At Home with UAEX

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All About Avocado

by Julian Carpenter, Independence County | adapted for blog by Torrie Smith, Carroll County

If you caught my last blog post on At Home, you may remember that only 1 in 10 Americans are eating enough fruits and vegetables. So, I felt inclined to follow up with another healthy recipe! This recipe will feature the avocado.

Did you know?

We think of an avocado as a vegetable and use it in savory dishes but it’s technically a fruit. More specifically, it’s a single-seeded berry.

How to store an avocado

If they are too hard to eat when purchased, put them next to other fruits to ripen faster. To really speed things along, you can put them in a bag with an unpeeled banana. Once the avocados are ripe, store them in the fridge. They can last several weeks if kept refrigerated!

How to eat an avocado

Okay, interesting facts out of the way, let’s talk about how to eat an avocado. The easiest way is to season with salt and lemon juice and eat it right out of the peel. You can mash it and add lime juice and other ingredients to make guacamole. Add it cubed to your salad or smoothie. Or snack on cucumber slices topped with avocado chunks and a sprinkle of salt. You can add it to nachos, toast, or use as an ingredient to make salad dressing. As you can see, the avocado is very versatile!

What makes them good for you?

Avocados are a heart-healthy, nutrient-dense superfood as they contain more than 20 vitamins and minerals. They are a unique fruit that contain mono-unsaturated fat, a good fat! They are naturally sodium, sugar, and cholesterol free along with most other fruits and vegetables which is why fruits and vegetables should make up half your plate. I could go on about avocados, but I think you get the point. Check out the recipe below for a new way to incorporate avocados into your diet!

Avocado and Black Bean Salad