How to eat an Avocado: Nutrition Benefits, Tips & Preparation
Hi everyone! Today we are going to belearning how to work with the famous
avocado fruit, or some people call it thealligator pear. The avocado is highly,
highly nutritious and something that youwant to include as part of your daily
diet for optimal health.Now some people do sort of fear that
they've heard that it's high in fat andhigh in calories. But when you are eating
a whole food natural diet, all of this isactually a very very good thing. The
avocado, as I will share with you, ishighly beneficial in all the right
nutrients that are going to besupporting our health in so many
different ways. So before we get into theprocess of how do we work with the
avocado, let's talk a little bit aboutwhat can you expect in terms of its
nutritional composition and why is thissuch a powerful food to include as part
of your regular diet. For starters, yes, amedium size or so avocado is about 300
calories. As part of a whole food saladthat actually is an excellent amount. But
in general, consuming a half or oneavocado a day is considered fine, and as
part of a whole food natural diet. Soaside from the calorie content, you can
expect to find about 12 or 13 grams offat in about half an avocado or about 25
grams in a full one. Now we have tounderstand that the fats in the avocado
are extremely beneficial for our health.There are so many different fatty acid
benefits of the different types of fattyacids, like oleic acid that makes up pretty
much half of the avocado's fat. What makes these fats so powerful is that they
help to make your brain functionproperly, they help to build your cells. A
lot of us forget or neglect tounderstand that our cells do need a fat
composition in order to be built andwork properly. They are also extremely
beneficial for your heart health.Remember that fat, as long as it's the
healthy fat, can actually decrease yourrisk of heart disease and improve your
cardiovascular health. In the case of again the avocado's fat content,
it is highly anti-inflammatoryin nature, which is one of the major risk
factors, as is inflammation for heartdisease. So this also helps us on many
different levels. The healthy fats alsoare vital to proper absorption, of not
just fat soluble vitamins, but a lot ofthe antioxidants, specifically
carotenoids that the avocado contains.Now speaking of the antioxidants,
avocados are extremely rich in a varietyof different antioxidants, specifically
from the carotenoid group. Nowcarotenoids you may be familiar with
from foods like carrots.Well the green fleshy part is actually
extremely rich in a number of differentcarotenoids, one of them being lutein and
as we know today lutein is extremelybeneficial for proper eye health. So
aside from brain health, heart health,eye health and being extremely
anti-inflammatory, which just helps allparts of our health, the benefits of
eating an avocado also include beinganti-cancerous and that is again thanks
to all these antioxidants that itcontains. The avocado also can help us
regulate our blood sugar and so itreally does help to support our health
on so many different levels and enhancesour overall good health. And they are
also rich in various vitamins andminerals. Specifically they are rich in
vitamin K, vitamin C, some of the Bvitamins, like vitamin B5 and B6, as well
as potassium. So you could really feelgood about consuming these as part of
your everyday diet. Let's focus on how topick them at the grocery store. What I
personally recommend, as over the yearsthat I have been buying avocados and
eating them regularly, I've definitelyhad my share of moldy or just basically
bad avocados that had I known better Iwould have made a better choice at the
grocery store and not wasted some money.So at the grocery store I always
recommend picking a green avocado. Thereason for that is you have a much, much
higher chance that, well, actually almostguaranteed, that it is
not going to go bad, unless of course youneglect it and don't eat it for the
few days or the week or so. It has lessrisk of being bruised and already having
some kind of mold growing inside of it,etc. So I always buy them green and allow
them to ripen at home on my counter. Idon't put them in bags or in cupboards.
Some people do and that's possible ifyou need them to ripen faster. I just
wait, usually it's about two to threedays, depending on how green it is. Now
once they do ripen, when do you actuallyeat it. This is actually very, very
important. I do, first of all, leave themout on a counter in a good spot where I
can actually see them every day, notsomewhere in the corner where you're
going to say I forgot to eat theavocados and they're all very soft and
molding. So leave them in a spot that isquite convenient for you to see on a
daily basis and as soon as I see thatthey go dark brown or black, this is
where I will gently touch them to seehow firm they are. On the very first day
they will still be quite firm and I'mstill going to let them go another day,
perhaps two. But once I feel that they'regently soft, now I know you can't tell on
the video how soft this one is, but it isjust very, very gently soft. So if I
just squeeze it a little bit, I know thatthere is some soft tension there, where
as this one not a chance. The green ones they're just very hard. This is
the point at which I recommend eatingthe avocados. This is where you're going
to get the best flavor and the bestnutrients and just an overall good, even
texture, when you're going to be addingit to different salads or different
foods. If you do let it go, I would saymaybe two days or more past this point.
