Why You Should Be Eating More Avocados (and 5 Ways to Do It)

If your idea of avocados begins and ends with guacamole, you are missing out not only on some flavorful eating but incredible health benefits!

Do you remember when the word “fat” was considered bad when it referred to foods?  Well now we know that some fats are healthy fats!

Here are just a few quick reasons why avocados should be part of your healthy diet:

• Avocados are about 3/4 fat, but it is “good fat” — monounsaturated fat that helps lower your levels of “bad” cholesterol and promote heart health.
• Avocados contain around four grams of protein, which makes them more filling than most fruit varieties.
• Avocados are packed with potassium, more than bananas — and with less sugar.
• Avocados are a great source of vitamins, including vitamins C, E, K, and several B-complex vitamins.
• Avocados have about half your daily requirement of fiber.
• Try baking with avocados instead of butter.

Avocados are an easily digestible food.  They help your pancreas function better and keep your gall bladder healthy.  Avocadoes are excellent for the conversion of beta-carotene into vitamin A. Vitamin A, in turn, helps you have a healthy inner lining in the gastrointestinal tract.

3 Reasons Why you Should Eat an Avocado Every Day

The humble avocado has never been the most glamorous of fruits. In decades gone by, it was considered to be a fatty fruit that would lead to weight gain, and health conscious people were advised to avoid them, but this nonsense has since been proven to be just that. Unfortunately, many people are still unaware of just how important a place the avocado can have in a balanced diet. Let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons why you should be eating more delicious avocados!

Avocados are extremely good for you

The reason hat avocados used to be considered a fatty snack food is because they contain a number of fats. However, the reality is quite different from how that sounds. The fats in avocados are monounsaturated fats, or in other words, good fats! Vital to a healthy diet, monounsaturated fats are not only good for you, but recent studies have shown that they can improve your blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart related diseases. Further studies have indicated that these monounsaturated fats can help control sugar levels. Never mind dispelling the myth that avocados are a fatty food, people should realise that avocados are a superfood that we should all be eating more of!

Packed full of goodness

Getting away from the well-known fat content of avocados, this delicious fruit is packed full all manner of other minerals and nutrients. From numerous vitamins and omega oils to amino acids and a huge punch of fibre, the avocado is undoubtedly a superfood. Not only are all of these minerals, nutrients and vitamins good for your health, they have the added bonus of filling you up. That’s right, avocados are filling! This makes them the perfect lunch time snack – packing you full of goodness and keeping you full until dinner time.

They taste amazing

This is probably the most important benefit of eating avocados, because let’s face it, if it doesn’t taste good then you probably won’t keep eating it! Thankfully, avocados are one of those special fruits that not only taste great on their own, but compliment other foods really well. Whether it’s making a spread for crackers of sandwiches, blending up a smoothie or giving some extra flavour to a salad, avocados are a one stop flavour shop. With so much potential for variety, what else could you possibly want!

So how do you get more of this awesomely nutritious Avocado fruit into your life?

Guacamole is a great start, but eating it every day would get boring. So here are five other ways to get your avocado on:

1. Avocado Toppings

Avocado doesn’t need to be cooked, so it makes an excellent topping for just about any soup or sandwich. Try replacing your lettuce and tomato with avocado on your turkey sandwich, garnishing tomato soup with thin slices of avocado, or adding diced avocado to your taco or burrito.

2. Avocado Salad

Chop tomatoes, onions, and peppers into bite-size pieces and put into a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice, and add some salt and cumin to taste. Mix well and let sit for 15 minutes. Cut an avocado into chunks and stir it in. Arrange greens in a bowl and top with this mixture. You can add tuna, shrimp, or chicken for a more substantial meal.

3. Avocado Soup

For a cool summer soup, combine cucumbers, avocado, chopped onion, vegetable broth, milk, plain yogurt, lemon juice and vinegar in a blender. Puree until smooth and chill in the refrigerator for several hours.

4. Avocado Smoothie

In your blender, mix chopped avocado, apple, spinach or kale, plain yogurt, raspberries, water, and ice. Blend until smooth and creamy.

5. Avocado Daiquiri

This is an adult beverage! In your blender, combine rum, avocado, half and half, freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice, simple syrup, and ice. Blend until smooth. Yum!
To pick the perfect avocado at the market, look for unblemished skin without breaks or soft spots. The avocado should give a little when lightly pressed, but should not be mushy. Depending on the variety of avocado, skin color can vary from light to dark green to nearly black. Avocados continue to ripen so you should use them the same day you buy them, or place them in a brown bag in the refrigerator or at room temperature below 75 degrees to slow ripening. Use them within 2-3 days.

How to Make Delicious Guacamole