Avocados truly are a superfood. With their rich, creamy taste and texture, they’re not only deliciously versatile, they’re also highly nutritious! Don’t know too much about the humble avocado? That’s okay, super awesome facts are about to come your way!
The Avocado Is A Fruit, And More Specifically A Berry
While you might be inclined to call it a vegetable, thanks to its green hue and savory taste. The avocado, however, is technically a fruit, and even more specifically, a single-seeded berry.
Avocados Are A Climacteric Fruit And Need Love to Grow!
Okay so now that we know Avocados are a fruit, we can define them a bit farther as a climacteric one. This means that they mature on the tree but ripen off the tree. In a perfect world they would fall off the tree and ripen on the ground naturally.
Oh, and Avocado trees do not self-pollinate. In fact, they need another avocado tree close by to bear fruit. An Aztec symbol of love and fertility, the fruit grow in pairs on tree. Cool, huh?
They’ll Tell You When They’re Ripe and Ready!
Avocados are ripe when they feel heavy for their size, yield to light pressure and are dark in color. But don’t squeeze these delicate babies too hard. Not ripe? Put in a brown paper bag for 2-4 days. You can speed up this process even more by adding a banana or apple to the bag. You can also tell if your Avocado is ready to eat by popping out the stem remnant at the top—if the flesh is vibrant green, it’s good to eat. If it’s browning a little, your avocado is on its way to over ripeness and would be better suited for guacamole!
Avocados Are Highly Nutritious!
Avocados are gluten free, dairy free, vegan, vegetarian, and cholesterol-free.
Did you know an Avocado has more potassium than a banana?? That’s right, a single avocado has 975 milligrams of potassium, while a large banana has 487 milligrams.
Not only are Avocados high in potassium, they’re also one of the only high protein fruits—four grams of protein to be exact. Which is an ample serving when you consider the source. And it’s good-quality protein to boot. While they don’t contain every single amino acid required in the body’s protein-building process, they do have the 18 most important ones.
They’re also rich in fiber with 10 grams of fiber in one medium-sized avocado. 75% of that fiber is insoluble which helps speed up the passage of foods, while the other 25% is soluble which helps make you feel full.
Avocados are one of the only fruits that contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, the good-for-you fat, that helps boost good (HDL) cholesterol and lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol.
An Anti-Aging Powerhouse!
Avocados really should be called Supercados! They’re one of the most inexpensive anti-aging tools for your skin! Don’t let their rough outer covering fool you—the inner smoothness and creaminess are what we need for youthful skin. With all the nutrients, healthy fats, and vitamins, an avocado tree could be the next fountain of youth!
You don’t have to eat them to reap their benefits either. Nutritional perks aside, avocados can play a key role in your healthy hair and skin routine. The antioxidants, amino acids, and essential oils inside an avocado can help repair damaged hair, moisturize dry skin, treat sunburns and maybe even minimize wrinkles. Take that Father Time!
Avocados Just Taste Good!
Let’s be serious. They taste good and instantly upgrade your dips, spreads, and family favorite recipes. You can use them in place of mayonnaise, sour cream, peanut butter, butter in baked goods, olive oil, coconut oil—their uses are endless! With over 20 vitamins and minerals to upgrade your natural diet, you’d be silly to not use avocado as a substitute today!
My favourite non-traditional way to serve avocados is in a creamy chocolate pudding—the recipe is simple, add your desired amount of cocoa powder to creamy mashed avocado and mix until you’re happy! Add a pinch of cinnamon and chili powder if you’re feeling adventurous! It’s not only delicious, it’s super nutritious!
As always, we welcome your questions and feedback. You can leave a comment right here on the site. Or head on over and join in the conversation on Facebook (remember to ‘Like’ the page) and Twitter. If you haven’t already signed up to receive our weekly news delivered right to your inbox (including the blog, our weekly product feature, signup for our Coterie Program, and our recipe of the week), you will find the signup by clicking here.
Til next time,
Julie
