If only kids were introduced to this type of day-starter rather than sugary breakfast cereals…

Pumpkin here is diced into small tender bits, mixed with honey, good vanilla, and quality salt, then added to some sliced bananas, with a good sprinkling of cinnamon overall. The finished product has a surprising fresh-apple-pie flavor, and I just loved it.

You could jack up the calcium in the dish by pouring some fresh almond milk over top, but this is a simple affair that works very nicely as-is, and naturally high in beta carotene.

And who knew how nice pumpkin can be raw?

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Recipe for: Raw Pumpkin Compote

• heaping 1/2 cup finely chopped raw pumpkin (see directions below)
• 1 teaspoon raw or otherwise good-quality honey
• 1/2 teaspoon quality vanilla
• a few good dashes quality natural salt — 1/8 teaspoon is too much, but you want to taste the salt here, for a little zing
• 2 bananas, sliced
• ground cinnamon for garnish

For the pumpkin, use whichever type you find ripe-n-ready at the grocer’s. When you cut the pumpkin open (cut in half or quarters), scoop out the goopy interior, and then take a knife and shave off some thinnish slabs of the flesh. If it’s too hard to slice off that way, the pumpkin isn’t ripe enough and is better put toward a good smoothie.

Then take you thin slabs and cut them in very thin strips, and then cut them crosswise into small dice.

Add the honey, vanilla and salt and stir to combine well. Put this mixture in the center to a large bowl, then encircle with the bananas slices, sprinkle the cinnamon over top, and stir to combine when you’re ready to eat.

This recipe serves one hungry breakfast-eater!

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