Holiday diet tips

Holiday diet tips

To really succeed on your diet plan, you need to commit to your goals, especially
around the holidays when friends and families gather to celebrate around big
meals, and even bigger desserts!

You need an Anti Food-Pusher Plan in place to help you. Here are some tips to help
you pull through a holiday season of food pushers:

1) I encourage you to contact the family members you're most concerned about and
talk to them privately before the holiday. Tell them about the healthy lifestyle
changes you are making, and that you would like their support by not "pushing"
you to keep tasting their rich food.

2) You can be polite and take a small amount of the dishes that your family
worked hard on cooking - just know that a few tastes may be all you need.

3) Focus on engaging and talking to family members about fun, neutral non-food
topics like the dancing with the stars finale so that the focus during the meal
gets off of the meal.

4) Practice saying “no thank you.” Be prepared when the food pushers want you to
take just 1 more piece of pie by saying "no thanks" and moving on quickly to
another topic of conversation.

5) Find someone in your family (even a young niece or nephew) who thinks it
would be cool to take an after dinner walk around the neighborhood before dessert.
This will energize you and help you to stay on program.

6)When you don't want to eat, pop a piece of sugarless gum into your mouth. This works well when you're cooking or when you're trying not to dive into the buffet, says Nonas

7)"Eschew the appetizers rather than chewing on them," says Katz. If you need a little nibble before the meal, go for the veggies, fruit, salsa, or a small handful of nuts.

The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated family feature film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, which is loosely based on E.D. Baker's novel The Frog Princess and the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "The Frog Prince". It is the 49th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics line, and the first of these films to be traditionally (2d) animated since 2004's Home on the Range. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, directors of The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, and Treasure Planet, with songs and score composed by Randy Newman and featuring the voices of Anika Noni Rose (as Princess Tiana), Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, Jim Cummings, John Goodman, Jenifer Lewis, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Peter Bartlett and Terrence Howard.

The film, which began production under the working title The Frog Princess, is an American fairy tale, Broadway-style musical set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. A prince named Naveen (Bruno Campos) from the land of Maldonia is transformed into a frog by the evil scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier (Keith David). The frog prince mistakes a girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) for a princess and has her kiss him to break the spell. However, the kiss doesn't break the spell, but instead turns Tiana into a frog as well. Together, the two of them must reach the good voodoo priestess of the Bayou, Mama Odie, while befriending a trumpet-playing alligator and a hopelessly romantic firefly along the way. The film opened in limited release in New York and Los Angeles on November 25, 2009, and will expand into wide release on December 11, 2009.

According to Anika Noni Rose, this will be the first Disney film with a black princess.She has said that the "scope and the significance" of that "is larger than people even realize

GMA Cancels Lambert

American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert won't be appearing on "Good Morning America" tomorrow.

TVNewser has learned ABC News canceled the concert after Lambert's sexually charged performance at the American Music Awards Sunday night. Lambert led men on leashes, dragged a woman by her foot, and smashed a man's head into his crotch, all while singing his new single "For Your Entertainment."

ABC, which aired the awards show, received about 1,500 phone calls from people complaining about the performance, a number ABC calls "moderate."

An ABC News spokesperson tells TVNewser, "given his controversial live performance on the AMAs we were concerned about airing a similar concert so early in the morning."

Lambert performed as part of GMA's summer concert series in August, and it was in a "20/20" interview that Lambert came out, telling Chris Connelly, "I am gay, and I'm very comfortable with it."

Stork crib recall

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada, today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.

CPSC urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.

The cribs’ drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can become missing. In addition, the drop-side can be installed upside-down, which can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts. All of these problems can cause the drop-side to detach in one or more corners. When the drop-side detaches, it creates space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. The bodies of infants and toddlers can become entrapped in the space which can lead to suffocation. Complete detachment of drop-sides can lead to falls from the crib.

This recall involves Stork Craft drop-side cribs and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. This recall does not involve any cribs that do not have a drop-side. This recall does not involve any cribs with metal rod drop-side hardware. It involves only those cribs with plastic trigger and one-hand-system drop-side hardware.

