Now that Fall is officially under way, so winter squash season here in Ontario. So many beautiful varieties  to choose from; one of my personal favorites being butternut squash, especially baked in the oven as “fries”. Yes fries! They are delicious. True they don’t get quite as crispy as potato fries. That is because they are much less starchy and contain more water (they actually shrink quite a bit when baked). Not to mention the type of starch found in winter squash have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, as well as anti-diabetic and insulin-regulating properties. Sounds like a win win situation!

With this recipe, the right seasoning (like my fav spice mix below) and cooking method, you can get your butternut squash fries pretty darn close in flavour to the real thing. Squash also beats out potatoes AND sweet potatoes hands down in terms of calories, carbs and sugar (see table below). And right now they’re in season, so head over to the market, stock up, and try these fries out.

* Make it a point to purchase certified organic squash as soils used for the growing of  certified organic foods are far less likely to contain undesirable levels of contaminants