I’ve always had a love for the avocado. Lately though, I’ve been gobbling them down as if they were going out of style. Over the last few weeks or so, it’s safe to say that I’ve eaten avocado everyday in some form or another. I can’t get enough of them!
Avocados are the perfect complement to almost any dish or a satisfying snack eaten all on their own. Best of all though, they are delicious and packed full of health-promoting nutrients. It’s no wonder that every nutritionist raves about them.
And for great reason.
Avocados are a good source of potassium, B vitamins (particularly folic acid), Vitamins C, E, and K, fibre and healthy fats. They also contain more protein than any other fruit (about 5 grams) and are rich in carotenoids, particularly lutein which helps to protect against eye disease. Furthermore, avocados are rich in beta-sitosterol, a natural substance shown to significantly reduce blood cholesterol levels.
With all these nutrients, it’s a shame that some people actually avoid them because they believe the high fat content makes them an unhealthy choice. This is a misconception. Most of the fat comes from monounsaturated fat in the form of oleic acid, like that found in olives. This type of fat is actually found to be good for your heart by lowering total cholesterol levels and improving HDL and LDL ratios. And remember, every one of our cells need healthy fat for metabolic processes that happen inside our bodies each second of everyday. That includes the burning of fat! As an added bonus, these healthy fats are also great for keeping hair shiny and skin smooth and supple.
How do you eat them?
I’m sure one of the first things that come to mind when people think about eating avocados is the ever so famous guacamole. And while I do enjoy this myself from time to time, below I’ve listed the three most common ways I include avocados in my diet.
1) On top of salads. Did you know that avocados actually increase the absorption of carotenoids in vegetables when eaten at the same time? A study published in the March 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutrition proved this to be true. Adding avocado to salad increased absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lutein 7.2, 15.3, and 5.1 times higher, respectively, than the average amount of these nutrients absorbed when avocado-less salad was eaten.
2) With rice-dishes. I’m a big fan of the rice bowl. It’s like eating a salad but with rice instead of lettuce. Start with rice as your base and then add all the toppings you would normally add to your salad. For instance, this below recipe is something that made an appearance in my lunch twice last week.
Elaine’s Rice Bowl with Tahini dressing
Rice Bowl
½ cup of brown rice
½ an avocado sliced
¼ cup of raw sunflower seeds
½ cup of fennel chopped
Handful of parsley (or cilantro) chopped
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Tahini dressing
Mix together: ¼ cup of lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 Tbsp of Tahini and a pinch of sea salt.
Drizzle over rice bowl and enjoy!
3) All by themselves. Give me half an avocado and a spoon and I’m one happy girl. A little drizzle of my Acropolis balsamic vinegar and I’m good to go! Sometimes I’ll even fill the little hole in the middle with raw sunflower seeds for some added sustenance.
Another, more creative way is to blend them into smoothies. Adding half an avocado to a smoothie will give it the same creamy consistency as adding a banana. If you have a picky little eater at home, this is a great way to “sneak” in some added nutrition without compromising on taste.
There you have it!
What’s your favourite avocado recipe? I would love to hear from you!
Hi! I’m Elaine, a Certified Nutritionist and Master Certified Health Coach. I support women in achieving their health and body goals while prioritizing a peaceful and balanced relationship with food.
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I like using them in veggie wraps, with lettece, cucumber, onions and salsa. I especially like the Haas variety. It adds that creamy oh so good nutty taste to it things that I love. Avacadoes are wonderful. If I was on an island and the only food was avacadoes I would be perfectly content considering it is the perfect food nutritionally.
I’m with you!!!
Elaine
Just found this posting after typing in “addicted to avocados”. I have always loved avocados and I’m sitting here this morning with my bagel smeared with avocado. Just delicious.
Dream job: Avocado Evangelist working for “the avocado council” =)
That’s kinda funny that you found me from typing in that phrase. Surprisingly though I’ve had other hits from people searching that exact same phrase! Guess there are quite a few of us addicted to avocados;)
I found this site the exact same way! I crave avos! I eat them solo or what I do most is mush an avo in a bowl with some olive oil, dash of salt and pepper and spread on toast and save the rest for later! I also like to cut one in half and put honey on the middle and eat away…avo per day keeps me happy! lol
I dice up the avocado then add chopped onions, salt and pepper then I basically mush it all together and I use it as a dip for crackers or naan (type of flatbread). It is delish!!
Yum, sounds good!
Haha nice to know i’m not alone…just like you said, Elaine, I’m happy just scooping yummy chunks with my spoon, and then drizzling it with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pepper and oregano. Avocado also go amazingly well with Ajvar (it’s a type of relish made with red peppers, eggplant, oil, etc) smeared on a rice cake. And to take it even further add a thin slice of goat’s milk feta cheese on top of that- heaven! :P
Those ideas sound delicious! Never had Ajvar before..thanks for sharing:)
I just thought up this yummy avocado recipe yesterday..plain warm pasta, avocado, shaved parmesan & hot sauce….mix and enjoy!
It’s like a creamy & spicy mac & cheese. yumm :)
I found this because typed “addicted to avocado” I’m glad I’m not the only one….I legit just ate 1 and a half.
This is so funny – I typed in the same phrase! I was worried that I may be eating too many~! I moved to Florida from New Jersey in 08′. and started working in a grocery store. I noticed folks buying a lot of these little ugly green things and mangos, neither of which I had ever eaten in the north. Don’t ask me why, just never did. And I can tell you that most of my friends didn’t either. Maybe in our Mexican food but that’s it. So I just bought some one day and started to experiment. Wow! That is how my addiction started! Mangos too! I eat at least one of each, every single day! They are the best 2 things I’ve ever eaten!
I think I am addicted as I crave one a day with my salad and am upset if they do not ripen in time. Is it a problem do you think?
I’ve been addicted to them for months now, eating 5 or 6 a day!! I just slice them with salt & pepper! I buy them 20 at a time at Aldi, because they seen to have the biggest and best for some ripe now and some for a few days later. I thought there was something wrong with me (lacking something), eating that many a day and just loving them!!