Avocado. Beneficial features

Avocado got into Ukrainian cuisine quite recently. This fruit is completely uncharacteristic of our area, so a lot of questions arise. For example: is an avocado a fruit or a vegetable? How to choose the right avocado? How to eat it correctly and what can be cooked from it, what recipes are there? In the material you will find answers to all these questions.

Is avocado a fruit or a vegetable? The debate on this issue has been going on for a long time! From the point of view of biology, avocados can rightly be attributed to fruits. Because the fruit grows on a tree, and inside it there is a large hard bone.

But the amount of sugar inside the pulp is more characteristic of vegetables than fruits. However, regardless of the amount of sugar in an avocado, it is considered to be a fruit. Despite the fact that the taste qualities say otherwise!

Avocado is a fruit that tastes like a vegetable.

And the taste of avocado has something to surprise! Its delicate texture resembles butter, and the aftertaste even resembles pine nuts. Avocados do not have the usual sweetness that is inherent in other fruits. But therein lies its advantage! Neutral taste goes well with a variety of foods.

Most often, people use an exotic fruit as a vegetable. It is added to salads, which are seasoned with salty and sour sauces. There are fewer recipes for a sweet avocado dessert, but they do exist.

How to choose an avocado? The fruit has the appearance of a spherical or elongated (pear-shaped) shape from 5 to 20 centimeters in length. Ripe fruits are covered with a thin dark green slightly rough skin.

To choose the right product, you should not look at the color of the peel, but determine the elasticity of the fruit. How to check it? Just take an avocado in the palm of your hand and lightly squeeze your fingers: if you feel resistance, then this fruit is ripe. If the dent quickly leveled off - the fruit is ripe, if it remains - the fruit is already overripe and may be rotten.

If the avocado is very hard, it is better not to take it, because then you will not feel any taste. But avocados can ripen at home, although this takes several days. Put it in a plastic bag and leave it in a dark place for two to three days, but keep checking to see if a ripe avocado starts to spoil.

Avocados can be ripened at home

If there are brown spots or dents on the peel, this fruit is rotten. Avocados cannot be stored at home for a long time, as they spoil quickly enough. But if you follow certain rules, this process can be slowed down. So, you need to keep the fetus at a temperature not higher than ten degrees.

If you are not going to use it right away, then wrap the fruit in paper and refrigerate in the vegetable compartment. There he can lie up to fourteen days. If the avocado is already cut, it can be stored for only two or three days, before that it is necessary to pour lemon juice to avoid darkening of the pulp, and then wrap it in cling film.

This fruit can be frozen by peeling, removing the stone, and pouring a little lemon juice. In this case, the avocado retains all its unique qualities, and is quite suitable for cooking various dishes.

How to properly peel an avocado? Take the fruit and be sure to wash the skin. Wipe the avocado and get ready to cut. With a sharp knife, cut the flesh along the circumference of the fruit (it is better to cut along). When you come across a hard seed, do not try to cut it.

When the circle is cut, grasp both halves and turn your palms slightly, the pulp can easily separate from the stone. Carefully remove the stone from the halves, take a teaspoon and simply remove the pulp from the peel.

Choose only ripe avocados

What is the right way to eat an avocado? Dish recipes. There is no single answer to this question. From the point of view of preserving nutrients, avocados should be eaten raw and without the addition of sauces and seasonings. From the point of view of improving taste characteristics, it is better to eat avocados in combination with tomatoes, seafood, soft cheeses, that is, it is tastier to eat avocados in a salad than just like that.

There is no unequivocal ban that you can’t eat avocado peel - no. But when cooking, it is still recommended to peel the avocado. An exception may be the case when you plan to stuff the avocado halves. Then you should remove the pulp from the fruit, and leave the peel intact. But in this case, whether or not to eat it is up to you.

What is the right way to eat an avocado?

The avocado pit is not eaten and is not used for cooking as a condiment. But it can be planted, a full-fledged tree with fruits is unlikely to grow, but a beautiful and miniature tree will do just fine.

What can be cooked from avocado? Avocado pulp is in harmony with meat, fish, seafood, vegetables. The methods of processing the product are different: in the cuisines of different countries, avocados are fried, boiled, baked, stewed or eaten raw.

