All About Avocados
As game day draws closer, avocados are on our minds. Inside this bumpy, football-shaped fruit lives the main ingredient for The Best Snack Ever… guacamole! Simply combine mashed avocados with fresh lime juice, diced tomatoes, red onion, chopped cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper, and a dash or two of your favorite hot sauce.
Whether you’re stockpiling for a personal vat of green guac goodness or you’re all guac-ed out (impossible!), we’ve got some tips, tricks, and recipes perfect for anyone who loves avocados.
? About Avocados
Avocados are one of the only fruits that contain fat, along with coconuts and olives. Their monounsaturated “healthy fat” can help you lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and maintain and develop your cells. Avocados are also full of fiber and vitamins B, C, and E.
When eaten or used topically, avocado oil is great for your hair, skin, and nails—check your favorite skincare product and it might have avocado oil listed. You can also simply mash them up, leave them on your face for a while (avoiding your eyes—that’s where the cucumber slices go) and wipe them off for some awesome moisturizing magic.
? Picking & Storing Avocados
At the Co-op, you can select your avocados based on when you want to consume them. Want—no, need!—guacamole that very day? Look for an avocado that will yield to gentle pressure when you squeeze it in your hand. Buying groceries for the upcoming week and anticipating using your avocado a little later? Pick a harder, unripe avocado that you can ripen at home.
According to SaveTheFood.com, the best place to store avocados is on the counter until they are ripe. After that, they should be refrigerated loose. However, don’t put them in the refrigerator until they’re ripe, or they will never ripen! If you need an avocado to ripen quickly, place it in a closed paper bag with an apple or banana.
If you’ve opted to prepare guacamole or another avocado-based dish ahead of time, store it with the plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface of the food to prevent browning. If your recipe calls for only half of the avocado, spritz the half with the pit still in it with lemon or lime juice, and then store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
? Awesome Avocado Recipes
Avocado can be used as a replacement for dairy in many recipes (1/4 cup mashed avocado to replace one egg). Beyond dips, it’s also delicious on sandwiches, wraps, salads, wraps, soups, smoothies and more. Here are a few recipes to try:
- This recipe for Avocado Herb Dip is easy to make using one large avocado, half a cup of Greek yogurt, garlic, and fresh tarragon.
- Avocado and Grapefruit Salad – Tart grapefruit, creamy avocado and sweet honey mint dressing combine for a great tasting, healthy salad.
- Avocado Brownies – In place of some of the butter, avocado adds creaminess with more nutrients and fewer calories.
- Avocado Bread – Creamy, lush avocado puree stands in for the bananas.
- Cucumber-Avocado Soup with Heirloom Tomatoes – A refreshing cool summer soup.
- Kiwi-Avocado Smoothie – Start your morning with a nutritional boost.
- Spicy Avocado Egg Salad – Creamy avocado serves as “nature’s mayonnaise” in this amazing egg salad.