Major retailers in the United States and Canada sold the recalled cribs including BJ’s Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, and Wal-Mart stores and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com from January 1993 through October 2009 for between $100 and $400.

The cribs were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.

CPSC would like to remind parents not to use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts. Make sure to tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy. When using a drop-side crib, parents should check to make sure the drop-side or any other moving part operates smoothly. Always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Any disengagement can create a gap and entrap a child. In addition, do not try to repair any side of the crib, especially with tape, wire or rope.

Black Friday deals

Wal Mart has a Wii with New Super Mario Brothers Wii for $249
Get a 17 inch core i7 DV7 laptop (with Bluray) from HP for $1072 shipped. Use code NBTY349821 for additional $200 off

• $10 BD/film is already a sweet offer. how bout xbox 360 for 299 USD with 3 games of your selection.. perhaps Motorola Droid for 99 dollars!
• $35 for Madden 10 at Best Buy and a Snuggie for $5 at Office Max
• $600 for a 40" Sony Bravia TV from Best Buy
• Sharing Deals and Tips to Help You Live a Natural and Thrifty Lifestyle


There’s a great looking website called Couponcraze that offers coupon codes to customers on several stores (Although Walmart and Best Buy don’t have any at this moment). The coupons seems like legit however they expire before Black Friday (we’ve examined a couple like K-Mart, Target and Kohl’s) – most of them will expire on November 25, 2009. You can check that website and decide if you would take the plunge on their offers. Best of luck!

Prince of Persia

The first official trailer for Jerry Bruckheimer's The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is now up for all the internet to see . The long and short of it, it actually looks pretty good. Of course, the trailer is comprised mainly of quick cuts of action and narration filled with cliched adventure story tropes. Then again, as a video game adaptation, maybe that's to be expected.

Still, there doesn't appear to be anything overtly awful just yet, so the hope is still alive. If Bruckheimer can turn a theme park ride into a successful film franchise, maybe, just maybe, he can do it with a game too.

The film is directed by Mike Newell and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, and Alfred Molina. Filming is taking place in the United Kingdom and Morocco. Prince of Persia was originally scheduled to be released on July 19, 2009, but this was postponed during the first month of shooting to May 28, 2010.

The film is being made for Disney by Jerry Bruckheimer's Studios, using the same team behind the Pirates Of The Caribbean for the shooting schedule

Junk food clothing

Japanese gyaru (meaning "gal") fashion has exploded overseas in the past couple of years, with people looking to the hyper fashionable streets of Shibuya and Harajuku for inspiration. The Shibuya 109 building in Tokyo - with 10 floors of the wildest clothing and accessories imaginable - is the place to be, but there are also a huge number of magazines catering to the gyaru market that will help keep you on trend!

J-List and Amazon Japan offer subscriptions to many popular titles. Egg, Ranzuki, Poshh! and Koakuma Ageha showcase some of the most colourful and extravagant styles to come out of Tokyo.

Unfortunately, many of the brands pictured in these magazines are extremely difficult to find outside of Japan. So when I was flipping through a recent issue of Ageha, I was suprised to spot one of my favourite models Rin looking mega adorable in Junk Food's long sleeve thermal featuring Smurfette!
Team it with some bright leggings, or these Junk Food Strawberry shorts and some knee high tube socks for a cute look!
Oh, and don’t forget to keep your hair and makeup on point! The Cherrypop blog is regularly updated with scans from all the latest gyaru magazines and is a great place to get started.

Ophrah Winfrey

Oprah expands her media empire by launching the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) in early 2010 through an agreement with Discovery Communications. OWN replaces the existing Discovery Health channel and will provide a new breadth of Oprah-selected programming.

Discovery Health currently reaches over 76 million homes and with the added power brought by the Oprah brand, it's likely to grow significantly after the OWN makeover. The new network will feature programming to encourage and inform people on living their best life. Programming focuses on real people and real-life situations, ushering in a new reality TV form that is kinder and more inspirational.

Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) to Debut 2010
Oprah Winfrey's talk show Oprah is known for featuring guest experts like Dr. Oz and Dr. Laura Berman. Winfrey possesses an uncanny ability to identify talent and give it the powerful visibility that only Oprah can. In defining the OWN programming, Oprah will look to former guests and experts alike.

Winfrey's talent selection is bankable and in a recent USA Today article Discovery Communications CEO David Zazlav commented, "Look at some of the (television) talent she has developed: Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Rachael Ray— all these people."

In an April press release, Oprah noted, "One of the things I love about my work is getting to meet extraordinary people who have done amazing things in life. So, for OWN, I will be hand-picking some of the most engaging and intriguing people of our time and giving them a stage all their own to share their stories and best life lessons with all of us."

charity

Charitable giving is the act of giving money, goods or time to the unfortunate, either directly or by means of a charitable trust or other worthy cause. Charitable giving as a religious act or duty is referred to as almsgiving or alms. The name stems from the most obvious expression of the virtue of charity is giving the objects of it the means they need to survive.

The poor, particularly widows and orphans, and the sick and disabled, are generally regarded as the proper objects of charity. Some groups regard charity as being properly directed toward other members of their group. Although giving to those nearly connected to oneself is sometimes called charity—as in the saying "Charity begins at home" -- normally charity denotes giving to those not related, with filial piety and like terms for supporting one's family and friends. Indeed, treating those related to the giver as if they were strangers in need of charity has led to the figure of speech "as cold as charity" -- providing for one's relatives as if they were strangers, without affection.

A Hope for Children, charity institution whose stated purpose is to serve the children of Ethiopia, with a primary emphasis on caring for orphans infected with HIV

AHOPE provides two children’s homes for the care of children infected with HIV, with a capacity of about 100 children total. AHOPE operates a child development center which is a community outreach program that provides services which enable a destitute extended family to keep its orphaned children at home. According to AHOPE, the center has the capacity to assist 100 children and their guardians and is designed as a model that is suitable for replication in other needy areas as funding allows. The children are provided with basic essentials to thrive despite the family circumstances, including food, clothing, psycho-social support, and schooling. The organization has an in-house preschool and the older children are provided with school fees, uniforms, books, etc. Medical care is provided, including anti-retro-viral therapy as needed. The guardians of the children receive family training in nutrition, hygiene, care of HIV infected persons and other skills that contribute to a healthy environment for the children and their families. AHOPE operates a daycare which has many activities and a before-school and after-school program of tutoring and activities for older children. The organization’s child development center also houses a community children's library to enable the children of AHOPE to socialize with other children and adults in the community in a natural social setting. AHOPE also provides ongoing training for families and the community to provide sensitization to HIV issues, community cohesiveness and mobilization

Hugh Hefner almost died

Hugh Hefner almost died

Hugh Marston Hefner (born April 9, 1926), sometimes known simply as Hef, is an

American magazine publisher, founder and chief creative officer of Playboy

Enterprises.In 2003, Arena magazine listed him second on the "50 Most Powerful People

in Porn" list.

Hugh Hefner has made a killing throughout his lifetime on sex, but having sex nearly

killed him.

The 83-year-old admits that he nearly died choking on a sex toy while in bed with a

group of girlfriends.

He revealed: “What is the closest I’ve come to death? There was a moment when I was

having sex with four Playmates and I almost swallowed a Ben Wa ball.”

At his age, Hef admits that it's becoming increasing difficult to leave his bed so he

prefers to spend most of his time there taking care of as many tasks as he possibly

can.

He added: “My most treasured possession is my rotating round bed. I don't have dinner

parties – I eat my dinner in bed. I relax with my girls in bed, just watching a movie

and having a good time.

“If I had to dress up in fancy dress, I’d wear my pajamas.”

Only Hef can make pajamas look so cool! But in the meanwhile, maybe he should lay off

the sex toys!

Gift for Techies

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation

console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation

3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the

two others.As of December 31, 2008 the Wii leads the generation over the PlayStation

3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales.

A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote,

which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detect movement in three

dimensions. Another distinctive feature of the console is WiiConnect24, which enables

it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.

