Ready to “season” your family meal with autumn flavor and color? Winter squash adds both. Their hard yet edible skin and more intense flavors distinguish acorn, butternut, pumpkin, buttercup, calabaza, golden nugget, and turban squash from tender-skinned, mild-flavored summer squash.
The inside scoop makes a great nutrition story. The deep-yellow to deep-orange flesh offers more nutrients, fiber, and other phytonutrients than summer squash, notably more beta carotene and lutein (two antioxidants), more soluble and insoluble fiber (helps control cholesterol levels and promote elimination),and more thiaminandvitamin B , potassium, and iron. It’s also a low-fat source of another antioxidant: vitamin E.
Enjoy winter squash . . .
- Peeled and cut up cooked in pasta sauces, soups, and stews
- Mashed and seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg
- Cooked and tossed with other cooked veggies.
Spicy Apple-Filled Squash
- 1 acorn squash (about 1 pound)
- 1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 2 teaspoons melted margarine
- 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
- 1⁄8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1⁄8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Dash of ground cloves
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a baking dish. Halve squash and remove seeds; bake 35 minutes. Keep oven on. Cut squash halves in two; turn cut sides up. In small bowl, combine apple, margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and mix well. Fill squash pieces with apple mixture. Cover with foil or lid; bake 30 minutes or until apples are tender. Makes 4 servings.
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