a witch flew by on a broomstick. She waved to her mother and disappeared into the night. And on the table was a large basket of sweets, a gift from Carmen.

This is how one of the Halloween evenings ended in one ordinary city in one ordinary, but very friendly family.

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She grew in the garden and basked in the rays of warm summer light. I happily waited for the arrival of the owner and a portion of the new sweet water. The days went by and the little pumpkin grew. She looked up at the clouds and the gray autumn sky. On the leaves that gradually fell from the trees and circled sadly around her. One of these fell right on her nose, the wind picked up, and now her gaze is already hidden by that same withered leaf. With her leaf-handles, she could not throw it off, and therefore for a while the world went out in front of her.

It was getting cold. The gardener came less and less often. He often stomped around and rang some instruments. Every now and then the last sighs of cucumbers and potatoes were heard, so their short lives were interrupted. What awaited them after, the pumpkin did not know, only that no one was returning back.

The wind gently rustled the fallen leaves. Some strange sad music came from everywhere. It was nature that sang her last song, as a sign of the approach of winter, saying goodbye to summer and all that she managed to see for him.

The leaf flew away, the pumpkin could see again. It is difficult to say how much time has passed - the cottage was completely empty. Gray unturned earth, bare black branches of trees.

“Where did that riot of colors go? The laughter of perky plums and the rustle of talkative cucumbers? The latter were so annoying, they constantly strove to sit on the pumpkin's back, that now, when only a shrunken, darkened mustache flaunted over her head, she became sad.

The last undigged potato sat in the cold ground and occasionally launched into long conversations about summer, recalled how many children she had, and now they had abandoned her. They grew up and got their own tubers, started up a lot of new shoots, and forgot the old one. Her and another small potato, on the side of which one could see black spot, no one could cut out the burning mold, but just left it to die.

Over time, these conversations subsided. Potato, apparently, fell asleep or froze. There are no more acquaintances. Only nuts, but they are so high and do not know at all the life that the little pumpkin lived. They were like strangers to her and would not answer for anything.

It was getting cold. She tried to make herself comfortable and bask in the dry leaves, but they were so cold! They crumbled into black dust, especially after rain and wind. It remained to wrap up in the ground, but there were so many worms! Pumpkin did not want to be eaten by them and silently waited until someone brightened up her loneliness.

And one day it happened. Neighborhood children, who once ran to the dacha one summer, tore and threw the owner's flowers, crawled over the fence and began to shout something. Suddenly one of them approached the pumpkin and gestured to the others.

– How big!

“I just didn’t have a pumpkin for Halloween!”

How timely we found her!

The children grabbed the pumpkin and, groaning, tried to pick it up.

How did she grow up! And I thought it was small.

And now she was on the table. Everywhere some kind of tinsel, spiders and glasses with a red drink. And next to it is a knife, large and sharp. The hostess cut cucumbers for them, withered and silent. She skinned them and cut them into small pieces! And then I did the same with tomatoes and a small piece of pumpkin. Invisible blood littered her hands and she didn't even notice her.

Only then did the pumpkin realize that it had become large and clumsy. I tried to roll over - it was not there. She stood on a small table, and from every random movement she could fall and break. She became uncomfortable

"I have to run! Otherwise she will eat me too! - read in these quiet and timid movements. Horror froze on that mute face.

The hostess rubbed her forehead, washed her hands and left. Soon the lights went out behind her. It became dark again, as in the country, only now it is not cold at all, on the contrary.

“There is a small rug over there. He is soft. I won't break! - and the pumpkin slowly swayed. There was a roar. For a moment, the ground slipped from under my feet and everything turned upside down before my eyes. She turned over, the world became the same, and slowly hobbled towards the door.

Surprisingly, she was cracked open. It was cold again, the familiar whistle of the wind and the smell of the earth. The pumpkin rolled over again and rolled towards the forest.

