Monday, August 10, 2009

Healthy Guacamole and Avocado Info

I love avocados. My favorite way to eat them, is right from the shell...i also love to cube them and put them in my tortilla soup!

Here is a healthy and vegan guacamole recipe anyone can enjoy. Basically, we are subbing the normal Mayo and or Sour cream used to make guacamole with tofu. Do not be afraid of tofu, its has no taste and takes on the flavor of whatever its made with. My kids even eat it. Its super healthy too!

LIGHT GUACAMOLE

¼ pound firm style tofu
¼ medium avocado (about two ounces cubed)
½ medium tomato
¼ c diced green bell pepper
¼ c diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T diced green chili pepper (canned or fresh)
1 T lemon or lime juice (fresh squeezed)
dash ground red pepper

In a blender or food processor, combine avocado and tofu and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the container. Transfer to mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients and combine

Makes four 1/3 c servings
54 calories, 4g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 5g total carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 2g sugars, 3g protein, 7g sodium



A little bit of info about avocados I found online....

Avocado fruits are getting very popular anywhere in the world. Throughout the year, you can find avocado in your nearby supermarkets. Avocado is sometimes called “avocado pear” or “alligator pear”, and “Aguacate Palta” in Spanish.
The world, especially in developing countries, is trying to adapt avocado as one of substitutes to cope for the shortage of nutritious food production.

We believe that avocados have originated in Mexico and Central America. However, today, avocados are being planted and harvested in countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, USA, Sri Lanka, Brazil, India, China, Japan, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ethiopia, Spain, Palestine, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Hawaii. Oh, yes, you can plant it even in your backyard garden and it is adaptable as long as the climate does not go below 5°C during winter season.

In fact, I myself planted four avocado trees 25 years ago, and just a year ago, I added another two in my backyard. One tree bears about 200 pieces of fruit.
Avocado is one of the most recommended fruits as well as a food for bodybuilding and medicine for cholesterol-related heart diseases.

Also, did you know that avocado or an avocado extract is good for prevention or treatment of “breast cancer” as well as “prostate cancer”? Some information states that a toxin found in avocado can kill cancer cell. However, the toxin mentioned here is not identified completely. Scientists believe that the toxin has a great effect on the myocardium (heart muscle tissue) as well as on tissues of the lactating mammary gland.

Although many farmers believe that fresh and dried leaves, bark, skin, and seeds are toxic to cattle, goats, horses, rabbits, and birds, there is no definite scientific explanation for that.

Do not worry about the fruit meat of avocado. There are no dangerous toxic elements for human consumption as well as for animals.

Creamy rich avocado is considered the world's healthiest fruit, because of its nutrient contents such as vitamin K, dietary fiber, potassium, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, and reasonable calories in it.

Avocados contain “oleic acid”, a monounsaturated fat that may help lower cholesterol.
In our studies, patients with high cholesterol levels who ate avocados showed clear health improvements. After a week of avocado diet, patients had significant decrease in cholesterol contents.

Avocado is a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. Adequate intake of potassium can help guard against circulatory diseases, like high blood pressure, heart disease, or stroke.

Diets containing foods that are good sources of potassium and low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. One cup of avocado has about 23% of the Daily Value for folate, a nutrient important for heart health.
Another study showed that individuals who consume folate-rich diets have a much lower risk of cardiovascular disease or stroke than those who do not consume much of this vital nutrient.

Not only avocado has a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids including oleic acid, which has recently been shown to offer significant protection against breast cancer, but it is also a very concentrated dietary source of the "carotenoid lutein". It also contains measurable amounts of related carotenoids plus significant quantities of vitamin E.


A few slices of avocado in salad, or mixing some chopped avocado into salsa will not only add a rich, creamy flavor, but will greatly increase your body's ability to absorb the health-promoting carotenoids that vegetables provide.
Compared to other fruits or vegetables such as carrots and spinach, just a slice of avocado improves your body's ability to absorb carotenoids.
At first, you can try to start planting a seed in your room. You will love it as seen in the photos below.




After eating avocado, don't throw the seed. Place it in the garden soil in your container garden. The soil should always be with water. In about three weeks, you will enjoy seeing leaf buds growing. If you cannot keep it in your room, plant it in your backyard. You will enjoy seeing it growing again.

My husband has an avocado plant growing. We hope to see avocados on it someday!

Ways to Eat an Avocado

There are hundreds of ways or recipes for avocado. Here are some that you can try to enjoy eating avocado.

The simplest way is just slice the avocado and place ham and mayonnaise to make a bread sandwich. Probably, you can add a proverb, "One avocado a day, doctors away".
To preserve, mash and place the avocado in the freezer. In this way, you can keep it for several months. Do not keep the avocado fruit as is in the freezer.
Again and again, some critics might write us complaining about the article saying that avocado is toxic. Avocado toxicity is not scientifically well established up to now.

Avocado poisoning has been a source of controversy and confusion among animal breeders. Some breeders have voiced an opinion that avocado fruit may be toxic, while other breeders have fed avocados to their animals with no abnormal incidences at all.

Most avocados grown in the United States and other countries are sold for human consumption in the form of fresh fruit or processed paste products. Also, many parts of it are used for various products including animal feeds and baby consumption.
Avocado poisonings in humans and animals are fairly limited, however, the avocado tree can be toxic. They say that toxic chemical is found in leaves, bark, pits, and skin of the avocado tree. Although some people claim that avocado fruit can cause skin allergy, it is just the same as banana, walnut, and kiwi allergy.
Anyway, if you are a delicate person, just don't eat avocado. Once again, one avocado a day may save your life from cardiomyopathy and heart failure.
In addition, if you're suffering from a serious illness, we recommend you to use the
PYRO-ENERGEN. PYRO-ENERGEN is proven effective in eradicating viral diseases, cancer, and diseases of unknown cause.


About the Author:
Junji Takano is a Japanese health researcher involved in investigating the cause of many dreadful diseases. In 1968, he invented PYRO-ENERGEN, the first electrostatic therapy device for electromedicine that effectively eradicates viral diseases, cancer, and diseases of unknown cause.

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http://www.pyroenergen.com/about.htmFree health newsletter: http://www.pyroenergen.com/newsletter.htm

Source:
www.pyroenergen.com/articles07/avocado-health-benefits.htm

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