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Avocados! - We Need A Thread About Them


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Since there is already a thread about Bananas, we need the world's healthiest food! Avocado!

 

Taken from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=5

 

  • Consider adding avocado to salads, and not only on account of taste! Recent research has shown that absorption of two key carotenoid antioxidants—lycopene and beta-carotene—increases significantly when fresh avocado (or avocado oil) is added to an otherwise avocado-free salad. One cup of fresh avocado (150 grams) added to a salad of romaine lettuce, spinach, and carrots increased absorption of carotenoids from this salad between 200-400%. This research result makes perfect sense to us because carotenoids are fat-soluble and would be provided with the fat they need for absorption from the addition of avocado. Avocado oil added to a salad accomplished this same result. Interestingly, both avocado oil and fresh avocado added to salsa increased carotenoid absorption from the salsa as well. That's even more reason for you to try our 15-Minute Halibut with Avocado Salsaa great-tasting recipe that can help optimize your carotenoid health benefits.
  • The method you use to peel an avocado can make a difference to your health. Research has shown that the greatest concentration of carotenoids in avocado occurs in the dark green flesh that lies just beneath the skin. You don't want to slice into that dark green portion any more than necessary when you are peeling an avocado. For this reason, the best method is what the California Avocado Commission has called the "nick and peel" method. In this method, you actually end up peeling the avocado with your hands in the same way that you would peel a banana. The first step in the nick-and-peel method is to cut into the avocado lengthwise, producing two long avocado halves that are still connected in the middle by the seed. Next you take hold of both halves and twist them in opposite directions until they naturally separate. At this point, remove the seed and cut each of the halves lengthwise to produce long quartered sections of the avocado. You can use your thumb and index finger to grip the edge of the skin on each quarter and peel it off, just as you would do with a banana skin. The final result is a peeled avocado that contains most of that dark green outermost flesh so rich in carotenoid antioxidants!
  • We tend to think about carotenoids as most concentrated in bright orange or red vegetables like carrots or tomatoes. While these vegetables are fantastic sources of carotenoids, avocado—despite its dark green skin and largely greenish inner pulp—is now known to contain a spectacular array of carotenoids. Researchers believe that avocado's amazing carotenoid diversity is a key factor in the anti-inflammatory properties of this vegetable. The list of carotenoids found in avocado include well-known carotenoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and lutein, but also many lesser known carotenoids including neochrome, neoxanthin, chrysanthemaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and violaxanthin.
  • Avocado has sometimes received a "bad rap" as a vegetable too high in fat. While it is true that avocado is a high-fat food (about 85% of its calories come from fat), the fat contained in avocado is unusual and provides research-based health benefits. The unusual nature of avocado fat is threefold. First are the phytosterols that account for a major portion of avocado fats. These phytosterols include beta-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol and they are key supporters of our inflammatory system that help keep inflammation under control. The anti-inflammatory benefits of these avocado fats are particularly well-documented with problems involving arthritis. Second are avocado's polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols (PFAs). PFAs are widely present in ocean plants but fairly unique among land plants—making the avocado tree (and its fruit) unusual in this regard. Like the avocado's phytosterols, its PFAs also provide us with anti-inflammatory benefits. Third is the unusually high amount of a fatty acid called oleic acid in avocado. Over half of the total fat in avocado is provided in the form of oleic acid—a situation very similar to the fat composition of olives and olive oil. Oleic acid helps our digestive tract form transport molecules for fat that can increase our absorption of fat-soluble nutrients like carotenoids. As a monounsaturated fatty acid, it has also been shown to help lower our risk of heart disease. So don't be fooled by avocado's bad rap as a high-fat food. Like other high-fat plant foods (for example, walnuts and flaxseeds), avocado can provide us with unique health benefits precisely because of its unusual fat composition.

5 reasons to eat avocado! Taken from http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/healthy-eating/5-reasons-to-eat-more-avocados

 

1. Avocados are packed with carotenoids

Avocados are a great source of lutein, a carotenoid that works as an antioxidant and helps protect against eye disease. They also contain the related carotenoids zeaxanthin, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene, as well as tocopherol (vitamin E).

But avocados aren’t just a rich source of carotenoids by themselves—they also help you get more of these nutrients from other foods. Carotenoids are lipophilic (soluble in fat, not water), so eating carotenoid-packed foods like fruits and vegetables along with monounsaturated-fat-rich avocados helps your body absorb the carotenoids. An easy way to do this is to add sliced avocado to a mixed salad.

2. Avocados make you feel full

Half an avocado contains 3.4 grams of fibre, including soluble and insoluble, both of which your body needs to keep the digestive system running smoothly. Plus, soluble fibre slows the breakdown of carbohydrates in your body, helping you feel full for longer.

Avocados also contain oleic acid, a fat that activates the part of your brain that makes you feel full. Healthier unsaturated fats containing oleic acid have been shown to produce a greater feeling of satiety than less-healthy saturated fats and trans fats found in processed foods.

3. Avocados can protect your unborn baby—and your heart

One cup of avocado provides almost a quarter of your recommended daily intake of folate, a vitamin which cuts the risk of birth defects. If you’re pregnant—or planning to be—avocados will help protect your unborn baby.

A high folate intake is also associated with a lower risk of heart attacks and heart disease. Does your family have a history of heart problems, or do you have risk factors (such as being overweight or smoking) for heart diseaseAvocados could help keep your heart healthy.

4. Avocados can help lower your cholesterol

As well as increasing feelings of fullness, the oleic acid in avocados can help reduce cholesterol levels. In one study, individuals eating an avocado-rich diet had a significantdecrease in total cholesterol levels, including a decrease in LDL cholesterol. Their levels of HDL cholesterol (the healthy type) increased by 11%. 

High cholesterol is one of the main risk factors for heart disease. The cholesterol-lowering properties of avocado, along with its folate content, help keep your heart healthy.

5. Avocados taste great

The last reason is simple—avocados are a healthy way to boost the flavour and texture of your meals. Toss chopped avocado on a salad or bowl of soup, serve guacamole as an appetizer or condiment, or try one of these healthy avocado recipes to get more healthy avocado into your diet.

 

Share your avocado love people!

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Avocados do not ripen on the tree, but only after they have been harvested. This is the reason that they are often still hard at the market, which is not a sign of an inferior fruit but of one that still needs some time to undergo full ripening, a process which is simple to do at home. In fact, unless you are going to be serving the avocado immediately after purchasing, it is better to buy one that is still hard so that you can control the ripening process and therefore the point at which it will be perfect for consumption.

 

How do you know when avocados are ripe?

Although most avocados you find at the store are hard, some stores carry ripe, ready-to-eat avocadoes for their customers. An avocado is ripe when its skin turns from green to a dark brown-green color and "gives" slightly when it is gently squeezed. You can select the best, ripe and ready-to-eat avocado by looking for one that is slightly soft, without dark sunken spots or cracks. Obviously, these signs apply not only to avocados that are ripe in the store, but to those at home, giving you signs as to when your fruit has reached the perfect time to be eaten.

 

Be sure not to purchase avocados that rattle when you shake them. This means the pit is pulled away from the flesh and it is overripe.

 

How to Store Avocadoes After You Bring Them Home?

Never refrigerate unripened (hard) avocados because they will not ripen in cold temperatures.

Unripened (hard) avocados are best stored in a cool dark place until they have ripened.

If Your Avocados are Not Ripe, Here's How to Ripen Them

Place unripe avocados in a brown paper bag to ripen. This traps the ethylene gas they produce and helps them to ripen. A firm avocado placed in a paper bag will ripen at room temperature in about three to six days. As the fruit ripens, the skin color will darken.

 

How to Speed Up the Ripening of Your Avocados?

Add a tomato, apple or banana to a paper bag in which you have placed an avocado. This will produce more ethylene gas and speed up the ripening process. It will usually only take one to three days to ripen.

 

When to refrigerate avocados?

Only refrigerate ripe avocados. Avocados will keep for up to 5 days when refrigerated but leaving them too long in the refrigerator will cause them to lose their flavor and begin to turn dark in color. Avoid slicing avocados before refrigerating as they will turn brown after they are cut.

 

Handle with Care

If you need to store an avocado that has been cut, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

 

Some of the most common varieties include:

Haas: Grown in California, this variety makes up over 75% of the US avocado crop. Their edible yellow-green flesh has the consistency of butter, and a subtle, nutty flavor. They are about the size of a pear and have pebbly brown-black skin when ripe.

 

Fuerte: These Florida-grown avocados are larger than the Haas variety, having a more defined pear-like shape and smooth, bright green skin. Their flesh is more watery and fibrous, and they contain half the fat and fewer calories than Haas avocados.

 

Zutano and Bacon: These varieties have similar characteristics to the Fuerte, but they are less commonly available.

 

Cocktail Avocado: Weighing a modest one to two ounces, these small, pitless avocados are harder to find but well worth the search.

Edited by IndieCult

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Then as a weapon, I'll shed no tears

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Avocado shake

Try this fantastic avocado shake:

4 ripe avocados (about 300 g each)

½ cup (60 ml) sweetened condensed milk

1 Tbs fresh lime or lemon juice

3 cups ice cubes

gula melaka syrup (½ cup each of water and gula melaka, boiled till syrupy)

 

  1. Peel avocados and cut into cubes.  Sprinkle lemon juice to prevent browning.
  2. Place all ingredients into a blender and puree till smooth, and serve.
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Try this fantastic avocado shake:

4 ripe avocados (about 300 g each)

½ cup (60 ml) sweetened condensed milk

1 Tbs fresh lime or lemon juice

3 cups ice cubes

gula melaka syrup (½ cup each of water and gula melaka, boiled till syrupy)

 

  1. Peel avocados and cut into cubes.  Sprinkle lemon juice to prevent browning.
  2. Place all ingredients into a blender and puree till smooth, and serve.

 

 

This is more sinful than healthy. But *slurps*

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  • 2 weeks later...

> How do you know when avocados are ripe?

> An avocado is ripe when its skin turns from green to a dark brown-green color and "gives" slightly when it is gently squeezed.

 

One sure way of checking ripeness:

1. Hold avocado with finger tips - middle finger at one end, thumb at the other.

2. Press at the tips.

3. If it's hard, it's not ready to eat. If it's soft, sinking in a little, it is soft inside and ready to be easily cut, peeled and eaten.

 

fyi

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> How do you know when avocados are ripe?

> An avocado is ripe when its skin turns from green to a dark brown-green color and "gives" slightly when it is gently squeezed.

 

One sure way of checking ripeness:

1. Hold avocado with finger tips - middle finger at one end, thumb at the other.

2. Press at the tips.

3. If it's hard, it's not ready to eat. If it's soft, sinking in a little, it is soft inside and ready to be easily cut, peeled and eaten.

 

fyi

 

We usually get a gunny of fresh avocado from my mom's relative. So, they're usually not ripe yet as avocado only ripens once picked. We then bury them in the rice sack but just a few so that they don't ripen at the same time. I would check them everyday and poke around them and choose the one that is not too soft and not too hard. My mom used to tell me not to press them too hard so that they don't turn blackish. Then I put another one in the rice sack and wait for another day.

Do the things at which you are great, not what you were never made for.”

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