We’re entering the fall season, heck, we’ve already reached pumpkin spice season! As the weather turns colder, leaves begin to fall and harvests begin. It’s a great time of year for all things pumpkin!
As these vegetables are very shelf stable, we’re going to be eating squash for quite some time. It’s a versatile vegetable that comes in many varieties; including pumpkin! Let’s learn how to incorporate these wonderful vegetables into our daily diets to enjoy local produce at the height of their freshness. A quick note before we start – the guidelines below apply to all squash, varieties like butternut, spaghetti, acorn and pumpkins of all types. Choose the ones you like and enjoy!
Squash are starchy vegetables
Squash contain more starch than vegetables like lettuce, carrots, broccoli, etc. Because of this, when making nutritional recommendations we treat squash similar to potatoes and sweet potatoes. They remain a very healthy food choice, contain lots of vitamins and minerals, but are a bit more calorically dense than salad vegetables.
To this end, portions should be reined in. Looking at Canada’s Food Guide below, squash go into the quarter of the plate with bread, pasta, and grains.
Other starchy vegetables that belong in this quarter (rather than the vegetable half) are corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
When enjoying squash, keep your portion to a ¼ of the food that you eat. Using the starchy vegetables can be an easy way to reduce your intake of bread, pasta and rice if that’s something you’re concerned about.
Be Creative with Squash
Be creative how you cook them and try mixing up how you eat these. They can be boiled and mashed (like potatoes), sliced or cubed and roasted, or added to soups, stews and casseroles; spaghetti squash can be a good noodle alternative.
Don’t forget the seeds! Roasting these with a bit of oil and salt makes a healthy and delicious snack.
Squash Have A Long Shelf Life
If a whole squash is kept in a cool, dry place, they can keep for months. Buying them when they’re fresh and available, then storing them appropriately means you can have squash ready to prepare until spring!
The next time you’re at your local farmers market or grocery store, pick up a squash and give it a try, it’s a great way to add variety into your diet. Let me know how it goes!
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