Pumpkin-inspired recipes: North East nutritionist's top 10 recipes to try this Halloween; Former GB athlete-turned-nutritionist Stacey Smith, of Blaydon, runs through her healthiest pumpkin recipes for you to try at home.

Byline: Michael Marsh

If you're looking for that Halloween inspiration in the kitchen, we've got just the thing for you.

With the help of former Team GB athlete Stacey Smith, we're giving you 10 pumpkin-inspired recipes to ensure you put your spooktacular vegetable to good use.

Having cut her running career short through injury, Stacey, of Gateshead, is now a fully-qualified sports physiotherapist, NHS nutritional advisor and personal trainer.

Stacey, who focuses on nutritional education, said: "There's not enough information out there about nutrition and food awareness and there is a lot of mixed messages so people are often confused."

"I like to explain why I am using certain ingredients and what they can do for your health.

"The pumpkin is an under rated veg. It's very versatile, cheap, easy to cook with, low in calories, high in fibre and full of nutrients such vitamin A and C, potassium, zinc and magnesium."

Below, Stacey's run through some of her favourite - and healthiest - pumpkin recipies for you to enjoy.

For more fitness tips, advice and reviews, visit her blog at staceyssay.blogspot.co.uk

This is a great quick recipe, so easy to make and really cheap and healthy too. Perfect for on a budget, students or beginners.

Ingredients:

1kg pumpkin, peeled, de-seeded, and chopped into chunks.

1 large leek, one inch slices

1 large red onion sliced

1 pint vegetable stock

Dried thyme sage

Olive oil

Black pepper salt

Put two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan, gently fry off the sliced onions for five mins on a low/medium heat. Add the chopped leeks and cook for another 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Add in the pumpkin and herbs then cook for another 10 mins, stirring to make sure all ingredients are being evenly cooked. Add the stock, black pepper, salt and cook for 20 mins on a simmer, then blend for your preference. I prefer my soup chunky so I only blend it a little bit.

Pumpkin and sweet potato go great together, so serve this for lunch with some salad or as an alternative to your normal breakfast. The use of coconut oil instead of traditional olive oil for frying is because olive oil becomes toxic as it is heated very high, whereas coconut oil doesn't. Use olive oil for cooking at lower temperatures or in salad dressings.

Ingredients:

350g grated pumpkin

160g grated sweet potato

1/2 red Onion, finely sliced

2 tablespoons rice flour

3 eggs

2 stalks fresh coriander

Paprika

Chilli powder

Black pepper salt

Coconut oil for frying

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well together, making sure all the ingredients are coated in egg and that there's no clumps of flour. Using a tablespoon, scoop out the mixture and use your hands to mould into a disc shape... this will get messy. Don't make them too big otherwise they won't cook in the middle. Fry with some coconut oil on a low/med heat. These can burn so be careful and take your time. Once golden (this...

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