The Wii is Nintendo's fifth home console, the direct successor to the Nintendo

GameCube, and able to play all official GameCube games. Nintendo first spoke of the

console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005 E3.

Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game

Show. At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards. By December 8, 2006,

it had completed its launch in four key markets


Wii Remote

The Wii Remote is the primary controller for the console. It uses a combination of

built-in accelerometers and infrared detection to sense its position in 3D space when

pointed at the LEDs within the Sensor Bar. This design allows users to control the

game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. The controller

connects to the console using Bluetooth and features rumble as well as an internal

speaker. The Wii Remote can connect to expansion devices through a proprietary port

at the base of the controller. The device bundled with the Wii retail package is the

Nunchuk unit, which features an accelerometer and a traditional analog stick with two

trigger buttons. In addition, an attachable wrist strap can be used to prevent the

player from unintentionally dropping or throwing the Wii Remote. Nintendo has also

since offered a stronger strap and the Wii Remote Jacket to provide extra grip and

protection. The Wii MotionPlus was announced as a device that connects to the Wii

Remote to supplement the accelerometer and Sensor Bar capabilities and enable actions

to be rendered identically on the screen in real time. Nintendo also revealed the Wii

Vitality Sensor, a fingertip pulse oximeter sensor that connects through the Wii

Remote.

Memory Storage

The Wii console contains 512 megabytes of internal flash memory and features an SD

card slot for external storage. An SD card can be used for uploading photos as well

as backing up saved game data and downloaded Virtual Console and WiiWare games. To

use the SD slot for transferring game saves, an update must be installed. An

installation can be initiated from the Wii options menu through an Internet

connection, or by inserting a game disc containing the update. Virtual Console data

cannot be restored to any system except the unit of origin. An SD card can also be

used to create customized in-game music from stored MP3 files, as first shown in

Excite Truck, as well as music for the slideshow feature of the Photo Channel.

Version 1.1 of the Photo Channel removed MP3 playback in favor of AAC support.

At the Nintendo Fall Press Conference in October 2008, Satoru Iwata announced that

Wii owners would have the option to download WiiWare and Virtual Console content

directly onto an SD card. The option would offer an alternative to "address the

console's insufficient memory storage". The announcement stated that it would be

available in Japan in the spring of 2009. Nintendo made the update available on March

25, 2009. In addition to the previously announced functionalty, it lets the player

load Virtual Console and WiiWare games directly from the SD card. The update allows

the use of SDHC cards, increasing the limit on SD card size from 2 GB to 32 GB.

Wii Menu

Nintendo GameCube ports on the top of the Wii unitMain article: Wii Menu
The Wii Menu interface is designed around the concept of television channels.

Separate channels are graphically displayed in a grid and are navigated using the

pointer capability of the Wii Remote. It is possible to change the arrangement by

holding down the A and B buttons to grab channels and move them around. There are six

primary channels: the Disc Channel, Mii Channel, Photo Channel, Wii Shop Channel,

Forecast Channel, and News Channel. The latter two were initially unavailable at

launch, but activated through updates. Additional channels are available for download

from the Wii Shop Channel through WiiWare and also appear with each Virtual Console

title. These include the Everybody Votes Channel, Internet Channel, Check Mii Out

Channel, and the Nintendo Channel.

Cooking Turkey

Believe it or not, cooking a turkey is not that difficult. Which turkey cooking method chosen is up to the cook, just make sure it is a safe method.

Wash hands, utensils, sink and anything else that has come in contact with the raw turkey with hot, soapy water immediately following preparation.

