squash-blog-post.jpgThey give you energy

Gourds are “very high in B vitamins and minerals,” says Sonya Angelone, a San Francisco-based registered dietitian nutritionist. “And they’re especially rich in beta carotenes and alpha carotenes, which are good for your eyes.” B vitamins essentially help convert the food you eat into real, usable energy. That’s why health joints stock their shelves stocked with all sorts of B vitamin supplements, touting their magical energy-creating powers. You get can get your fix from all manner of squash — butternut, acorn, pick your poison.

They can help fight off a cold

If you’re worried you might be coming down with something, one cup of squash has 33 percent of your daily vitamin C. And it’s only 75 calories per cup.

They’re ideal pre-workout fuel

Angelone, an avid mountain bike racer, likes to eat squash when prepping for a big ride. “It’s low in fat, so it doesn’t sit heavy in your stomach,” she says. “And it has a lot of potassium and magnesium, both of which can help with muscle cramps.”

They’re easy to cook

Squash is versatile, and you can go sweet or salty. We like to take acorn squash (that’s the green guy with flecks of orange), wrap it in tinfoil, and throw it in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour or until it’s tender when pierced with a fork. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds (save them for later), and use each half squash as a bowl for spinach salad with goat cheese and dried cranberries. It’s idiot-proof cooking that seems fancy. And if you find yourself with leftover squash? Throw it in a smoothie the next morning. Angelone likes to mix squash, avocado, banana, and almond milk.

Even the seeds are edible

You can bake those reserved seeds the same way you did pumpkin seeds as a kid—except this time you can go crazy with the spices. Smoked paprika, garlic salt, soy sauce, pink Himalayan salt: Try a different flavor with each batch, and bring them to work as salty snacks.

Bill Bradley is a columnist at Next City. Follow him on Twitter @billbradley3.

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