Health & Wellness: Squashing Inflammation

When it comes to decreasing inflammation in your body, think about getting enough antioxidants and fiber. There are so many wonderful foods from Mother Nature that naturally have these health benefits. You want to ask yourself: Is this meal helping to fight inflammation or feed it?

The health benefits of squash are plentiful. They are low-calorie, high-fiber, and nutrient-dense. Squash is high in fiber, which helps support digestion. Fiber provides prebiotics to feed your gut bacteria, aka probiotics. Fiber helps prevent constipation and increase satiety so you don’t overeat. Squash supports eye health with antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin that protect vision. It also helps strengthen your immune system since it is packed with Vitamins A and C. These vitamins, plus antioxidants, help defend your cells from oxidative stress and aid in the repair of cellular damage. Squash plays a powerful role in heart health, as it contains potassium and magnesium to help lower blood pressure and maintain a steady heart rhythm.

Squash is so versatile—you can prepare it in so many ways: roast, steam, bake, make soups, or even slice and eat it raw. During fall, we can indulge in both summer and winter varieties of squash. Summer squash can be cooked or eaten raw, and you can even eat the skin. Winter squash is best when cooked. Summer varieties include zucchini, yellow squash, crookneck, and pattypan. Winter varieties include acorn, butternut, delicata, spaghetti, sugar pumpkin, sweet dumpling, and kabocha.

The benefits of eating the skin include added fiber. Many varieties have thin, tender skins when cooked, making them easy to digest, such as summer squash, delicata, honeynut, and acorn. Delicata melts in your mouth when roasted. Honeynut has a sweet, edible dark orange skin. Acorn softens when roasted in wedges or halves. Summer squash skins are edible any way you slice them. Thicker-skinned varieties, such as spaghetti squash, are great for roasting and stuffing, but avoid ingesting the skin. Spaghetti squash is amazing because you can simply run a fork through it while it’s hot out of the oven, and it becomes perfect spaghetti noodles that you can season, add sauce to, and enjoy. Simply eat it right from the skin as your bowl. You can also peel squash with thicker skins before cooking.

In our plant-based kitchen, which is gluten- and dairy-free, our chef showed us how to make Zucchini Pesto Lasagna from scratch, and it was incredibly tasty and satisfying. The zucchini slices were the lasagna noodles. The creamy ricotta was created from cashews and tofu. Plus, we used a dairy-free pesto. Some other recipe ideas include: squash curry grain bowl, butternut squash soup, spaghetti squash with herb sauce, sliced honeynut squash salad, zucchini noodles (aka zoodles), stuffed acorn squash, squash stir-fry, butternut squash fries, and zucchini quiche. You can even add squash as a topping for pizza, nachos, chili, or stuffing. Squash can also be used in baked goods for cakes and brownies as the secret ingredient to add moistness.

Consider different ways to flavor your squash recipes. Savory seasonings can cut through the sweetness, such as sage, thyme, garlic, onion, and rosemary. Sweet and warm spices can enhance the natural sweetness of squash, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or maple syrup.

Getting creative with vegetables is key to getting more nutrients into your diet. We have plant-based cooking classes here at Wellness Matters every month. The classes are informative, interactive, inspiring, and delicious. Feel free to check out our website for our next class!