Do you eat winter squash? Some great things about it.

Whole books have been written about squash. And according to the chapter on squash in Carol Deppe's wonderful book The Resilient Gardener, squash is one of the 5 essential foods we should consider growing.

(If I had tried to guess which 5 foods were essential, I would not have guessed squash! But Carol Deppe makes a very good case for squash. In fact, she makes squash sound irresistible.)

You can find nutritional facts for winter squash online.

Some reasons to eat winter squash:

• low calorie
• rich, intense, satisfying taste - both filling and nutritious
• low glycemic index - 8 on a scale that goes as high as 250
• anti-inflammatory
• high protein for a veggie that's not a legume (pea, bean)
• many vitamins and minerals, esp vitamin A (if you don't eat squash often, you may need this)

Carol Deppe grows enough winter squash (of particular varieties) to last her all spring, until late-spring and summer veggies begin to come in. And she reports she never gets tired of them.

Carol makes such a good case for squash that I am ready to grow enough to store next winter. That means trying some new recipes, too.