Ripe and overripe fruits are used to make sauces, pasta, pates, and raw it can be added to smoothies and salads. Thanks to the fat content and texture of the pulp, delicious desserts are obtained from avocados.

Avocado guacamole- a simple sauce that is usually served with corn tortillas and vegetables. You can cook its classic variation without a recipe: mash the pulp of an avocado with lime juice, salt, pepper and you're done. By adding garlic and onion to the avocado paste, the taste of the dish will become brighter and richer.

Avocado guacamole

Pasta with avocado- By adding a variety of dried spices to the neutral taste of avocados, you can make a great addition to toasted toast. Such an avocado spread for sandwiches can be absolutely homogeneous or with pieces. Use this paste as a spread for toast, you can put cheese or red fish on top.

Toast with avocado paste

Avocado smoothie- such an avocado and banana drink will charge you with vivacity and energy for the whole day. Blend the avocado and banana in a blender, then add plain plain yogurt.

After tasting this strange green fruit, many frown and stop their further acquaintance with it. And absolutely in vain! Firstly, you need to be able to cook it correctly and know what to combine it with. Secondly, it is several times more useful than all other fruits combined. And thirdly, avocados are considered one of the best foods for weight loss. So don't dismiss it so quickly.

Slimming mechanism

It has been scientifically proven that avocados really help you lose weight. Due to its rich chemical composition, it launches processes in the body, each of which works to reduce weight:

• the subcutaneous fat layer is split;
• the tendency to gradually disappears, because the nervous system calms down;
• long-term saturation is ensured (due to soluble dietary fiber);
• metabolism accelerates;
• digestion improves (due to insoluble);
• jumps in blood sugar are prevented, which helps to avoid bouts of hunger in any diet.

From a single use of the effect, of course, can not be achieved. When losing weight, you will have to include it in your diet every day, but the results are worth it! After all, this exotic fruit is useful not only for the figure, but also for health in general.

through the pages of history. The Aztecs cultivated the fruits of this tree as early as the 3rd millennium BC. e. and called it "Ahuacatl", which means "forest oil".

Beneficial features

Many do not even realize what benefits are hidden under this unsightly greenish-brown peel. If you decide to lose weight with avocados, you can count on a comprehensive recovery of the body, because it:

• makes the nervous system more resistant to external stimuli;
• increases libido and potency;
• improves mental abilities;
• reduces the level of bad cholesterol, and with it the risk of stroke;
• provides the body of a pregnant woman with 25% of the recommended daily dose of folate necessary for intrauterine development of the fetus;
• prevents anemia;
• improves memory.

Of its chemical composition, the most useful are:

• vitamin E, which slows down the aging process in the body;
• potassium (here it is more than in a banana) with its antiarrhythmic properties, which reduces blood pressure, the risk of strokes and kidney failure;
• glutathione, known as one of the most powerful antioxidants;
• lutein and carotenoids that improve vision;
• vitamin B6, which strengthens the immune system and prevents infectious diseases.

A third of the fruit consists of polyunsaturated fats, which:

• easily absorbed by the body;
• do not increase the level of cholesterol and low density lipoproteins;
• provide elasticity of collagen-containing structures (tendons, bones, cartilage, dermis);
• improve blood supply to the brain, in particular the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for planning, critical thinking and decision making;
• help to better absorb fat-soluble vitamins - A, E, K, D.

So you can be sure: such weight loss is good for health. Against the backdrop of debilitating diets and mono-starvation, this is a very valuable property.

Other names. This fruit has many different names around the world: midshipman (soldier) oil, perseus americana, crocodile (alligator) pear, forest oil, poor man's cow, etc.

Possible harm

Contraindications:

• lactation;
• removed gallbladder;
• individual intolerance;
• severe diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• children's age up to 6 years.

Side effects:

• during lactation, it causes bloating and diarrhea in the newborn, so such weight loss is contraindicated for nursing mothers;
• hepatic colic with remote gall;
• allergic reactions not only after consumption, but even if you touch the peel;
• discomfort and itching in the mouth, swelling and hyperemia of the tongue;
• nausea (occurs due to overeating, as it contains too much fat);
• intestinal disorders: stomach cramps, diarrhea;
• breathing difficulties.

