- Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable.
- In Brazil avocados mixed in with ice cream is a very popular dessert.
- The avocado is also called an Alligator Pear because of its pear-like shape and it’s bumpy green skin.
- California produces about 90% of the national avocado crop in the Usa.
- To tell if an avocado is really perfectly ripe, hold it in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze. Hard as a rock? Not ripe. Squishy? Overripe. Have as much give as chilled butter? Perfectly ripe.
- Avocados are cholesterol and sodium-free.
- Avocados have the highest fiber content of any fruit and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, and folate.
- Avocados are sodium and cholesterol-free and have only five grams of fat per serving, most of it the monounsaturated kind
- Avocados will not ripen on the tree. They must be picked from the tree to initiate ripening. The leaves supply a substance that prevents ripening. The best way to store avocados is to leave them on the tree; they will store for 7 months or more when left on the tree.
[Source: Alberts Organics via abundance.coop]
They’re fiber rich. There are 10 grams of fiber in one medium-sized avocado. There are two grams of fiber in one serving, which is one-fifth of a medium avocado. It contains both insoluble and soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber (which speeds up the passage of foods) accounts for 75%, with the remaining 25% as soluble fiber (the fiber that makes you feel full).
They have natural packaging. Their thick skin protects them; it’s natural packaging! You can’t eat the skin, but it shields the green goodness inside, making avocados perfect for travel.
They lower bad cholesterol. Avocados are one of the only fruits that contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (the good-for-you fat) that helps boost good (HDL) cholesterol and lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol.
They upgrade your dips and spreads. An avocado serving size is 50 calories, which works out to be 3 thin slices or 2 tablespoons mashed. There are fewer calories than the same amount of butter, mayonnaise, sour cream, peanut butter, almond butter, olive oil, and coconut oil — PLUS avocado has over 20 vitamins and minerals to upgrade your natural diet! Use avocado as a substitute today!
They’re gluten free, dairy free, vegan, vegetarian and cholesterol-free. Avocados are naturally FULL of nutrition, so there’s no need for special labels. They’re full of flavor; think of all of the meals you can healthify with avocado!
You know when they’re ripe and ready. Avocados are ripe when they feel heavy for their size, yield to light pressure and are dark in color. But don’t squeeze these delicate babies too hard. Not ripe? Put in a brown paper bag for 2-4 days, or you can speed up this process by putting a banana or apple in the bag.
They’re an anti-aging powerhouse. Supercado is what we should call avocados, because they’re one of the most inexpensive anti-aging tools for your skin! Don’t let its rough outer covering fool you — the inner smoothness and creaminess are what we need for youthful skin. With all of the nutrients, healthy fat and vitamins, an avocado tree could be the next fountain (tree) of youth!
[from mindbodygreen.com – edited -read more on the site]
[images sourced from CompoundInterest.com]
RECIPES:
Great Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch Dinner + Snacks
on the Australian Avocado Site Here >
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I had avocado toast for my last breakfast in Bangkok, and the perfect Avocado Toast is not a humble affair. It is a symphony of tomato tepanade topped with thick slices of avocado, seasoned with salt, pepper, chilli flakes, a liberal squeeze of lemon and finally a dash of tabasco sauce, all on toasted whole seed sprouted bread.
When time is limited, we have to make the moments we have memorable for ourselves, and a little time and effort is never misplaced when making food memorable“. [see more on: redefiningfood.tumblr.com ]
If you like this story, CLICK HERE to join the tribe of success-minded people just like you. You will love our weekly quick summaries of top stories, talks, books, movies, music and more with handy downloadable guides, cheat sheets, cliffs notes and quote books.
And, you can opt-out at any time – no strings, promise… CLICK HERE
