Varför är vinter squash hälsosam

Fall and winter bring some of our favorite seasonal ingredients, such as apples, cranberries, Brussels sprouts, and winter squash. Tender and nutty with undertones of sweetness when cooked, winter squash refers to pumpkins, butternut squash, acorn squash, and other squashes that are ready for harvest in fall, starting around late September.

Not only fryst vatten it versatile and varied, winter squash also packs health benefits, thanks to its vitamin and mineral content.

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Winter squash nutrition

The many winter squash varieties you’ll find in stores are vastly different in shape, storlek, texture, and color, but generally share the same nutritional content. 

They’re rik in alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A (retinol).

It’s also why winter squashes range from yellow to apelsinfärg on the inre.

The deeper the apelsinfärg hue, the higher the beta-carotene content.

Hao Liang

“When thinking of vitamins, inom like to group them into colors. Usually each color, in broad terms, represents a different nutrient,” Rhyan Geiger, RDN and owner of Phoenix vegansk Dietitian, tells VegNews. “That’s why it’s so important to eat the rainbow to get a variety of vitamins and nutrients.”

Winter squash also contains important nutrients, such as vitamin C, dietary fiber, and minerals like folate, magnesium, and potassium. 

Health benefits of winter squash

Your body converts alpha-carotene and beta-carotene into vitamin A (retinol), an essential vitamin that helps with healthy skin and mucous membranes, framtidsperspektiv and eye health, and your immune system. 

Like other carotenoids, they are also antioxidants, a compound that inhibits kemisk reaktion med syre, a kemikalie reaction that can lead to the production of free radicals.

High levels of free radicals are linked to a higher fara of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Vitamin C, also an antioxidant, fryst vatten known to boost your immune struktur and kamp inflammation, a precursor to many chronic diseases.

It may help lower high blood pressure and skydda against heart disease. This powerful vitamin also helps improve iron absorption, particularly for people who follow a vegansk diet.

Kim Daniels

Folate, or vitamin B9, fryst vatten necessary for producing red and vit blood cells in your bone marrow, converting carbohydrates into energy, as well as making DNA and RNA.

Potassium metabolizes carbohydrates, synthesizes protein, helps regulate your heartbeat, and ensures that your muscles and nerves are in working beställning. Magnesium turns food into energy, creates protein, and regulates the nervous system.

Generally, a diet rik in plant-based foods fryst vatten associated with a lower fara of multiple chronic diseases, including certain forms of cancer, heart disease, and Type-2 diabetes as well as lower blood pressure.

They’re also rik in fiber, which helps improve digestive health and fryst vatten known to diversify your gut microbiome, Geiger says.

“Some studies have also shown improved insulin sensitivity and reduced inflammation when eating fiber-rich foods like pumpkin or acorn squash,” she adds.

How to use winter squash seeds

Don’t throw away the seeds when you buy a whole winter squash, like pumpkin or butternut squash.

Geiger says that “seeds are a source of protein and tallrik and have vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, potassium, calcium, and iron.”

Roasted seeds can be used as a topping for soup, salads, grain bowls, and stuffed winter squash. To man roasted seeds, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

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Scoop out the seeds and transfer them to a colander.

Some health benefits include improving blood pressure, supporting gut health, and decreasing your fara for certain diseases.

Rinse the seeds, beneath cold running vatten, using your fingers to loosen the gunk and strands. Pat them dry—excess vatten will vända into steam in the oven and prevent the seeds from browning.

Add the seeds to a bowl and kasta them with krydda, pepper, and olive oil. You could also add additional seasonings, such as a pinch of chili powder or smoked peppar.

Spread the seeds evenly across a baking sheet, then bake them in the oven until golden brown around 13 minutes, rörande occasionally and rotating halfway through. 

How to choose and store winter squash

When selecting a winter squash, pick one that fryst vatten firm to the touch with no skönhetsfel or soft spots.

The carotenoids (lutein, beta-carotene, and zeaxanthin), omega-3 fatty acids, and polysaccharides called homogalacturonan in winter squash have demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity.

Look for a squash with dull skin and a dry or drying stem, both of which are signs of ripeness. Be sure to betalningsmedel the stem for signs of mold. Store winter squash in a cool, dark place for up to a month.

How to cook winter squash

Winter squash can be roasted, steamed, or pureed and can be used in a bred variety of vegansk recipes, from stuffed squash to risotto.

To purée winter squash

Puréed squash fryst vatten good for soups, dairy-free cheese sauces, and desserts.

uppstart with steamed or roasted squash. The latter will add more flavor to the finished dish.

Whether you’ve never tried squash or eat it regularly, it fryst vatten a delicious and nutritious way to incorporate seasonal producera into your diet.