The temperature in your oven has to be accurate.
Your turkey has been safely and totally thawed and cleaned. The only safe way to thaw a frozen turkey is to place it in the refrigerator. Other methods such as running cold water over it or placing it in a microwave oven are not safe because of the chance of bacterial growth and contamination. So, because of that risk I will only give you guidelines using the refrigerator method.
And this one is for the newest aspiring chefs in the audience, be sure to remove the neck and giblets from the inside of the turkey! Don't laugh!
You can see how the skin is crisp but tender and how "sealing" the turkey keeps the white meat unbelievably moist and tender
Lightly Salt and Pepper all the skin on the outside. This will help make the skin crisp!
Don't place stuffing in the turkey! Stuffing plays havoc with cooking times and is a recognized health hazard. Cook your stuffing separately in a casserole dish and be safe.
Place the turkey in a covered roasting pan place in the oven preheated to 475°F for 20 minutes. You don't have to add any water. Our goal here is to "seal the bird" to help keep it juicy.
Reduce the heat to 250°F. This again is not a typo! Don't let anybody tell you that the temperature has to be higher for it to get done. The reason that turkey is so often very dry is that it's overcooked. We want to slow cook the turkey. You do not have to remove the turkey from the oven. Just reduce the heat. Click Here to find out about concerns when slow-cooking a turkey.
Cook the turkey at 250°F for 20 additional minutes for each pound. No basting is necessary.
Many variables come into play when cooking a turkey. The only way to be absolutely sure that your turkey is fully cooked is to use a quality meat thermometer. Interior breast meat should be 170°F and 180°F for thigh meat. Using a meat thermometer is particularly important if you are roasting the turkey a high elevations since it will take longer but there is no rule of thumb to predict how much longer.
Remove the turkey from the oven and allow it to rest uncovered for at least 20 minutes before carving it. This allows the juices to redistribute themselves inside the turkey making the turkey even more juicy, delicious, and easier to carve


Turkey Basics: Safe Cooking
Turkeys Are Cooking Faster Than Before
But "timing's NOT everything." Recommended cooking techniques must also be followed. A meat thermometer should be used to ensure a sufficient internal temperature has been reached to destroy bacteria and prevent foodborne illness -- as well as to prevent overcooking.

Many variables can affect the roasting time of the whole bird:

A partially frozen bird requires longer cooking.
Dark roasting pans cook faster than shiny metals.
The depth and size of the pan can reduce heat circulation to all areas of the bird.
The use of a foil tent for the entire time can slow cooking.
Use of the roasting pan's lid speeds cooking.
An oven cooking bag can accelerate cooking time.
A stuffed bird takes longer to cook.
Oven may heat food unevenly.
Calibration of the oven's thermostat may be inaccurate.
The rack position can have an effect on even cooking and heat circulation.
A turkey or its pan may be too large for the oven, thus blocking heat circulation.

Locksmith

Locksmithing began as the science and art of making and defeating locks. A lock is a mechanism that secures buildings, rooms, cabinets, objects, or other storage facilities. Locksmithing is one of the earliest forms of security engineering.

Historically, locksmiths actually made the entire lock, working for hours hand cutting screws and doing much file-work. Today, the rise of cheap mass production means that this is no longer true, and, though a few expert locksmiths are also engineers and capable of sophisticated repairs and renovation work, the vast majority of locks are repaired by swapping of parts or like-for-like replacement, or upgraded to modern mass-production items. Until more recently, safes and strongboxes were the exception to this, and to this day large vaults are custom designed and built at great cost, as the cost of this is lower than the very limited scope for mass production would allow, and the risk of a copy being obtained and defeated as practice is removed. Although fitting of keys to replace lost keys to automobiles and homes and the changing of keys for homes and businesses to maintain security are still an important part of locksmithing, locksmiths today are primarily involved in the installation of higher quality lock-sets and the design, implementation and management of keying and key control systems. Most locksmiths also do electronic lock servicing, such as making keys for transponder-equipped vehicles and the implementation and application of access control systems protecting individuals and assets for many large institutions. In terms of physical security, a locksmith's work frequently involves making a determination of the level of risk to an individual or institution and then recommending and implementing appropriate combinations of equipment and policies to create "security layers" which exceed the reasonable gain to an intruder or attacker. The more different security layers are implemented, the more the requirement for additional skills and knowledge and tools to defeat them all. But because each layer comes at an expense to the customer, the application of appropriate levels without exceeding reasonable costs to the customer is often very important and requires a skilled and knowledgeable locksmith to determine.

Dogpile Search

Dogpile gives you a fast and easy way to access Dogpile search from your own site--for FREE. Now all your users can have Dogpile's powerful, single click access to the best results from leading search engines like Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com and others.