Be careful: combining with foods such as potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, peaches, melon and kiwi can provoke cross-allergies. That is, there will be no reaction to them individually, but when combined, this is possible.

The avocado seed, as well as its peel and leaves, contain persin, a fungicidal toxin that can cause a severe allergic reaction and worsen digestion. Therefore, it cannot be eaten.

Life hack. Despite the toxicity of the fruit bone, it can be crushed and added to shampoo. It is great for dandruff and other symptoms of seborrhea.

How to choose

Ripeness is determined by softness. However, do not press on the fruit with your fingers, so as not to leave a dent. Make it with the palm of your hand: hard - unripe, soft - ready to eat.

Another way to determine the maturity of an avocado is by the color of where the stem attaches to the fruit.

The color should not be bright green (this is a sign of immaturity, although some varieties differ in this shade), but brownish, already darkened. If it is deep brown, it indicates depravity.

Hold the fruit to your ear and shake gently. The bone inside is felt with a barely perceptible knock. But if she walks there with might and main, it means that she has already come off the spoiled pulp.

This is interesting. There are about 100 varieties of avocados. They are different in size (weigh from 100 g to 2 kg), shape (they are round, oval or pear-shaped), color (shimmer from dark emerald to purple), taste and chemical composition (some more fat, some then less). As part of weight loss, you can use several varieties to diversify the diet.

Ways to lose weight

Diet from Malysheva

Appointment - for slimming the abdomen for women. Directed against abdominal fat, which accumulates at the waist and sides. The weight loss period is a week. Results - 2-3 kg.

Against the background of a low-calorie diet, you need to eat three main foods that are the basis of the diet every day in sufficient quantities: avocados, ginger and blueberries. The first contains monounsaturated fats: in one of Elena Vasilyevna's programs, nutritionists invited to the studio said that they are the ones who are able to “melt” the subcutaneous fat layer by 33%. However, they also warned that the daily caloric intake of such a diet should not exceed 1500 kcal.

The fat burner gingerol contained in ginger, antioxidants and blueberry bioflavonoids, which utilize glucose and reduce appetite, help him reduce waist size.

mono diet

Appointment - express weight loss. Deadline - 3 days. Results - 3 kg.

Not everyone can withstand such a diet: there is no escape from bouts of hunger, and even digestion can be upset due to the abundance of fats. During the day, every 2-3 hours you need to eat 1 avocado without additional ingredients. Daily rate - 6 pcs. During breaks, drink plenty of water and green tea (also without any additives).

Fasting day

Purpose - bowel cleansing. The result is up to 1.5 kg.

The nutrition scheme remains the same as on a mono-diet: during the day you need to eat 6 pieces in pure form (less if you manage to cope with hunger). From drinks leave green tea and water.

diets

As part of any diet, avocados can be included in the diet. It contains fat, protein, and fiber. Due to their nutritional value, they can replace breakfast or dinner (in combination with other low-calorie foods ()). Approximate scheme:

• for breakfast - a sandwich (the ideal combination is whole grain or rye bread with hard cheese and half an avocado) or buckwheat;
• for lunch - avocado soup;
• for dinner - a salad with him;
• for lunch or afternoon tea - or with the addition of avocado pulp.

Make sure not to exceed the daily intake - no more than 2 pieces per day.

With the world on a string. In 1998, the avocado was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as "the most nutritious fruit in the world."

How to eat

The calorie content of 1 pitted fruit (weight 140 g) is ≈ 224 kcal, which is quite a lot. Follow the norm so as not to interfere with the process of losing weight: 1-2 pcs. per day on a low-calorie diet. It is eaten alone or included in various sauces and dishes. Due to its satiety, within any diet, it can replace a whole meal - breakfast or dinner.

What do they eat with?

The easiest recipe is to get the pulp, add salt, pepper and eat with a dessert spoon in small portions.

The second option is to do the same, crush with a fork, add a little low-fat sour cream, garlic and lemon juice. Grated cheese would be nice too. Whisk in a blender. The resulting paste can be spread on bread (for weight loss, you can use only rye or whole grain).

It is well compatible with any green vegetables (cucumbers, cabbage, lettuce), herbs, dairy products, garlic, meat and red fish. How to cook more complex dishes with his participation, we will tell below.

Can you eat in the evening?

