Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds

What was your favourite breakfast cereal as a kid? Plain Jane, unsweetened Cheerios, Rice Krispies and Chex? Middle of the road  Mini Wheats and Frosted Flakes? Or the candy-stuffed, dessert like Lucky Charms, Cookie Crisp, Reese's Puffs and Trix?

I was never a huge cereal fan at all growing up - at least when it came to eating it for breakfast. But I snacked on the plain stuff like nobody's business, and thought I'd never fall in love with the sweeter types until I tasted Cinnamon Toast Crunch at a friend's place.

Oh. My. Gosh. Now, I love cinnamon raisin bread, especially toasted with lashings of cultured butter, but I never thought that same flavour could make it into a cold, dry cereal. It was sweet enough to matter (and count as a decent snack / ice cream topping), but not cloyingly gross like the candy-stuffed varieties out there. I don't think I'd ever be able to have it for breakfast though (definitely not with milk - milk in cereal is nasty no matter what common practice is ;-) ). Like I said, I'm just not a cereal for breakfast person.

Snacks, on the other hand, I thoroughly endorse and love. My sister, home for the weekend from university, wanted to carve a pumpkin for Hallowe'en this year since she missed out on her last two while in a different school 4 hours away, and on the weekend we picked up two of them from the local farm. Being the cheapskate frugal being that I am, I didn't want to see the innards go to waste when there is so much flavour potential! I found a promising, vegan and gluten free flavour idea on The Gluten Free Herbyvore and knew it was exactly what I had to make with those saved seeds! Roasted pumpkin seeds are naturally crunchy, they're nutty, and are a wealth of zinc, magnesium, manganese and tryptophan - no fortification necessary! Giving them the cinnamon sugar treatment gives them a taste reminiscent of the best cinnamon toast ever, just better (and cheaper) for you!

Submitted to Gluten-Free Monday #5

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds 
Makes 2 cups, 8 (1/4-cup) servings 

2 cups pumpkin seeds (about 1-2 jack-o-lantern's worth!)
1 tsp canola oil
1 1/2 tbsp raw sugar
1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 325 F and line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Toss the seeds, oil, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl until the seeds are well coated.
3. Spread the seeds out in one layer on the baking sheet.
4. Bake 10 minutes, then stir and bake a further 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and pour into a bowl to cool. 

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 86.9
Total Fat: 3.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 93.2 mg
Total Carbs: 11.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.5 g
Protein: 3.0 g

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