Like other root vegetables, you can find squash year-round, but the specific variety that’s available changes with the seasons. Fall and winter bring a bountiful harvest of butternuts, pumpkin, and acorn squash, but summer offers its own stars, like zucchini, pattypan, and yellow crookneck. 

Thinner-skinned than their cool-weather cousins, zucchini and summer squash can be eaten raw, and because they are 95 percent water, are exceptionally hydrating (even more so than watermelon!).

That water content helps keep summer squash and zucchini low in calories, but they still pack plenty of good-for-you nutrients. One medium summer squash contains around 2 grams each of fiber and protein as well as vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and folate for just 31 calories.

These summer veggies are also among the most affordable at the grocery store, averaging just over a dollar per pound. It’s also easy to grow them at home, though if you do you may end up with a surplus.

Luckily, with their mild taste and edible rind, summer squash and zucchini are both extremely versatile in the kitchen. They can be enjoyed raw in salads, slaws, or as low-carb “zoodles,” cooked a variety of ways, and shredded and added to baked goods for a fiber boost.

Keep in mind, summer squash does not have a long shelf like its fall or winter squash counterparts, so once you’ve brought it home from the grocery store, store it in the fridge and be sure to use it within three days.

Here are seven refreshing summer squash recipes to get you started. Find them at Everyday Health.com. Find more of Roxana’s recipes here.