Amazing avocados

For many years I lived with the misconception that avocados were ‘fattening’. Growing up, there had been no avocados in our fruit bowl, they were always considered to be something exotic, and I don’t think anyone who had lived through the 1940s had any idea how to eat them. Avocados were reserved strictly for some sort of Berni Inn-style starter, slathered in pink artificial cream. I avoided avocados at all costs, although I loved the flavour and texture. One of my favourite salads is avocado and rocket with a piquant olive oil, salt and lemon juice dressing.

Now, I eat an avocado every day, usually sliced in a wrap with seeds, or chopped into a salad or bowl of lentils or couscous. And I’ve lost weight, not gained it. Avocados are one of the new ‘superfoods’. It is true that avocados are full of fat, but they are better viewed as nutrient dense. Whilst 77% of the calories of an avocado are derived from fat, this is ‘good’ mono-saturated fat. They contain no cholesterol and lots of vitamins and protein. The nutrient breakdown of 100g of avocado looks like this:

100g avocado

160 calories

2g protein

15g mono-saturated fat

9g carbohydrate

Vitamin K – 26% RDA

Folate – 20% RDA

Vitamin C – 17% RDA

Potassium – 14% RDA

Vitamin B5 – 14% RDA

Vitamin B6 – 13% RDA

Vitamin E – 10% RDA

To put this into perspective, the avocado in the fruit bowl today weighs in at 176g.

 

There are a number of health benefit claims for avocados. Mono-saturated fats are good for heart health and potassium is good for blood pressure. Studies have shown that avocados can reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol and increase good (HDL) cholesterol; they can also help to reduce blood triglycerides. That’s not all, avocados are also high in anti-oxidants and have been associated with benefits in the treatment of some cancers, arthritis and for weight loss.

In the course of my research I came across this fabulous recipe in a blog comment. It’s delicious spread on a seedy cracker:

Avocado spread

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ tsp miso (I used soy)

½ tsp turmeric

Couple of twists black pepper

One mashed avocado

 

I also found a fabulous recipe for an Avocado Lime Cheesecake from Hemsley+Hemsley in the Telegraph. Unfortunately, when I roughly priced up the ingredients the cost of making it was well over ten euro, so it’s a recipe to save for a (very) special occasion.