Cook with avocados for heart-healthy fats and great taste

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Rich, creamy, and filling are three words you might use to describe an avocado. Those terms likely would not be used to describe any other type of fruit. The avocado is unique in that it is the only fruit that has a high fat content and a moderate carbohydrate content. One medium avocado has about 300 calories, 23 grams of fat, 15 grams of total carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber. Because of its creamy texture and rich flavor, the avocado is nicknamed "butter fruit" in Mexico. The butter fruit is an important part of the Hispanic diet. For the people in Mexico, it is not uncommon to eat some avocado every day.

The fat in an avocado mostly is monounsaturated fat. Thus, it can be used as part of a heart-healthy diet. The avocado is cholesterol-free and sodium-free. It is rich in vitamin C and E, and high in potassium, making it a heart-healthy food choice. Because it is high in calories and total fat, it is prudent to eat only small amounts of the avocado or use it to replace a high-fat item in your diet. If you read on, you will learn about some heart-healthy substitutions using the avocado as a way to decrease calories and fat intake.

Heart-Healthy Monounsaturated Fat

Monounsaturated fats are the primary type of fat found in the avocado. This type of fat can help decrease the levels of bad cholesterol in our blood and help with increasing the good cholesterol. The American Heart Association encourages us to pick more plant-based fats and minimize our intake of animal fats to decrease our risk for heart disease. Substituting avocado for high-fat dairy products, such as cheese made with whole milk, is a good way to trim the saturated animal fats in your diet.

Handling An Avocado

Avocados ripen about a week after picking. It is best to put them in paper bag to speed the ripening process. When the avocado is ripe, it will be slightly soft. To use the avocado, you start by washing it and then cut it in half. The flesh of a ripe avocado will easily slide out of the peel once you cut it in half. The large pit of a ripe avocado is easy to remove from the center of the fruit. You should discard the pit.

The green flesh of an avocado quickly will turn an unappealing brown color when it is exposed to air. To prevent browning, place plastic wrap very tightly against the avocado flesh or sprinkle the cut fruit with a little lemon juice and keep it refrigerated.

Antioxidants in the Avocado

Lutein and glutathione are two antioxidants found in avocado. Lutein is known to help protect our vision from being affected by macular degeneration and cataracts. Glutathione is an antioxidant that may protect us against some types of cancer.

When the avocado is consumed with foods that contain carotinoids, an antioxidant found in many red and orange vegetables, the amount of carotinoids absorbed from these foods is significantly increased. For example, if you eat a salad with avocado and raspberries on it, your body would absorb more of the antioxidants from the raspberries compared to when you eat the raspberries by themselves.

Avocados and Babies

The avocado's smooth, creamy consistency makes it one of the first fresh fruits a baby can enjoy. Mash the ripe avocado and it can be fed to infants once they reach 4-6 months of age. The fats found in the avocado are important for normal growth and development of the brain.

Avocado Additions

The most common serving idea for the avocado is guacamole. However, the potential of the avocado goes far beyond the ubiquitous dip.

n Try using mashed avocado as a spread on your next sandwich. For every tablespoon of butter replaced with an equal amount of avocado, you will save 75 calories, 9 grams of fat and 30 mg of cholesterol.

n Spread 2 tablespoons of the mashed avocado on your breakfast bagel instead of 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and save 100 calories and 10 grams of fat.

n On your next salad, substitute 2 tablespoons of diced avocado for 1 ounce of diced cheddar cheese and save 60 calories and 5 grams of fat.

n Make a batch of salsa with avocado and diced tomato and serve it with broiled fish.

n Add diced avocado to your taco.

n Try Avocado Salad Dressing with your next salad. Using 1 percent buttermilk and fat-free yogurt make the salad dressing thick and rich without a lot of calories.

n Make an avocado dip and serve it with whole grain crackers for the kids after-school snack.

Reminder

There are three more ALOHA heart-health programs left. All programs are held in the Ryberg Auditorium at CGH Medical Center.

n Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. "Heart Disease: The Gender Gap"

n Monday, Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. "Aligning the Body, Mind and Spirit for Heart Health"

n Tuesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. "Navigating the Cholesterol Highway."