Humans can be very lukewarm towards avocados. If you don’t know when they’re most ripe, they can be a bit odd, both in taste and texture; that is, no flavor and waxy in texture.
Until recently, people didn’t choose avocados partly because they thought they had no taste, but mainly because they thought they were high in fat and cholesterol. We all needed more information to make healthy choices about this fruit.
If you eat a ripe avocado, that is, not too green and not overripe, it’s a delicacy! The taste is amazing and the texture is so creamy!
If that’s not enough to make you enjoy eating them, do you know how healthy avocados are for you? They have great benefits, especially for vegetarians.
One of the biggest challenges when following a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian diet is getting enough high-quality protein. Avocados provide a complete protein! As the avocado ripens on the tree, the sun breaks down the avocado’s proteins into easily digestible amino acids. Your body needs all 18 essential amino acids to make complete proteins, and you can get that complete protein by eating avocados!
Avocados are also a wonderful source of healthy fat, and we now know that healthy fats are essential for good health, and especially good brain health. Studies have shown that eating avocados has beneficial effects on cardiometabolic risk factors and has resulted in lower levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or the “bad” cholesterol.
All of this makes eating avocados a win-win! But how do you eat them? They’re easy to add to your meals, so let your imagination run wild. Slice them up on a salad; puree and use as a spread in a sandwich; fill your scrambled eggs with it; You can even make an amazing chocolate mousse pudding with avocados; and then there’s always guacamole.
If you’re on a budget and trying to eat as much organic produce as possible, it’s good to know that avocados have so far made the Environmental Working Group’s “Clean 15” food list. That means they’re among the foods least likely to be sprayed with pesticides. For now, you can get hold of conventionally grown avocados cheaper than organic avocados.
One final piece of advice: Eating an avocado at the right time can really make you love it. Buy several at a time, keep a few in the fridge, and set them out for a day or two before you need them when ripe. So you’ll always have a nice, creamy avocado on hand when you need it!
Thanks to Cheryl Major