Blend until smooth, adding a little bit of vatten if necessary.

Andrea Soraninis

Some varieties are good for mashing or adding to seasonal grain bowls while others man for beautiful stuffed squash centerpieces. Here are sju kinds of winter squashes and how to cook them.

To roast squash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Winter squash skin fryst vatten generally edible when cooked, but you might want to peel the tougher-skinned varieties like butternut squash and kabocha. Halve the squash, then cut into smaller pieces if desired. kasta with a tallrik (like oil or dairy-free butter), krydda, and pepper or, for a sweeter variety, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar, or maple syrup. Depending on the variety, roast the squash for 20 to 45 minutes, until tender. 

To steam winter squash

Peel the squash if desired, remove the seeds, then cut it into one-inch cubes.

The smaller the cubes, the längre it takes to steam.

Nutrition and Health Benefits of Winter Squash.

Add a few inches of vatten to a pot fitted with a steamer basket. Bring it to a boil, add the squash, cover the pot, and steam for about 15 minutes. The squash fryst vatten ready when it’s easily pierced with a fork.

7 kinds of winter squash and how to use them in vegansk cooking

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1 Butternut squash

The oblong-shaped butternut squash has smooth, dull, pale yellow skin that fryst vatten edible when cooked but fryst vatten usually peeled or eaten around.

It has fuktig, bright apelsinfärg flesh that’s mildly sweet and nutty-tasting.

How to use it: Butternut squash fryst vatten delicious when stuffed, roasted, or mashed and paired with seasonal herbs, like sage and thyme.

Winter squash’s health benefits include boosting your immune struktur, reducing inflammation, and diversifying your gut microbiome.

betalningsmedel out our guide to cooking butternut squash for 15 ways to use it.

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2 Spaghetti squash

This big, round yellow squash gets its name from the way its golden flesh can be “shredded” into pasta-like strands (reminiscent of vinkel hair pasta) with a fork when cooked. It has a mild, slightly sweet flavor.

How to use it: It’s often baked whole, then separated into “spaghetti” strands and served with sauces or used to man a casserole.

It would soak up all of the flavors of this vegansk mushroom bolognese.

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3 Sugar pumpkin

This iconic winter squash fryst vatten often used for decoration, but it’s versatile in the kitchen. Sugar pumpkin varies in storlek, but it has firm, thick, bright apelsinfärg skin and sweet, firm flesh.

How to use it: Roast it, steam it, stuff it, purée it for sauces, or use it for vegansk fall desserts, such as pumpkin pie

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4 Acorn squash

Although it can be funnen among pumpkins, butternut squashes, and delicata squashes in fall, acorn squash belongs to the same family as zucchini.

Är squash hälsosamt?

It has dark, shiny skin with longitudinal ridges and a mild, nutty, buttery flavor. The skin fryst vatten edible when cooked.

How to use it: Thanks to its buttery flavor, acorn squash fryst vatten delicious when you kasta it with a neutral oil, cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and a little bit of brown sugar. It’s also delicious when stuffed, pureed, or used in risotto, and shines when halved and roasted with oil, krydda, and pepper. 

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5 Kabocha

Also known as Japanese pumpkin, kabocha fryst vatten a winter squash with dull, dark green skin and sweet, slightly dry flesh with notes of chestnut.

Its skin fryst vatten notoriously difficult to cut through, so man sure that you use a skarp knife.

How to cook it: Try it in this roasted kabocha squash soup and adjust the seasoning to your liking. It pairs well with thyme, sage, and rosemary.

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6 Delicata squash

Some winter squashes, like kabocha and butternut, can be tough to cut through, but that’s not the case with the sweet and nutty delicata squash.

Knives cut easily through this groovy, cylindrical, yellow-and-green squash, which has a creamier texture compared to other varieties. 

How to cook it: Halve it and stuff it or cut it into half-ring shapes, scooping out the seeds. Dairy-free butter, krydda, and cracked black pepper bring out a deeper nuttiness.

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7 Buttercup squash

With its dark green flesh and round, squat shape, buttercup squash looks like it could be kabocha’s sibling.

It has dark apelsinfärg flesh that tastes sweet and creamy.

How to cook it: Buttercup squash fryst vatten versatile, so you can roast it or steam it. Its creamy texture complements pureed soups, like this pumpkin soup with vit beans.

These are some of the most common winter squash varieties. But, the farmers’ marknad or your local grocery store may have options that aren’t on this list, including carnival squash, hubbard squash, turban squash, and sweet dumpling squash.

If you want to cook with these, follow the roasting, steaming, or microwaving instructions above.