See what I did there? Fall in love with butternut squash… It’s a fall food… (ok – I admit I’m not all that great at making jokes and have a pretty dry sense of humor). I digress…
Part of the pumpkin family, butternut squash is identified by its large pear-shape and golden-yellow pumpkin color. It’s also one of my favourite fall vegetables – its readily available in super markets from September until the middle of December and they store well for many weeks in a humid-free, well ventilated place at room temperature.
5 Health Benefits of Butternut Squash
- Vitamin Powerhouse: Butternut squash packs a boatload of vitamins such as vitamin A, B-complex vitamins (folates, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, thiamin and pantothenic acid. It actually has MORE vitamin A than that of a pumpkin! Vitamin A is a powerful natural anti-oxidant required by the body for maintaining the integrity of skin and mucus membranes. Some research studies suggest that natural foods richin vitamin A help to prtect the body against lung and oral cavity cancers. One cup of baked squash offers 145 percent of your daily recommended vitamin A!
- Natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds: Butternut squash is chock full of natural poly-phenolic flavonoid compounds like ? and ß-carotenes, cryptoxanthin-ß, and lutein. These compounds convert to vitamin A inside the body and offer the same protective functions of vitamin A on the body.
- High in Potassium: Butternut squash provides significant amounts of potassium which is important for muscle contractions (exhaustion of the sodium- potassium pump is the major cause of muscle fatigue during exercise) and is the driving force behind secondary transport mechanisms that allow cells to do their primary functions.
- Similar mineral profile as that in a pumpkin: Butternut squash offers up iron, zinc, copper, calcium and phosphorus in abundance.
- Low in fat: Butternut squash is overall low in fat but has a healthy amount of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats.
Besides being AMAZING in the nutrition department, butternut squash is also incredibly yummy to eat! Because pumpkin is so last fall, here are 5 awesome recipes that will further help you fall in love with butternut squash (if you haven’t already).
5 Awesome Butternut Squash Recipes
- Butternut Squash Fries – My Fussy Eater
- Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta – Two Peas and their Pod
- Orange Glazed Brussls Sprouts & Butternut Squash – Heart Beet Kitchen
- Garlic Roasted Butternut Squash: – Rasa Malaysia
- And my personal favourite….
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 1 large apple, peeled and quartered
- 1/3 cup onion, chopped
- 1 Tbs minced garlic
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 teas thyme
- 1/8 teas salt
- 1 1/4 cup veggie broth
Instructions
- Steam the squash and apple until soft.
- While your squash is steaming, sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is clear.
- Add remaining ingredients to blender and blend for 3 or 4 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.
- Add quash, apple and onion to the blender.
- Blend until smooth, less than one minute.
- Serve and enjoy!
Question: When was the last time you had this nutritional powerhouse?
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