It was dark and damp, but there were no people. Everywhere some dark figures circled, small twigs and branches pricked and cut the sides. And suddenly one such figure picked up a pumpkin and made it freeze in the air. A fire appeared from somewhere, and the pain burned through, but soon it became light and warm. It was as if a large, oily candle lit up inside.

The creature carried her to the very depths of the forest and placed her in the most prominent place. The ball began, and there were so many dark figures that sometimes they began to be covered with stars, to which the pumpkin has now become a little closer.

One figure separated from the crowd, in the light of burning eyes, the pumpkin saw a pale face and long fangs. The stranger picked her up and carried her off into the distance. There, behind the black trees, some windows gleamed. It was the owner's house. Pumpkin recognized him the first time.

And then there were other houses. People screamed when a stranger opened their homes, and she began to feel important and proud of it. After all, they were so afraid of her, they gave sweets and strange papers for her. But everything could have turned out quite differently ... Quite differently. But it did not turn around, and then the pumpkin realized that it was much better to rule someone else's horror than to experience it yourself, succumbing to the spirit of fate. Otherwise, do not expect mercy!

The text is large so it is divided into pages.

Pumpkin is one of the wonders of the world. Botanically, pumpkin is a berry. She, like any berry, juicy pulp and inside there are many, many seeds. The weight of this unusual berry can reach 100 kg. Isn't it a miracle? And who will doubt that it was such a pumpkin that the Fairy turned into a carriage for Cinderella? The pumpkin is amazing not only by its size, by its content useful substances and thanks to their medicinal properties, pumpkin is a unique fruit. The history of her family is rooted deep into the depths of centuries. For several millennia BC. the inhabitants of ancient Mexico knew this fruit. It is generally accepted that Europeans learned about the pumpkin thanks to Columbus. But, it is known for certain that long before Columbus, in Central Europe and Asia, the pumpkin was well known and many useful and beautiful things needed in everyday life were made from it, for example, calabash. Currently, the pumpkin is known and is becoming popular again in all countries and continents.

Pumpkin is one of the brightest representatives of the gourd family. Most of species of pumpkin - wild. Cultivated pumpkin varieties are distinguished by a wide variety of fruits and they differ in taste, shape, color, weight, and, finally, simply in purpose. The main species include hard-barked or ordinary pumpkin, large-fruited, nutmeg, decorative.
The most common variety is the common pumpkin. She possesses pleasant taste, high sugar content, it has a lot of dry matter. It is grown in both southern and northern vegetable growing zones.

Muscat pumpkin is real delicacy. By palatability it outperforms all other varieties. This pumpkin is thermophilic. Cultivated in the southern regions, ripens late.

Fences and arbors in front gardens are decorated with decorative pumpkins with small fruits, and musical instruments are made.

And from large fruits with a very hard bark, and at present, in countries Central Asia manufacture vessels for storing grain, cereals. Moldovans use pumpkin vessels for pickling cucumbers. Such cucumbers, they believe, are the most delicious.

Large-fruited pumpkin is unpretentious, not demanding on heat, and has a high yield. It is in this pumpkin that the fruit weight can reach 100 kg. In the southern regions, pumpkin of this variety is often used as fodder.

The pumpkin fruit, or, as it is called, "pumpkin", in terms of the content of nutrients, in terms of medicinal properties, is one of the most useful products nutrition plant origin. It contains all the most necessary vitamins, macro- and microelements, as well as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, sugars, organic acids, pectin, carotene and very delicate fiber. Sugar content in pumpkin increases after autumn-winter storage. In fruits with a bright yellow or orange color, there is a lot of carotene, up to 40 mg%, which is 15 times more than in watermelon. For getting daily allowance carotene for an adult is enough to consume only 60 g of pumpkin per day. The high content of fiber and pectin in the tender pulp of pumpkin significantly reduces cholesterol levels, improves work gastrointestinal tract. It is especially useful to use pumpkin for inflammation of the colon, constipation, colitis. Doctors and nutritionists include pureed pumpkin in the diet of patients with stomach ulcers and duodenum. Patients with cholecystitis, hepatitis, nephritis need to use pumpkin. In such diseases in remission, freshly squeezed pumpkin juice is especially useful.

