To celebrate NATIONAL AVOCADO DAY on July 31 I'm sharing this article I wrote highlighting some wonderful ways to enjoy Avocado! 🥑🥑🥑
12 Ways to Enjoy Eating More Avocados — Recommended by a Dietitian
You may like avocados, but do you love them? Here’s a dozen delicious recipes to get you started.
You like to smash them on your toast. You like to slice them on your salad and maybe even on a sandwich, but you’re likely missing out on all the many delicious and nutritious ways you can include them in your healthy eating routine.
I love avocados. Maybe you will to. They are incredibly versatile and easy to use in different recipes spanning breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks and desserts.
Even though I work with lots of people in the rural Midwest who say they’ve never even tried an avocado, I’m going to suggest it’s safe to assume you have. You probably know about avocados so I won’t go into a history lesson or explain to you why you might want to consider eating them to promote your health, but I will mention some highlights on nutrition and share a bunch of different ways to use avocados.
Avocados and Health
Avocados can be an easy, healthy, whole food you can feel good about eating on the regular. They’re most widely known for being loaded with fats, specifically monounsaturated fats (15g -medium avocado) which may be helpful in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death.
Monounsaturated fat intake (found in avocados, nuts, olive oil, fish and seafood) has been linked to health benefits in things like promoting fat-soluble nutrient absorption, promoting heart health by way of lowering LDL cholesterol (when replacing other fats in the diet), raising HDL cholesterol and even aiding in cases of metabolic syndrome and weight loss for obesity.
Monounsaturated fats are widely available in the Mediterranean diet, known for its potential health promoting principles founded in fresh whole foods, lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds, olive oil. And while avocados are non-native to traditional Mediterranean meals, their nutrient profile being high in fiber, monounsaturated fat, and magnesium make a good match to that of the Mediterranean diet or any healthy eating style.
Avocados are highly nutritious beyond just the fat content though too. They are high in fiber (nearly 10g), potassium, copper, and magnesium, as well as Vitamins E, K, and complex B vitamins. For all of these reasons and more (antioxidants, phytochemicals, etc) avocados can be a great way to support your gut microbiome too. Avocados may also play an important role in helping people who suffer from high blood glucose (hyperglycemia), and diabetes.
Because fats are digested much more slowly than processed carbohydrates for example, adding a serving of healthy fats from avocado to your meals and snacks can help prevent blood sugar spikes and the associated crash hours later. Thus, eating avocados may help stabilize blood sugar, energy, and mood too.
Avocado Recipe Ideas
Smashed Avocado onto sprouted whole grain toast with sliced tomato, freshly cracked black pepper and garlic powder
Blended Avocado Smoothie with 1/2 Banana 1/2 cup Mango and cup of spinach or kale
Sliced Avocado on your favorite wrap filled with greens, peppers, onions, beans and protein
Chunk Avocado sprinkled on top of an easy salad of mixed greens, blueberries, black beans, fresh lemon and lime juice
Whiz up an Avocado dressing for salad and sandwiches by blending with lemon, lime, yogurt and spices of your choice (season like Ranch or Caesar dressing, add olive oil and vinegar for Italian dressing, or even 1/2 cup fresh raspberries or strawberries for fruity dressings)
Pureé Avocado in a food processor with honey or maple syrup and cocoa powder for a delicious and indulgent chocolatey dessert (add fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries, or even cover a banana in this rich chocolate sauce and freeze for 1 hour for a delicious frozen treat)
Spread Avocado on top of freshly baked sliced sourdough adding crumbled salmon, coleslaw, and a drizzle of hot sauce
Chop Avocado to go with your favorite style of fish tacos, salsa, stuffed peppers or multi-layered dip
Replace your common household mayonnaise with mashed Avocado for a whole food swap packed with additional nutrients and flavor beyond the packaged mayo
Blend Avocado with banana and yogurt plus cocoa powder and nut butter, pour into lined muffin cups of a muffin pan and freeze overnight for a splendid alternative to a common Reese’s peanut butter cup.
Mash Avocado into fresh Guacamole with diced onion, peppers, tomato, chopped cilantro, and freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice
Layer mashed Avocado with mashed cooked kidney beans, hot sauce, cumin, garlic powder, and lemon juice into a kale wrap with sliced radish, carrot, and shredded beets.
You can also eat it straight out of the shell with your favorite spoon!
Pro Tips:
Use plastic or preferably wood or ceramic utensils when handling avocados to prevent spoiling that rapidly increases by using metallic utensils
Use fresh lemon or lime juice to prepared avocado to stay fresh or add to leftover opened avocado left in the shell you are storing for later use in the refrigerator
Purchase avocados at different stages of ripeness to make sure you buffer their ideal days of use throughout the week. Once they are ripe, place in the refrigerator to stay fresh and ripe for longer.
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