Pumpkin treats

Certainly pumpkins serve as the centerpiece to Halloween but pumpkins can be so much more than just decorations.

Reina Hastings of University of Alaska Extension says there are plenty of ways to take your pumpkin and reuse it. Most of those regard creating culinary items. And for that an uncarved pumpkin is best. “You want to select one that's completely intact. And you want to make sure that it's free of bruises and cuts and you see no moldy spot and you want to make sure that it's stored in a cool, dry, well ventilated area where the temperature is more about 40 to 50 degrees and it can be stored up to several months.”

There are several pumpkin related recipes available from resources like cooperative extension, from pumpkin pie filling to pumpkin rolls. And as it is in the squash family, Hastings says baking a pumpkin for consumption offers a delicious treat with its natural juices and everything.

And it's a great treat, plain as is. Or you can add a little bit of butter or some cinnamon and brown sugar on top of it and just have it as a dessert, too baked as isn't. It's a very convenient and nutritious and low calorie.

If you have leftover pumpkin puree, it can be stored by canning or even having it dehydrate by spreading puree on dehydrator trays baking at the recommended temperature overnight using a food processor to turn to powder form, place in a can or jar for storage and reconstitute with water as needed. And don't forget, once snag they can come out of the pumpkin, whether yours is meant for decoration or consumption.

Pumpkin seeds.

Yes, that's something that you can certainly salvage right away as using pumpkin seeds just season to taste and use your preferred preparation method such as baking the seeds in the oven or using an air fryer. Now, if your pumpkin plans include using a winter squash for decoration only carve jack-o'-lantern or painand pumpkin for Halloween.

Hastings suggests pick the one that maybe it does have cuts and bruises and it's not so pretty. And then you can painting and you can do whatever you want to it and carve it and not have to worry too much about how to store it and everything.

In fact, Hasting says, avoid consuming a painted pumpkin as like human skin. The pumpkin skin absorbs the paint. Now, even if you have a decorative pumpkin that is carved or painted, Hasting says there is a way to reuse that as well.

You can also use it for HuffPost's, whether it's not for yourself, but you can reach out maybe to local farmers that maybe use it.