P is for pumpkin

Pumpkin Cake Roulade

This easy dessert is a great way to try out baking with pumpkin if you have never tried it before.  The pumpkin flavor is just right and does not take over the dish.  Macadamia nuts add a delicious buttery crunch.

Pumpkins are rich in vitamin A and boast a unique mix of both antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. They protect the immune system as well as the cardiovascular system, including the fine blood vessels of the brain. It also plays a role in regulating the kind of cell-to-cell communication that keeps cancer in check. Pumpkins are also a great source of potassium, making them a food useful in controlling hypertension and preserving healthy brain function by yet another means.

Therapeutic topic of the week:

Dealing with excess candy.  They're everywhere, you just can't ignore it---from the pumpkin patches on the side of the road to the array of pumpkins lined outside the grocery store, pumpkins are here.  Along with pumpkins come all that candy.  As an adult, the sales urge me to buy candy when normally I wouldn't.  As a parent, when my child comes home with sixty pieces of candy I wonder how to discourage him from eating it.  I can't help but wonder, is all this candy really necessary?

According to a study in the Journal of Education and Behavior conducted at Yale, 284 children between three and 14-years old were given the option of lollipops, fruit-flavored chewy candies, fruit flavored crunchy wafers, and sweet and tart hard candies, or stretch pumpkin men, large glow-in-the-dark insects, or Halloween theme stickers and pencils. Half the children chose the toys. This shows that kids may define the notion of "treat" much more broadly than many of us do.  The key here is to have our children understand that there are rewards other than food.  We also don't want to have such strict candy rules that they hide all half the candy under their bed and binge when they're at school.  Not only are these unhealthy habits, they may grow into adulthood with issues related to food.  Understand that food can be used as comfort to sooth ourselves.  Be creative and teach our children about other treats that don't revolve around eating.

Eating candy as an adult whether you have children or not during this time can be a challenge.  Dr. Judith Beck has a few suggestions  to survive through the season.

Remember: Candy is available year-round!  Drug stores and supermarkets sell fun-sized candy bars year-round, so you don't need to load up now. You can buy candy any time.

Don't buy candy until you need it. Even if it adds a small amount of cost or an additional chore on your already busy October 31st, isn't it worth not having to worry about giving in and expending the mental energy to resist until it's time?

Buy candy that you don't like so much in bulk and just a single serving of your favorite candy. You'll obviously have the most trouble resisting your favorite candy, so buy candy in bulk that you don't enjoy as much-you'll have an easier time resisting it. You can and should buy a single-serving of the candy you like the most. This way, you'll be able to savor your favorite candy without worrying about having to stop yourself from going back for more.

Get rid of left overs! Give them away, donate them, bring them in to work, or simply throw them away. If you have the sabotaging thought, "I can't throw the candy away because it would be a waste of money," remind yourself, "Either way the money is already gone. Eating the candy won't bring it back." One way or another, if you can limit your amount of exposure to leftover candy, you'll make it so much easier on yourself. 

Pumpkin Cake Roulade Recipe 

Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, divided
3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups thawed Whipped Topping

Directions
HEAT oven to 375°F.

GREASE 15x10x1-inch pan; line with waxed paper. Grease and flour waxed paper. Sprinkle clean towel with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

MIX flour, spice, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl with mixer on high speed until thickened. Add pumpkin; mix well. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended. Spread onto bottom of prepared pan; sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE 15 min. or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately invert cake onto towel; remove pan. Carefully peel off paper. Starting at one short side, roll up cake and towel together. Cool completely on wire rack.

BEAT cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in medium bowl with mixer until well blended. Add whipped topping; mix well. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour. Unwrap and sprinkle with remaining powdered sugar just before serving.

Adapted from Kraft