Eating Avocado, Enjoying and Living Healthy Life
Eating avocado, like other fruits, gives you the most necessary nutrients that your body should have. When it comes to food preparation, avocado is a versatile food. You can have different exciting recipes, which you may find each odd. But, even it may look strange; it is still an enjoyable way of healthy living.
Eating avocado allows your body to be fit and in good shape. Though avocado may look boring from the outside, you will be amazed at the yummy taste of its flesh. The delicious avocado is also known as “alligator pear” or “butter pear.” The names come from the outside physical characteristics of avocado—bumpy, green, and pear shape. But the inside of it, you will find the yellow-green flesh and in between is a single huge seed.
Does avocado look like a complicated fruit? Well, it is not complicated to eat an avocado. But, you still need to be careful in choosing the quality of an avocado.
As you can see, determining ripe and fresh avocados can be tricky. Avocados do not ripen on the tree unlike other fruits, and the color of the skin of some varieties will not change. For instance, a variety of avocado when ripen will change its color from dark-green to darkest shade of purple. But if you want to know if an avocado is ripe, then you should not base it only from the color of its skin. Other varieties may tell you that it’s ripe when you can feel its softness with your fingers. But to be sure, the preference should be both the color and feel of the avocado.
The taste of fresh avocado is far different from those that have been damaged and overripe—which are rancid. Want to make sure that you will get fresh avocados? Just compare the color and choose those with darker skins over lighter skins. Make sure that there are no dents and hollows on the surface. It might be a sign of bruising inside. Then, check the firmness of avocado by gently pressing your fingertips on the skin without pinching. The firmness or softness of avocados has different stages—Firm not yet ripe, almost ripe, ready to eat and overripe.
So take a good look of your avocados before purchasing some. When you eat avocados daily, it should always be of good quality. It is the key to enjoy avocado recipes any time of the day.
But if you opt to ripen your avocado, it can be possible. For unripe avocados, wrap it with a brown paper bag with an apple or banana. These two fruits are useful to speed up the ripening process of avocados.
Once your avocado is ripe, you can still store it for additional shelf life. Avocado in cut and uncut forms can be stored in an airtight container. For fresh cut avocados, you can sprinkle lemon or any acidic agent to keep the flesh from turning brown. You can store uncut ripe avocados in the refrigerator for a maximum of three days. The temperature in the refrigerator can slow down the ripening process. So if you want to delay the ripening process, place unripe avocados in your refrigerator.
Benefits from eating avocado daily
Eating avocado benefits mostly our heart. But it also contributes to the regulation of blood sugar level to reduce risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Avocados are suitable for the heart though we know that it contains fats. But the fats in avocados are categorized only as monounsaturated fats. Also, the fiber content of avocados is significant in reducing blood cholesterol levels. With these, avocados can lower the risk of heart diseases.
Simple steps on the preparation of fresh avocado
The benefits of eating avocado begin in the preparation of fresh produce. The basic rule is to make sure your hands are clean – before and after. Then you can wash the avocados and use cloth or paper towel for drying it thoroughly.
Also, a clean working place in a kitchen is vital for proper sanitation practice.
Once finished with the initial preparation, you will need to cut and slice the avocados. Removing the seed and skin from the flesh looks simple, but it needs perfection. So here are the guides for avocado preparation.
You will need to get a chopping board. Place the avocado on top and slice it lengthwise. Be careful, so you won’t cut your hand while securing the avocado from slipping. Slice down slowly at the narrow end of avocado. Then moved to the center lengthwise, making a circular motion around the seed. It should separate the avocado into two parts.
After separating the two parts, slip the spoon into the pit under the seed to remove it. Afterwards, you can remove the skin. You don’t need to use a knife or peeler to take the skin off. Get the other half of avocado and slice it to your desired cuts. Hold the surface of each cut and pull it away from the flesh. If not all the skins have peeled off, you can cut it away with the yellow and green portions. The surfaces of avocado do not have the same taste as the flesh. It tastes bitter and nasty.
Fresh avocado, fresh guacamole
If you have fresh avocados, then you can make fresh guacamole. There is nothing more magnificent than fresh guacamole. You will need to choose creamy, ripe, and fresh avocados to create the perfect guacamole.
How about guacamole? Guacamole is a fresh avocado-based dip, salsa, or dressing for some recipes. Guacamole should be stored in an airtight container but make sure to squeeze some lemon or any citrus fruit on top. Then you can place it in the refrigerator. If you can see some brownish atop of guacamole, you can discard the upper layer. Still, you can enjoy the rest.
