By Morgan Campbell,

SNAP-Ed Program Assistant

OSU Extension, Adams County

Summer squash is now in season while winter and acorn squash have another month to start coming in. Keep your eyes open in the produce section at the store and at the Adams County Farmer’s Market for summer squash. Squash provides numerous health benefits and contains vitamins A, B6, and C, folate, fiber, potassium, and phosphorus. That is one nutritionally packed vegetable!

With all the nutrients packed into squash, here are a few of the health benefits you get when you choose to eat squash: improved eye health, reduced risk of depression, enhanced skin health, and aids in digestion. Who wouldn’t want to get all those benefits from just one food?

One cup of raw, cubed squash contains about 63 calories, 1 gram of protein, less than 1 gram of fat, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of sugar. Squash is a low-calorie, nutrition packed food that should be included in your diet.

There are several ways to prepare squash. You can choose to eat squash raw or cooked. Roasting, steaming, or pureeing squash are healthy ways to prepare your squash, but you could also fry squash if you want. Keep in mind when frying food, you are adding calories in the form of mostly fat. Here are some ideas on how to cook and use different types of squash:

Use acorn squash in a pumpkin pie recipe, combine squash into your favorite soup like chili or vegetable soup, add squash into your fruit and vegetable smoothies, use a spaghetti squash as pasta noodles next time you make spaghetti, and you can even clean the seeds and roast them to have as a healthy snack.

Visit celebrateyourplate.org for healthy recipes including squash. For any questions, please email me at Campbell.2382@osu.edu or call the extension office at (937) 544-2339.