Losing it the fun and healthy way: My favorite green fruit

Friday, August 2, 2013

My favorite green fruit

AVOCADO!!!!

Yes I said fruit and not vegetable. I always thought this wonderful food was a vegetable, but I was wrong. Either way whether fruit or vegetable it is a SUPERFOOD. Avocados have gotten a bad wrap because they are very high in calories, 322 calories, but it is a very healthy fat. We all need healthy fats in our diets every day. Avocado is called "the alphabet fruit" because just one avocado provides your body with vitamins A, C, E, K, B6 and many more, almost all alphabet letters! Avocados have 54% of your recommended daily value of fiber, which gives this fruit much of its fat burning abilities.

I cut them out of my diet for awhile because of the high calories, but I have returned to my love of avocado and eat at least a half every day. My son Collin and daughter Callie love it as well. They eat some everyday. That was actually miss Callie's first food, and she has been in love ever since. My husband tried it once and did not like it, and Riley refuses to even try it. Hopefully I can get them to come to the dark side :)

Perhaps the biggest health benefit of avocados is that by adding avocado to certain foods, you can improve your absorption of nutrients. This means that when you combine other fat burning foods with avocado, you can improve your nutrient absorption up to 400%! Avocados can also reduce the signs of aging, regulate blood sugar and improve eye health. The fat content of an avocado provides protection against heart diseases. Studies have shown that oleic acid improves cardiovascular health. Oleic acid is the primary fatty acid in avocadoes. Avocadoes are rich in omega-3, delivering 160 milligrams per cup of alpha-linolenic acid. Avocadoes provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete protein. Unlike the protein in steak, which is difficult for most people to digest, avocado protein is readily absorbed by the body because avocadoes also contain fiber. Here a couple of choice items to chew over. Once an avocado is picked, it takes between 7 and 10 days to ripen. Keeping it in the refrigerator will slow down the ripening process, while putting it in a paper bag with a ripe apple will speed up the process. Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit. I could go on all day about how wonderful this fruit is, but you should just go try it for yourself.

You can eat the avocado by itself which is yummy and delicious, but there are also about a million other things you can do with it. I put it in smoothies, on sandwiches, mixed with pasta, with egg whites, use in desserts such as avocado pudding and popsicles, I bet Collin and Callie would love these. It really is one of the most versatile foods.