The perfect guacamole can be prepared at home. You need to find quality fresh avocados. Place the flesh of the avocado, without skin, in a mortar and pestle. Then, you can start your desired level of texture. If you have no mortar and pestle, you can have it in a bowl and fork for slicing, dicing, mashing, or pureed. Just choose your level of smoothness and chunkiness for your guacamole. Then you can serve your guacamole in different recipes.
After you make your guacamole, you can make it a perfect match with your other avocado recipes. There are exciting avocado recipes that you can enjoy while getting yourself fit and healthy. Let us start with the simple on, shall we?
Sandwich with a kick of guacamole
The sandwich is one of the most accessible foods to pack for snacking. If you want a twist to your sandwich, add some guacamole!
If you are a bread lover, you can add spice to your sandwich by using guacamole instead of your usual spread. Since avocado has good fats, you don’t need to worry about adding meat to your spread. Other vegetarian sandwiches or bread wraps can be enjoyable also with guacamole. But, you can try to put eggs in your sandwich for a nutritious combo. The egg is an excellent source of protein.
But the spread is not only the essential ingredients in eating an avocado sandwich. A healthy sandwich needs bread made of whole grains, and contain fiber and non-glucose carbohydrates.
Next ingredient you have to choose is lean fillings. Lean fillings are less in cholesterol but more of protein. Aside from eggs, you can have chicken, turkey, ham or butter.
If you want your sandwich to be unique, you can add vegetables. Though eating avocado can provide you fiber, there is no harm to add some lettuce, tomato, onions, cucumber, bell pepper and other herbs. Each vegetable does not only contain fiber but also it can be a good source of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.
And of course, add guacamole for more exciting flavor. Eating avocado spread or guacamole with all these toppings can give you a delightful appetite for a nutritious sandwich.
Top your salad with avocado
But how about avocado in your salad? Tasty toppings always come with rich flavor. But some opt to have a pure taste that complements the salad dressing.
Avocado can be the last topping that you need to put in your salad. It adds a vibrant green color to your salad. But, the flesh of avocado can quickly turn into brown color. So, better add it later to keep it freshly green.
Whether sliced or chopped avocado, you decide! Varieties of salads have different textures. So have it your way to keep the flavor and smoother taste in your salad. Adding avocado will not lessen the nutritional value of your salad. On the contrary, it creates satisfaction with your meal without cheating on your diet.
Keep it cold with an avocado smoothie
Never underestimate the power of avocado when it comes to refreshing drinks. If you find eating avocado smoothie is boring, you can combine it with other seasonal fruits. And we have what you need.
An avocado smoothie can be a perfect combination with ripe mango and pineapple. Mango is known for its naturally sweet flavor. Pineapple, on the other hand, has a sweet and sour taste. The sweet and sour taste with the creamy flavor of avocado will drive away your thirst. And what makes it enjoyable because you can make it at home. Here is the recipe to make a solo serving of avocado smoothie.
Prepare half of the fresh avocado. It should be diced, while the skin is peeled. The mango should be about a single cup, ripe with a sweet flavor, peeled and diced as well. Last, the fresh pineapple should be one cup size and diced already. Set aside about three tablespoons of pineapple juice, one cup of almond milk and one cup of ice. Why almond milk? Almond milk has low-calorie content. But you can choose other dairy products with low-calorie content.
Get your blender. Then put all the ingredients in your blender. Make the speed appropriate to make a smooth texture. When you see no rough particles of the elements, you can serve it immediately.
To add several servings, adjust the number of ingredients in the recipe according to your desired amount of meals. Also, keep away from artificial sweetener and other dairy products. If you have these, you may be consuming an avocado smoothie with more sugar and calories.
What is useful in eating avocado every day?
If you learn some recipes about avocados, you will never restrict yourself with pleasant food. Eating avocado can help you get the nutrients your body needs. The diet should still be enjoyable to endure a weight loss program.
Eating avocado recipes can be the substitute for bad fats and natural source of good fats. Avocado can be a good source of alternatives for dairy products.
Another benefit you can get from eating avocado is an excellent source of nutrient for the day. For instance, having avocado for breakfast will boost your energy before the day starts.
Remember that avocados are sugar-free. So eating avocados will not increase your sugar level, unlike other variety of fruits.
The art of healthy eating avocado
Among the other fruits, why choose avocado? What makes it distinguished from others? Is it because you will spend less as compared to other expensive fruits? What is the role of avocado for our health?
Many have great desires to be physically fit and healthy. To be in good shape while indulging mindlessly with junk foods can harm your health eventually.
So eating avocado can make a change to your body without giving you a drastic meal plan. Enjoy healthy eating avocado without sacrificing your happiness. Life is good, so keep your lifestyle in good shape.
