Last week as I sat on the floor at bedtime brushing child A’s hair, she wrapped her arms around my neck and told me: “Mummy. I love you all the way into space, loop de loop around the moon 99 times … and back!”

Not a second later, child B bent over stark naked in front of me (at eye level I might add) and said, “Is my butt clean?” The fact that the two exchanges took place at basically the same time, highlights how parenting is a mishmash of highs and lows.

A perfect day can go downhill in a heartbeat; an awful afternoon can be brightened in an instant. It’s no surprise that we stagger through early wake-ups and late-night shenanigans, wide-eyed through wonder and shock. Likewise, I embrace Hallmark holidays with mixed emotions. Halloween is nearly upon us and with it comes an avalanche of sugar and artificial crap. But it also comes with the hilarity of dress up and the excitement of trick or treating.

The weather cools with a change of season and the grocery store is full of pumpkins. I love, love, love this tasty vegetable, though we all know it’s a fruit really. (It has seeds, people!) I’ve given you the pumpkin cupcake recipe, but here’s a roundup of my other favourites — pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup and roasted pumpkin salad. They are all delicious so I hope you make every single one. Best of all, we grow pumpkin here in Bermuda, so you can delight in eating local produce and supporting all our farmers.

A quick note for you: the bread is based on my Nutrifit banana bread so it’s gluten/dairy-free and packed with ground seeds for extra fibre, good fats, protein and minerals like zinc and magnesium. It’s less sweet than a cake, so make sure you pitch it properly to your family. If you set their expectations up for a dessert, you might disappoint. If you introduce it as a “bread” you are more likely to get the full thumbs-up.

Pumpkin bread (gluten and dairy-free)

Ingredients

¾ cup brown rice flour

½ cup almond flour

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ cup dark brown sugar or preferably Sucanat

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin spice

½ cup Linwoods ground seed mix (I use the pumpkin, sesame, sunflower blend from Supermart)

½ cup raisins, chopped walnuts (or a mix of both)

1½ cups roasted pumpkin (you can use tinned if need be)

2 large eggs

¼ cup coconut oil, melted and extra for greasing the pan

½ cup dairy-free “buttermilk” (see method)

Method

1, Preheat the oven to 350F. Line and grease a regular sized loaf pan.

2, Place ½ tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice in a cup, and fill to the ½ cup mark with soy, almond, hemp, flax or any other type of milk. Set to one side.

3, Whisk all dry ingredients together, brown rice flour through to the seed mix. Then stir through the raisins or chopped walnuts (or you can add more seed mix instead.)

4, Mash the roasted pumpkin well. Whisk in the eggs, “buttermilk” and, at the last minute, the melted coconut oil.

5, Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture then mix using a hand whisk — completely, but with a light hand.

6, Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 55 minutes or until a metal skewer comes out clean. Cool before cutting!

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

2½ cups of skinned and chopped pumpkin

3 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped

4 sticks celery, chopped

1 large red onion, chopped

1 tsp condensed vegetable stock

¼ tsp ground coriander seed

1 tsp chilli powder (mild or hot)

1 tsp cinnamon

black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

4 8oz cups boiling water

Method

1, Skin the tomatoes — it’s very easy to do! Etch a shallow X in the top and bottom of each tomato, place in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water for two minutes. You will see the skin split and begin to peel off. Drain, cover with cold water and peel/chop when cool enough.

2, Gently heat the olive oil in a large saucepan with one tsp water

3, Add the chopped onion and celery, turn up the heat and stir for a few minutes. Then reduce the heat to “simmer”, cover the pan and let the vegetables sweat for a few minutes.

4, Uncover the pan and add four cups of boiling water

5, Then add the pumpkin, chopped tomatoes, stock cube, coriander, chilli powder and cinnamon.

6, Bring to the boil and then simmer for approximately 25 minutes until the pumpkin is well cooked. Blend (you may have to do this in batches) till smooth.

Pumpkin, cranberry and goats cheese salad

Ingredients (per person)

1 large handful peeled, cubed pumpkin

¼ cup crumbled goat’s cheese (replace with avocado if dairy free)

1 tbsp dried cranberries

1 tbsp toasted pine nuts (optional)

2 handfuls arugula (or any other dark green leaves)

Balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil

Method

1, Gently toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet, watching closely. Set to one side to cool.

2, Prepare the pumpkin, toss in a little olive oil and roast in the oven at 350F for approximately 25 minutes (til tender and a little crispy)

3, Place all the other ingredients in a bowl, add the pumpkin and pine nuts, drizzle with balsamic and olive oil, toss. Enjoy!

• The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is the managing director of Natural Ltd and a fully qualified nutritional therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK. Please note that she is not a registered dietitian. For details, please go to www.natural.bm or call 236-7511. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda