Avocados are truly 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 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 we know Avocados are a fruit, we can define them a bit farther as a climacteric one meaning 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, this fruit grows in pairs on tree. Cool, huh?
They 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, or you can speed up this process by putting a banana or apple in 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 is 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 banana has 487 milligrams per large fruit.
Not only are Avocados high in potassium, they’re also one of the only high protein fruits—four grams of protein to be exact, 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 to 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 should be called Supercados! They’re one of the most inexpensive anti-aging tools for your skin! Don’t let its 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 upgrade your dips and spreads, and your family favorite recipes. You can use them in place of mayonnaise, sour cream, peanut butter, butter in baked goods, olive oil, coconut oil—its 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!
Kiwi Avocado Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 5 kiwi, peeled and diced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 avocado, diced
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped red onion* (see note)
- juice and zest of 1 to 2 limes (about 2 tablespoons of juice)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
- sea salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine kiwi, scallions, avocado, cilantro, onion, lime juice and zest, garlic, jalapeño, if using, and generous pinches of sea salt.
- Season to taste with additional sea salt and/or lime juice. Serve with your favourite Tortilla Chips, pita chips, or as a condiment for your burger!
Let’s Connect
We’d love to hear from you! Do you love Avocados, or have a fantastic recipe to share?? Leave us a comment here or head on over and join in the conversation on Facebook (please ‘Like’ the page if you’re so inclined) and Twitter. If you haven’t already signed up to receive our weekly newsletter which includes our blog, the weekly product feature, the weekly Coterie savings, and our recipe of the week delivered right to your inbox, you’ll find the signup by clicking here.
Let’s catch up soon,
Julie
