What can I say? I simply love avocados. I will rarely be a day when I don’t eat at least one. They are amazing spread on a delicious piece of bread with some lime juice and Sal de Ibiza, in Smoothies to boost them with a little extra unsaturated fatty acids or as a pesto base. Of course they are also the best addition to make salads extra creamy. They are also a great fat substitute in baked goods such as brownies. They don’t taste very exciting when they are not ripe enough, so be sure to wait until they become soft when gently squeezing them in your hands. Another great tip that I recently came across is the pit test. When you remove the pit, and it doesn’t come off easy, the avocado still needs to ripen a day or two. When the flesh underneath the pit is green, it’s perfect too eat. If it is brown, however, then the avocado is too ripe to enjoy.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF AVOCADOS:
- Avocados contain many essential vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A, all B-vitamins, vitamin C, E & K, and several minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium, copper, magnesium or phosphor.
- They have a high fat content, which is why they are higher in calories than other vegetables.
- Lots of their health benefits derive from their healthy fats, especially from a fatty acid called oleic acid.
- Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fat which supports heart health and prevents heart disease. It also helps our body to absorb nutrients better.
- Avocados have highly anti-inflammatory properties, which help prevent chronic diseased caused by inflammation such as diabetes or cancer.
- They help our body absorb nutrients better, enhancing nutrient absorption of the foods that they are eaten with. The antioxidant beta-carotene, found in carrots, spinach or sweet potatoes is absorbed up to four times better when enjoyed with avocados.
- The healthy fats enable our body to absorb the avocado’s own antioxidants much better. Those antioxidants are mainly present right beneath the skin, so pay extra attention to that when scooping out an avocado next time.
- Avocados are also high in fiber which aids digestion and high in vitamin K which helps stabilize the blood sugar level.
AVOCADO-RECIPES:
AVOCADO SWEET POTATO BROWNIES
Using vegetables in baked goods may sound strange but it’s really nothing new. Our grandparents already used grated carrots to make the most delicious carrot cake. Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without pumpkin or sweet potato pie. I’ve already shared the recipes for the most delicious carrot zucchini bread or this amazing beetroot cake. If you’re still a bit hesitant about adding vegetables to your baking, then let me assure you that you will not taste them in brownies, pies or muffins at all.
SIMPLE AVOCADO BASIL PESTO
This pesto is a great dish to add the little extra to any meal. It has been my go-to pesto for quite some time now. I love it with zucchini noodles or simply as a spread on bread. It also a great addition to the Stuffed Eggplant with Amaranth main dish on my blog. It’s extremely easy to make and stuffed with goodness.
SWEET POTATO QUINOA SALAD WITH AVOCADO MANGO SALSA
This recipe has quite a sentimental story behind it. I had this salad at my graduation dinner with my parents and some of my close friends in this amazing restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina, called “Irregardless”. We had such an amazing night there, eating and dancing; it’s such a happy memory. The salad is probably the best thing I have ever eaten, so I tried to recreate it once I came back to Germany, so I can eat it whenever I want. Of course it is not nearly as good as the one they serve at “Irregardless”, but it’s still pretty tasty and amazingly colorful, and of course packed with lots of our favorite nutrients.
