Avocado

Rich and creamy, the avocado has earned a place as a superfood. This nutrient-dense beauty, which has nicknames like avocado pear and alligator pear, packs more than twenty nutrients within each fruit. It has a buttery texture and a mild, almost nutty flavor with a hint of sweetness when freshly ripe. Avocados, or Persea americana, have a long cultivation history, dating back to about 500 BC These oval- to pear-shaped fruits are native to Central and South America, originally found in the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala and the lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Today, avocados grow around the world, but Mexico remains the world’s largest producer of the fruit. The Dominican Republic, Peru, Israel, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and the United States have strong avocado industries as well. Typically, the avocados you see in the grocery store come from California, Florida, Mexico, and parts of Central America. Most of the avocados people eat are from about 15 cultivated varieties. You might recognize Hass, Choquette, Zutano, or Gwen from labels at the supermarket. While varieties vary in size and skin color when ripe, they are all equally considered a heart-healthy superfood. Nutrition Information A quarter-cup of sliced avocado contains: • Calories: 58 • Protein: 1 gram • • Carbohydrates: 3 grams • • Sugar: 0 grams • Cholesterol: 0 milligrams • Sodium: 3 milligrams Avocados are high in healthy monounsaturated fats like oleic acid , which is an omega-9 fatty acid. Mo...

We can all agree, avocados are the BEST fruit (yep, not a vegetable!).They’re full of healthy fats, are super creamy, and make every dish that much more special. Tough then, that they’re so finicky – you buy them unripe with grand plans that then get waylaid, and suddenly you’ve got a pile of perfect avocados and nothing to do with them. Do as we do, and use them for way more than Start by breaking out of your guacamole comfort zone, and dive into other great dip options, like If you’ve only been enjoying avocados in savory recipes, you’re missing out. It sounds crazy, but we swear they make for the most decadent of desserts too. Pair avocado with chocolate in recipes like For more fruit and veggie inspiration, check out our fave Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.

If you live in the southern tip of the United States or further south, you have the unique opportunity to grow an avocado tree outdoors in your garden. Avocado trees can reach great heights and these tall, evergreen fruit trees are best known for their creamy fruits with abundant health benefits. Though many people like to grow avocado trees specifically for the fruit, the trees also have ornamental value because of their thick, bright green foliage. Outdoors, the trees need warmth and space to fruit. Indoors, you will need the right type of tree if you want it to fruit. Either way, it may take years for fruiting to occur. It is important to keep in mind that all parts of this tree, including the fruit, are toxic to a wide range of animals. Common Name Avocado Tree Botanical Name Persea americana Family Lauraceae Plant Type Tree, Fruit Mature Size 60 ft. tall, 30 ft. wide Sun Exposure Full, Partial Soil Type Loamy, Sandy, Well-drained Soil pH Acidic, Neutral Bloom Time Winter, Spring, Summer Flower Color Yellow, Green Hardiness Zones 9-11 (USDA) Native Area North America, Central America, Asia Toxicity Toxic to pets How to Plant an Avocado Tree It is best to plant avocado trees outdoors in the spring. This allows the tree ample time to become established before cooler, winter temperatures arrive. This is especially important in the northern areas of the avocado tree’s hardiness zones. Choose a planting location that provides ample room for these tall trees to grow. Plant t...

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In the past decade or so, the avocado has seen a steady rise in popularity throughout the world, and to the people living in the South-West of these great United States, it is the star of the kitchen. Whether you eat it raw, puree it, slice it, dice it, or make some guacamole – this thing is smooth buttery deliciousness incarnate, and the shocking thing is that it is incredibly good for you, too! But, with every superfood, some drawbacks must occur. The thing with avocados is of course that they are, well, inconveniently expensive. So, if you don’t happen to be obscenely rich, you have two choices: give up your love for avocado or find a cheaper way to get them. Every now and then, your local market or shop will have a sale, especially when avocado is in season, you can get the stuff for half the regular price, or even less. Image from rawpixel.com The Internet is full of accounts of terrible mishaps with avocados in the freezer – if you don’t do it right you end up with a disgusting brown mess. Thankfully, when you know what you are doing, the avocados you freeze can be well preserved and look fresh even after several months. It won’t ever taste as good as the real deal, of course, but with careful preservation, you will find the difference barely noticeable. In this handy little article, we have compiled for you a comprehensive guide on how to freeze avocado right, so that, hopefully, you will have deliciously cheap avocado for most of the year without any sad brown avoc...

Healthlineonly shows you brands and products that we stand behind. Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we: • Evaluate ingredients and composition:Do they have the potential to cause harm? • Fact-check all health claims:Do they align with the current body of scientific evidence? • Assess the brand:Does it operate with integrity and adhere to industry best practices? We do the research so you can find trusted products for your health and wellness. If you’re looking for more nutritious morning meals, try incorporating avocados into your breakfast. One way to do this is to fill half an avocado with one egg and bake for 15–20 at 425℉ (220℃) until the egg white has fully set. You can also top the avocado with crumbled, cooked Furthermore, you can replace the eggs with other ingredients, such as A simple online search will give you plenty of stuffed avocado recipes to choose from. If you want to give a regular morning dish a twist, incorporate some avocado into your scrambled Simply add diced avocado to your eggs while they’re cooking in a pan. Make sure to do this when the eggs are halfway cooked to avoid burning the avocado and continue cooking them until the avocado is warm. If you prefer cooler avocado, add it after the eggs are cooked and off the stove. Finish the dish by topping it with some shredded Another excellent way to enjoy avocados i...

1.Avocados Are a Heart-Healthy, Nutrient-Dense Superfood Nutrient-dense foods are those that provide substantial amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients with relatively few calories. One-third of a medium avocado (50 g) has 80 calories and contributes nearly 20 vitamins and minerals, making it a great nutrient-dense food choice. 4.A Unique Fruit Avocados can act as a “nutrient booster” by helping increase the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, D, K and E. 5.Great for Babies and Kids The avocado’s creamy consistency makes it one of the first fresh foods a baby can enjoy. Learn just how easy it is to AVOCADO NUTRIENTS One-third of a medium avocado (50 g) has 80 calories and contributes nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, making it a heart-healthy choice to help meet nutrient needs. Although phytonutrients are not essential, research suggests they may promote human health. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Heart Association recommend eating less nutrient-poor foods and limiting the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars and sodium consumed. The majority of fats in one’s diet should be heart-healthy monounsaturated or polyunsaturated; more than 75 percent of the fat in avocados is unsaturated, good fat. Why naturally good fats? Because the body needs some dietary fat in moderation to help with absorption of nutrients. Good fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, do not raise LDL (“bad”) cholester...