Male celebrities

What can you say about Brad Pitt that hasn't already been said. The hottest actor in Hollywood? The sexiest celeb in the world? Whatever words you use, he's a very special man.

Overall Rating

If anyone was going to score maximum points it was Brad but even he's not perfect. However with 94 points he is pretty damn close. Incredible looks, fabulous body, immense wealth, successful movie career - he is the most desirable man on the planet. Just ask Angelina

Biography

William Bradley Pitt was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma on December 18th 1963. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri before moving to California to purse his dreams of becoming an actor. Like many aspiring actors he had to support himself in any which way he could.

Three Things You Never Knew

1. In 1997 Brad was banned from setting foot in China because of his movie Seven Years In Tibet.
2. Despite Brad's incredible natural good looks, he wasn't born perfect. What's he had done - a nose job, a hair transplant, a facelift? No, he had veneers put on his teeth. Disappointed aren't you.
3. Brad injured himself during the filming of the moxie Troy where he played the role of the achilles susceptible hero. Which part of his body did Mr Pitt damage? His achilles!!!!

pumpkin pie

Pumpkins are very versatile in their uses for cooking, from the fleshy shell, to the seeds, to even the flowers; most parts of the pumpkin are edible. Traditionally, pumpkin is a very popular Halloween and Thanksgiving staple. Although most people use store-bought canned pumpkin, homemade pumpkin purée can serve the same purpose.
When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, baked, steamed, or roasted. In its native North America, it is a very important, traditional part of the autumn harvest, eaten mashed and making its way into soups and purees. In Mexico and the U.S., the seeds are often roasted and eaten as a snack. Often, it is made into pie, various kinds of which are a traditional staple of the Canadian and American Thanksgiving holiday.
Pumpkins that are still small and green may be eaten in the same way as squash or zucchini. Pumpkins can also be mashed (similar to mashed potatoes) or incorporated into soup. In the Middle East, pumpkin is used for sweet dishes; a well-known sweet delicacy is called halawa yaqtin. In South Asian countries such as India, pumpkin is cooked with butter, sugar, and spices in a dish called kadu ka halwa. In Guangxi province, China, the leaves of the pumpkin plant are consumed as a cooked vegetable or in soups. In Australia, pumpkin is often roasted in conjunction with other vegetables. In Japan, small pumpkins are served in savory dishes, including tempura. In Thailand, small pumpkins are steamed with custard inside and served as a dessert. In Italy it can be used with cheeses as a savory stuffing for ravioli. Also, pumpkin can be used to flavor both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages.

pumpkin

The word pumpkin originates from the word pepon, which is Greek for “large melon". The French adapted this word to pompon, which the British changed to pumpion and later American colonists changed that to the word we use today, "pumpkin".The origin of pumpkins is not definitively known, although they are thought to have originated in North America. The oldest evidence, pumpkin-related seeds dating between 7000 and 5500 B.C., were found in Mexico.Pumpkins are a squash-like fruit that range in size from less than 1 pound (0.45 kilograms) to over 1,000 pounds (453.59 kilograms).Since some squash share the same botanical classifications as pumpkins, the names are frequently used interchangeably. In general, pumpkin stems are more rigid, prickly, and angular (with an approximate five-degree angle) than squash stems, which are generally softer, more rounded, and more flared where joined to the fruit.Pumpkins generally weigh 9–18 lbs (4–8 kg) with the largest (of the species C. maxima) capable of reaching a weight of over 75 lbs (34 kg). The pumpkin varies greatly in shape, ranging from oblate through oblong. The rind is smooth and usually lightly ribbed.Although pumpkins are usually orange or yellow, some fruits are dark green, pale green, orange-yellow, white, red and gray.]Pumpkins are monoecious, having both male and female flowers on the same plant. The female flower is distinguished by the small ovary at the base of the petals. These bright and colorful flowers have extremely short life spans and may only open for as short a time as one day. The color of pumpkins is derived from the orange pigments abundant in them. The main nutrients are lutein and both alpha and beta carotene, the latter of which generates vitamin A in the body.