A glass of freshly squeezed pumpkin juice with a teaspoon of honey is a good sedative. It is useful to take it before bed. pumpkin juice in the form of compresses will help with skin diseases, eczema, various rashes. IN medicinal purposes it is recommended to eat 250-300 g of pumpkin daily. raw pumpkin stimulates the secretion of bile, helps to get rid of even chronic constipation.

Diverse mineral composition pumpkin pulp. In terms of iron content, pumpkin is the champion among vegetables, 400 mg%. To increase the level of hemoglobin in the blood - pumpkin is an essential product. Potassium in pumpkin contains a lot, 204 mg%, and sodium is only 4 mg%. Therefore, the pumpkin can be considered the first assistant in case of violations in work. of cardio-vascular system, with edema of renal origin. The complex of minerals with which pumpkin is saturated has a positive effect on the functioning of the hematopoietic system, stabilizes metabolic processes in the stomach, and improves joints.

Diverse vitamin composition pumpkins: vitamin C, B vitamins (B1, B2, B6), vitamin A, E, nicotinic acid, as well as vitamin D and vitamin T. Vitamin D is an indispensable part diet. It regulates the absorption of calcium and phosphorus minerals, promotes their entry into bone tissue. Together with vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus, vitamin D improves metabolism, protects against colds, strengthens bones, accelerates the healing of fractures, protects teeth from caries, prevents gum disease. In addition, vitamin D reduces the risk of diabetes. Vitamin T stimulates metabolic processes in the body.

And - very importantly, pumpkin is a low-calorie product, only 23 kcal. Therefore, with obesity, it is useful to use pumpkin regularly and for a long time. If there are no contraindications, then it is best in raw form.

pumpkin seeds - special useful part its fruit, it's no secret that the most useful in a plant is contained in its seed. Almost the entire set of vitamins (group B vitamins, vitamins A, E, C, P, T, K), more than fifty macro- and microelements, proteins, fiber, amino acids - everything you need is contained in them. Fat in seeds - up to 55%, protein - 24.5%. Precisely, thanks to high content proteins and fats, pumpkin seeds are especially needed for those who do not eat meat. In terms of zinc content, pumpkin seeds can compete with oysters. Zinc is necessary for everyone, both children and adults. With its deficiency, adults age faster, children develop poorly. Zinc deficiency is bad for the skin. Pumpkin seeds are useful for diabetics, because zinc balances blood sugar. Pumpkin seeds are also used as a means of preventing prostatitis. To do this, it is enough to eat only 50-60 grains per day. They also help with toxicosis of pregnant women, with "seasickness".

But the greatest value pumpkin seeds, of course, in the fact that they are raw materials for the production pumpkin seed oil. Everything that is useful in the seeds is contained in a higher concentration in the oil produced from them. The use of pumpkin seed oil has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal tract, helps the liver, kidneys, Bladder, improves blood composition, cleanses the body of toxins, strengthens the immune system.
IN Lately an increasing use, especially in Europe, finds edible pumpkin seed oil.

Due to the high content of unsaturated fats, pumpkin oil - great alternative fats of animal origin.

For lovers of light soups, I will give a recipe pumpkin soup with prunes:

For 2.5 liters of water you need: 400 g of pumpkin pulp, 200 g of pitted prunes, 2 medium carrots, 2 medium onions, 2 tomatoes, parsley, ground black pepper and very little salt. Cut pumpkin pulp, carrots, tomatoes into cubes. Scald the tomatoes first and remove the skin. Pour all the vegetables with hot vegetable broth and cook until tender. Then, throw the vegetables in a colander, cool and mash them. Finely chop the prunes and boil in the broth for 5-7 minutes. Add there vegetable puree, pepper. Bring the soup to a boil. Add finely chopped parsley to bowls.

