Did you know that Super Bowl Sunday is the third-biggest food day for supermarkets (after Thanksgiving and Christmas)? It is also the largest sales day for avocados.
We love dipping our chips in the well-known avocado dip, guacamole. But, the avocado is actually quite versatile, and can be enjoyed in more ways than dips. Avocados are an excellent accompaniment to Mexican dishes, in salads, fruit smoothies, and even in desserts.
My girls love the avocado for its taste. In fact, it was one of the very first foods I served them, simply mashed with banana, something they still enjoy today.
I love the avocado for its versatility, taste, and the many health benefits we enjoy by consuming them.
Avocados, specifically, are high in healthy fats. Healthy fats are those monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats that I often talk about. These are the fats found specifically in avocados, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil, and fatty fish.
Healthy fats like avocado, ironically, do not make us fat. And, they are the perfect food for your brain, which needs the healthy fats we’ve been starved of by consuming low fat diets.
It’s really important to feed our brains, not just for clarity of thought today, but as a preventative measure against the many neurological diseases of aging that continue to plague our families, neighbors, and country.
The many Health Benefits of Avocado:
- A superior source of monounsaturated fatty acids, your healthy brain fat
- Contains lecithin, another brain food
- A nutritious protein, often recommended for nursing moms
- High in fiber, E, and B Vitamins
- Rich in copper, which aids in red blood cell formation
- Support the liver, lungs, spleen and large intestine
- Healing for ulcers
- Shown to destroy cancerous and pre-cancerous cells
- Known to promote beautiful skin and hair
Selecting and Storing Avocados:
While it is commonly considered a vegetable, the avocado is actually a fruit. Native to South and Central America, avocados have been cultivated in these regions since 8000 B.C. Today, most of our avocados are grown in California, and are in season late fall through early spring.
A ripe avocado is soft to the touch, but not mushy. If the inside flesh is brown, it’s over-ripened and should be tossed.
Refrigerate your avocado only after it ripens. There, it can be stored for up to one week.
Preparing Avocados:
To cut an avocado, slice the avocado in half lengthwise, being careful to cut around the center pit. Pull the two halves apart and scoop out the pit with a spoon.
Once the avocado has been sliced open, it will last longer by keeping the pit in contact with the flesh (you can place the pit in your dips to preserve them as well)
Quick Serving Ideas:
- Mashed as a first fruit for babies.
- Mix chopped avocado with white onion, lime juice, chopped cilantro, and sea salt for a quick and healthy guacamole.
- Serve next to tacos, burritos, or in fajitas.
- Try it in a simple fruit smoothie.
- Spread avocado on toast for a perfect comfort food snack, see Avocado Toast here.
- Try my excellent Kale and Avocado Salad.
- Enjoy a delicious yet simple and healthy Chocolate Avocado Pudding..
