Avocados are my desert island food. Here’s why they are always on my shopping list:
- Avocados are versatile enough to eat with every meal. Delicious with strawberries on toast for breakfast, the perfect marriage with eggs for lunch and in stirred though my pasta for dinner.
- High in oleic acid a type of monounsaturated fatty acid which, studies suggest promotes good heart health by boosting HDL (good cholesterol) and lowering LDL (bad cholesterol).
- All those lovely monounsaturated fats help with feelings of fullness, reducing the risk of over eating.
- Avocados are high in potassium a mineral that helps to regulate blood pressure.
- A great source of antioxidants in particular Vitamin E which, shields the body from free radical damage and gives your skin a glow!
- They are on the ‘clean 15’ list of fruit and veggies so there is less need to buy the organic variety. Read more about the dirty dozen and clean fifteen in this post.
- Avocados are high in soluble fibre that helps with to slow down the rate sugar is absorbed into the blood stream.
- They tick all the ‘free from’ boxes, dairy free, wheat free, vegan friendly, so are an all-round crowd pleaser.
- Avocados have their own natural packaging so no need for plastic wrappers. A small environmental win!
- Their delicate flavour and creamy texture marry well with so many other flavours both sweet and savoury, currently I can’t get enough of this bruschetta combo.
Top Tip: Buy avocados when they are firm and allow to ripen in your fruit bowl, if you’re in a rush place beside the bananas. Squeeze gently to see if they are ripe, they should yield under gentle pressure. If the avocado is ready to go but you’re not, store in the fridge to slow down the ripening process, here they will keep for a few days. Once opened the flesh should lift out easily with a teaspoon.
(Credit: Mary Uí Bhroin of www.nufo.ie)