It is only going to continue gettingsofter. It is going to start taking on a
type of fermented flavor and there willbe brown parts, black parts throughout it
and even possible moldy spots. So that'swhen you're really starting to miss out
all the goodness, the wonderful tastethat delicious flavor, the texture
and the nutritional benefits, again, ofthe avocado. Because remember that nature
really tells us: not ready (nutrients arenot fully ready for us to take in),
definitely ready, and then after,over-ready is not ideal either. Now
you will notice that theycome in sort of two shapes. Some are
extremely round almost like a ball andsome are more elongated like a pear. What
I have found from my experience is thatI always prefer the elongated, pear ones
because inside I have found the pit isactually much smaller and you get more
fruit or flesh for what you got. So it'snot always possible but whenever
possible definitely look for theelongated ones. and most importantly if
you don't want to waste money on anavocado and have them go bad, don't buy
too many at once.Okay so we are ready to start working
with our avocados. So out of the onesthat I have here on the counter, as you
can see, three of them look like they areready to be used. So what I would do is
just basically touch each one to seewhat is the level of softness. Now this
one is still pretty firm. This one isdefinitely soft and ready to go. And this
one is pretty good to go as well. Sowe're going to be working with these two
in terms of how to cut them and how topeel them, etc. So as always with all
produce that you bring home be sure toalways wash it thoroughly first. Now I'm
going to demonstrate for you a fewdifferent ways of how you can work with
your avocado. Depending sort of on whatyou need to make with it or how you need
to use it in a different meal, and alsodepending on perhaps how you prefer. The
first way that I'm going to show you howto work with the avocado is my personal
favorite and the way that I use it mostcommonly. And that is to begin, of course
be careful as you are cutting, to sliceit length-wise all around just like that
so I have a nice slice. And how deep do Igo? I go as deep as I can feel resistance
to the pit. Now, the avocado does have abig pit in the middle, if you have never
seen one or worked with one. So now thatthere's a slice, right all-around
lengthwise, down the middle, I'm going totake both ends and start to twist and it
twists so gently that the two halvesjust come undone on their own. And that's
what you can see inside. This beautiful,beautiful fruit usually a beautiful
shade of yellow going to green on theouter edges. Now what do we do next? Well
first I start working with my halfwithout the pit. It is interesting to
note too, that the carotenoids or theantioxidants are known to be most
concentrated in that green part and sowe don't want to disturb that as much as
possible or cut it out or lose it. Youactually want to keep the yellow and
that green part right next to the skinas much as possible. So what I do at this
point is put the avocado half down onthe board and slice it down half, one
more time, and then you will notice thatwhen the avocado is just right, the peel
comes right off maintaining thatbeautiful green right under the skin all
with it.If some piece, small section comes off on
your peel, I usually dotake that off, scoop it and still use it
in whatever meal I am making. So there's1/4 again I do the same on this end and
look how easily and beautifully thatpeels. Now the riper the avocado, the less
it's going to peel well, and that's why Ido highly recommend making sure that you
catch your avocados, of course again notat the green stage because they're not
ready to be eaten,and not when they're too soft or too
ripe. You want them really when they'rejust on that first or second day of
going black and just gently soft becausethat's when the peel comes off so
beautifully. After the few days afterthat, the peel starts to become very dry
and crumbly. Now I have my second halfwith the pit. How do we get that pit out?
You could with a spoon try to wedgeit out, or try to cut it out. What I
usually do is, as you can see here,I have a pointy knife. I take and put
that pointy part in and then gentlywedge it out. Same thing with this half. I
will just slice it in half, peel it andthere we go. We have a beautiful avocado
all ready to go in four quarters. Nowwhat you do at this point is really up
to you if I'm making a salad, what I willdo is take them in half one more time or
into three's, depending on how big theavocado is, and then dice them right into
my salads like this. And they come apartbeautifully. That's if I'm eating a salad.
Now for any of you who enjoy perhapssome kind of a sandwich, or you have some
kind of an optimally healthy cracker, andof course keep in mind those are very
hard to find given all the processedfood, but if you do eat something like
that you may wish to enjoy slicing the
avocado and placing it into a sandwichor again onto some kind of an optimally
healthy cracker. You can also layer theavocado this way in different food ideas.
So they slice very beautifully, againwhen they are just the perfect ripeness.
So we can slice them for different foods.Some people, of course, don't need to do
any of this because they can throw theavocado, for example if I'm making
guacamole, I'll just throw the wholeavocado like this into my blender and
make the guacamole from there.What we can do with avocados, we're going
to talk about in a moment but I want toshow you one other way that you can
address working with an avocado. So let'scut open this one. Always start, no matter
which way I'm going to work with it,always start the same way. So cut it down
the middle, twist and take apart the two halves. Now
for some people who do want this sort ofcubed look but don't want to go through
the steps I did or perhaps want to havea different way of going about it, you
can gently take your knife and score theavocado within the the skin or the shell.