Vegetable soup with pumpkin seeds

For 2 l. vegetable broth you need: 150 g of peeled pumpkin seeds, 3-4 tomatoes, olive oil, 1 pod little pepper chili, 8-10 lettuce leaves, spices to taste, very little salt. Boil the pumpkin seeds in boiling water for 5-7 minutes, then remove them from the pan, cool slightly and pass through a meat grinder. Lettuce leaves and tomatoes, peeled, finely chopped, fried in vegetable oil. Put about half of finely chopped pepper and crushed pumpkin seeds there. Stew the resulting mixture over low heat for 15 minutes, then transfer to a pre-prepared vegetable broth and boil for another 10 minutes. Shortly before the end of cooking, add spices, salt.

Pilaf with pumpkin and apples

Products: one and a half cups of rice, 500 g of pumpkin, 300 g of apples, better antonovka, 100 g raisins, 100 g melted butter. Mix peeled and diced apples with washed raisins. Melt some of the butter in a saucepan, cover the bottom with finely chopped pumpkin, spread a third of the washed rice on top. Cover the rice with a layer of apple and raisin mixture, covering them with half of the remaining rice. Then - a layer of apples with raisins, spread the remaining rice on top. Pour everything with the remaining oil and pour salted water so that it is covered. upper layer rice. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the pilaf over low heat for 1 hour.

Millet porridge with pumpkin

Products: 1 cup of millet, 500 g of pumpkin, 2 cups of water, 1 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt. Pour the peeled and finely chopped pumpkin with water and boil for 10 minutes. Then pour thoroughly washed millet, pour a glass of hot milk, add salt, sugar. While stirring, boil everything over low heat for 15-20 minutes until the porridge thickens. Then to bring the porridge to fully prepared, put it for 25-30 minutes in a slightly heated oven.

Fritters with pumpkin and apples

Products: 500 g flour, 300 g pumpkin, 200 g apples, 1 egg, 1 tbsp. l. sugar, a quarter tsp. soda and some vinegar. To extinguish soda, 1 tbsp. l. oils.
Finely chop the peeled pumpkin and apples, cook in a small amount water. Make a puree from boiled pumpkin with apples and, without letting it cool down, add an egg, salt, sugar, add flour. Knead the dough, add soda quenched in vinegar or lemon juice. Fritters to bake on a hot pan

Pumpkin Casserole with Apples

Products: 500 g pumpkin, 2-3 apples, 2 eggs, half a glass of crushed wheat crackers, 1 tbsp. l. oils.
Peel the pumpkin, grate, add a little water and boil over low heat. Grate the apples, add to the pumpkin, boil everything for a few more minutes. In a chilled pumpkin with apples, add crackers, yolk, mashed with sugar, salt. Mix everything, add whipped proteins and stir again. Put the resulting mass into a greased and sprinkled with breadcrumbs form, sprinkle with oil and bake in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes at a temperature of 220 degrees. 10-15 minutes before the end of baking, lower the temperature to 180 degrees. Can be served separately with a casserole light yogurt, or, if you are not on a diet, sour cream.

Pumpkin dumplings

Products: pumpkins 500-600 g, a glass of flour, 1 yolk 1.5 tbsp. spoons butter, a little ground black pepper, 50 g finely grated hard cheese (better than suluguni). Boil the peeled, finely chopped pumpkin until tender. Drain water, save. Grind the pumpkin in a blender. Grind the butter to the consistency of liquid sour cream and, stirring constantly, combine with pumpkin. Add egg yolk, flour, pepper and mix thoroughly. With a teaspoon, spread the pieces of dough on a board sprinkled with flour, form dumplings into small flat cakes. Boil in lightly salted boiling water, in which the pumpkin was boiled. After two or three minutes, the dumplings are ready. Before serving, pour over the dumplings with sauce, sprinkle with cheese on top. Gourmets can use light yogurt as a gravy, lingonberry sauce, tkemali sauce.