These super-healthy zero point food options won’t make a dent in your SmartPoints budget | Green Pumpkin Seeds Kernel

Bison tartare with quail egg yolk, i’itoi onion, prickly pear, shishito peppers and mesquite lavosh at Confluence in Carefree, AZ. (Photo: Dominic Armato/The Republic)

Divide the white rind squares between mason jars or plastic half-quart containers. Pour hot brine over the rinds. Place lids on the containers/jars and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Store in the refrigerator and use within one week.

With only a few weeks remaining until the official start to fall, get out there and embrace summer, from rind to seed, before it’s too late.

This is not your average walk-up-counter, Stryofoam-to-go box kind of barbecue joint. Chef and owner Mike Jones opened his approachable but elegant Texas-style barbecue restaurant in early September, expanding his repertoire from the long-time vegetable-forward Mizuna to include slow-cooked, smoked meats a couple blocks down the street. It’s casual but refined, with black cloth napkins, white dishware and table service. The dining room is warm and inviting, done in red brick and wood. Plenty of natural light comes in from a pair of skylights overhead as well as a front wall of glass. There’s a lodge- or saloon-like feel, but the Western-style ambiance isn’t overdone. Brisket is an early top-seller. But Austin’s Live Fire Barbecue also specializes in wood-fired, spice-rubbed pork ribs, pork shoulder, pork belly and chicken. Jones had the kitchen built out to accommodate a large custom-made smoker with three pits with weighted lids. Sides include smoked Gouda mac and cheese, sweet potato fries or braised greens. Don’t skip dessert. Jones asked his mom for an old family recipe for pecan pie “that’s better than any pecan pie that I’ve ever had in any restaurant. It’s been passed down by her mom and her mom.” It’s $6.95 a slice. 421 W. Main Ave. (509) 290-5851.

Then, 10 years ago, the friend served up the idea on a silver platter, giving Geddes a two-gallon pot with a pumpkin seed already buried in the soil. Plant the pot, the friend told him.

In truth, those pesky seeds can be beneficial to your health. So, too, is the rind, so think twice before tossing them out.

Hybrid sunflower seed can be made by slowly, meticulously and expensively emasculating individual flowers to create females, which are then pollinated by hand. Alternatively, mutant sunflowers, incapable of producing fertile pollen, are used as female parents in hybrid crosses.

For recipe ideas, check out these Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Walnuts, Dates, and Caramelized Onions, or go to the sweet side of life with this Butterscotch Pudding With Candied Walnuts. Either way, your brain, heart, and taste buds will thank you!

Another nutrient to highlight, especially if you need some shuteye, is an amino acid known as tryptophan. Since it is used for the treatment of insomnia, research has suggested that consuming it from dietary sources like pumpkin seeds can help reduce sleep problems.

Analysts forecast that soymeal demand in the next few months will continue to fall from the previous year.

The Nut Topper Blend includes a surprising combination of pistachios, almonds, sweet cranberries, and savory sesame sticks. This blend adds protein, fiber potassium, and a delicious crunch to your next salad or snack craving.

At his pumpkin patch, he’s a dusty blur, working as greeter, cashier, wheelbarrow pusher and parking director. He’s five-and-a-half feet tall and wears a deep tan on his face from farm work.