It is quite, quite thick and quite hard butof course don't go too deep to get into
your hand, but you could feel if you gogently to the end of the skin and just
score it like that inside. And once weare all done, what we can do is basically
flip it so you could startflipping it and then really they all
just fall out as little cubes or chunks.So that's another option in how you can
get your avocado into cubes or chunks ina different way. And finally, the last way
that you can eat an avocado, againwedging out that pit gently, placing it
out, is simply to take a spoon and enjoyit as is, and simply peel out by the
spoonful. And some people love eatingtheir avocado just like out of a little
bowl, and directly into their mouth. Sothose are several different ways that
you can access using the avocado and how to eat it. Now the next question is, so
where and how are you going to eat it?What kind of meals or recipes can we
make with them? Well, you've already heardme say that you, of course, can put them
into salads and that's one of mypersonal favourite ways because they
really invigorate salads to become wholemeal ideas. So you've got your different
perhaps vegetables, maybe some otherfruits, perhaps the source of protein
like hemp seeds or some other nut orseed. That's one way, one of the easiest
ways to incorporate an avocado into yourlife. Another way is to use it on
different meal ideas or as a side todifferent meals. So experiment and just
use them pretty much in anything andeverything. They really go great with
almost any food, as their tasteis quite mild. Slightly on the sweet side
but generally speaking quite mild, sothey go really well with everything.
Guacamole is another, of course, famousfood that you may want to try using
fresh avocados. It is absolutely amazingwhen you make your own homemade, and that
will be a recipe I'll be sharing inanother episode of "Healthytarian Living".
And finally, raw food deserts fromavocados. I've heard anything from
fudgesicle-like popsicles for kids thatare optimally healthy and made just with
avocados with a little bit of maplesyrup, etc. You can look up those recipes.
To different cheesecakes. Again,these are all raw, vegan foods. To
different squares, and differentlittle balls and bars, and the
possibilities are endless. Bottom line,the avocado is extremely versatile and
again, for its nutrition and delicioustaste and health benefits, something you
want to include as part of your everydaydiet. Now last tip that I want to leave
you with is what do you do if you have,perhaps you only wanted to eat half an
avocado, or you have too much, or you want to save some for later. The avocado does
tend to, and we could see already on thisone, it will start to oxidize quite
quickly. Going a little bit orange orbrown, and some of them are already
starting to show that. So to store youravocado, first and foremost you don't
want to cut it up as much as possible.For example, if you know you're only
going to eat half store the other half,with still its shell and, if possible, pit.
The pit will actually help it staylonger and fresh, and put it in a sealed
container. Some people also sprinkle somelemon juice to prevent that oxidation or
browning process. If you do make a mealwith some avocados and you're storing
that for later, please note again, thatthey might turn to go a little bit gray
or brown. Not that big of a deal buthopefully you don't have too many of
these leftovers because they do decreasethe nutritional composition. And last but
not least, you don't want to be cookingavocados. They are so rich, and again all
those beautiful nutrients like thevitamins, the minerals, the phytochemicals,
the carotenoids, the antioxidants, all ofthose beautiful, beautiful nutrients for
us, that a lot of them will get destroyedif you heat process your avocado.
So they are best eaten raw, and as partof any meal, again, that you can think of.
And get creative in how you use youravocado. Thanks everyone for joining me
and I'll see you next time!
On this episode of Healthytarian Living, holistic teacher Evita Ochel (https://www.evitaochel.com) shares how to eat an avocado. The video includes a demo of its preparation, sharing about the fruit's nutritional benefits, buying tips, storing, meal ideas and more. **NOTE: Take extra care and be mindful when using your kitchen knives to cut avocados or remove pits. The degree of sharpness, the pressure you use, and type of knife you use will all make a big difference to the outcome, and YOUR safety is YOUR responsibility.** New to whole-food, plant-based eating? Check out Evita's complete video course How to Eat Whole-Food, Plant-Based on Udemy: https://bit.ly/38nHkBP Avocado Recipes from Healthytarian: 1. Guacamole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEpfIAQEIW8 2. Chocolate Avocado Pudding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgNizPsGc-s 3. Red-Green Festive Salad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVXhOH2IuUg 4. Asparagus Radish Seasonal Salad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpIIQM8VgYk *About the Avocado Pit:* Information about the avocado pit is NOT included in the video because this video is intended for everyday eating for the general audience and the avocado pit is NOT a common or easy part of the avocado to eat, nor is it necessary or proven safe in certain quantities. The pit requires an intensive preparation process in order to make it possible to eat without hurting one's teeth or choking, and it requires tools, like a high-powered blender or dehydrator, that many people will not have, making it impractical to consider or recommend to most people. Even though the pit is edible, and just like any other "plant seed" it does contain nutrients and health benefits, *it is medicinal in its chemical composition* and its safety and dosage have NOT yet been established. This means that it should be treated more as a medicine, than a food, and used with conservative wisdom after thoroughly learning about its properties, risks, and how they may influence one's health. Consider the apple seed or apricot kernel seed, as other such similar examples. These contain compounds that can be medicinal or toxic, depending on how they are used. According to the California Avocado Commission, "The seed of an avocado contains elements that are not intended for human consumption." https://www.californiaavocado.com/blog/march-2016/is-it-safe-to-eat-the-avocado-seed