Food of the Month - Butternut Squash

The butternut squash is a member of the Cucurbita moschata which includes the courgette, pumpkin and the cucumber. The most popular variety of the butternut squash is the Waltham butternut that originated in Stow, Massachusetts. But this vine grown vegetable has been cultivated at least since the Incas and across the entire globe.

Harvested when ripe, the squash varies in shape from cylindrical to the half dumbbell. As it ripens it turns a deeper orange and gets increasingly sweeter and represents a smart choice for the health conscious athlete, not only because of its rich and distinctive flavour but because of its well rounded nutrient profile. 100g of squash gives 10g of fat free carbohydrate and a gram of 72% complete protein; this comes with a massive 11155IU of Vitamin A, 15mg of vitamin C, 41mg of Calcium, 0.6mg of Iron, 29mg of Magnesium and 284mg of potassium. The powerful anti-oxidant properties of the squash combined with its delivery of carbohydrates make it the perfect post workout meal accompaniment.

Ready to try it? The best squashes have a rich deep colour and are, for their size, abnormally heavy. A good squash has a high water content, a hard deep orange skin with no green patches or yellowing of a skin that is hard enough that you cannot push a fingernail into it and is big. Bigger really is better for the butternut squash. Once you have picked a squash, you need a good way to prepare it. If boiled it is best in soups as its high water content means that boiling sees a good portion of the nutrients go into the cooking water, although I boil it with my rice which will absorb at least some of those nutrients back.

My favourite recipe is a blended soup. I take a large butternut squash, around 1.5 kg of carrots which I peel and dice, place them in a pan of water so the cubes are covered and bring to the boil, I then add a vegetable stock cube and a couple of teaspoons of coriander powder and a health lob of garlic to my taste and boil until tender. Then I stick in my hand blender and make a thick soup. When I serve I add some natural yoghurt and I have a hearty, healthy, low calorie veggie fix.

Source: muscletalk.co.uk