Affordable & nutritious: 10 plant-based foods with health power
Pumpkin Seeds
When it comes to buying seeds and nuts, you may experience some sticker shock. Stop struggling between health and savings, and pick up a bag of nutritious, budget-friendly pumpkin seeds.
Cost: $0.30 per ¼-cup serving ($4.25 per pound).
Benefits: Pumpkin seeds—or pepitas, as they’re called when they’re shelled—pack a lot of health benefits for their little size. Aside from offering a high amount of manganese, just ¼ cup of pepitas contains nearly 50 percent of your daily need for magnesium—important for muscle, heart and bone health. That same serving size is high in heart-healthy fats and adds almost 10 grams of protein to your diet.
Use in a recipe: Pumpkin Spice Trail Bars