In this matter, the opinions of nutritionists differ. Some believe that it is not only possible, but also necessary. A high-calorie and nutritious fruit will help you avoid feeling hungry before bed. Others remind that it has a lot of fiber and fat. The first will clog the stomach and will not let it rest. The second can provoke an attack of nausea.

Therefore, it would be more correct to choose the golden mean: do not eat at night, but for dinner, so that it has time to digest before going to bed.

Did you know that... is it a unique exotic fruit - a relative of the bay leaf, because it grows on trees from the bay family?

How to help maturation?

In stores, avocados are usually sold unripe. They need to lie down a little more, and then the flesh will become soft and tender. To taste, it resembles a mixture of greens with butter with nutty notes. For ripening, it is recommended to put the fruit:

• either in a cardboard / paper bag and leave for a couple of days in the dark at room temperature;
• or in cellophane next to other fruits - preferably red apples or ripe bananas.

But keep in mind that rotten and damaged fruits will never be able to ripen, no matter what conditions you create for them. The fruit is not stored in the refrigerator: the cold accelerates its decay.

How to cut?

1. Rinse.
2. Wipe dry.
3. If slightly unripe and still hard enough, immediately peel off the skin with a knife.
4. Cut into two equal pieces lengthwise.
5. Separate them.
6. Fix the knife in the bone (it should not be too hard) and turn it - it will be easily removed.
7. If the skin has not been previously removed, take out the pulp with a tablespoon.

In the air, the flesh quickly undergoes oxidation, which spoils both the appearance and taste. To prevent this from happening, the sliced ​​\u200b\u200bpieces should be immediately sprinkled with lemon or lime juice. And even better - clean it immediately before cooking and eat it right away.

What can be cooked from avocados during weight loss?

• salads (especially good with red fish);
• sandwiches;
• guacamole - a Mexican appetizer made from avocados, vegetables, spices and lime;
• sushi;
• cocktails and smoothies;
• soups.

During heat treatment, it begins to taste bitter, so it is better to eat it fresh. And if you cook, then no more than 5 minutes, because it will lose its beneficial properties.

Probably everyone has heard of avocados at least once. And although not everyone was able to experience its taste, but surely everyone came across at least mentions of this exotic fruit.

People in Russia do not buy this product so often, many of them have no idea how to eat avocados - whether it should be processed thermally or can be consumed raw. Most likely, the correct explanation for all this is the territorial location of the country. It can also be said that the potential consumer is not sufficiently educated in this direction. After all, this delicacy can be found in almost all points of sale, but it is not popular at all. And all because the majority simply does not know how to eat it and what benefits or, conversely, harm it brings.

Composition and properties

Few people can imagine the beneficial properties of this product. After all, unlike long ago familiar fruits (such as pear, apple and strawberry), it seems to be something new and completely unfamiliar, exotic. But it’s worth starting from afar and saying that avocado is a berry. If you list the main characteristics of this product, they will be as follows:

• the length of the ripe fruit is 5-20 cm;
• weight is about 200 grams;
• There are approximately 400 varieties.

If we compare the popularity of the fetus in the West and in Russia, then in the second case it is really incredibly low. But this does not mean that avocados do not deserve the right to be a beloved and healthy delicacy, that they are eaten only in certain families with a special culture. First, it has a high nutritional value. And secondly, due to the fact that the price of its production is low, it is abundantly used not only in the culinary industry, but also in medicine, as well as in cosmetology.

However, of the whole berry, only the pulp is of interest to the consumer. This is due to the fact that it contains nutrients, and everything else is incredibly harmful. The pit and peel, when eaten, often cause an allergic reaction, and in extreme cases can cause anaphylactic shock. But do not be afraid of this fact, because the value of the berry is an order of magnitude higher.

The pulp of this product is incredibly useful, because only it contains nutrients. It contains little protein, and carbohydrates, although they are present, but in small quantities. Undoubtedly, this is a negative side, but the positive qualities of the product are still several times greater than the negative ones. One third of the pulp consists of natural vegetable fats, they are very nutritious and, wonderfully, easily digested by people with digestive problems, and also have a good effect on the children's body.

Having studied all the known data, the man turned the avocado into a popular medical remedy that helps with cardiovascular diseases. It is also great as a dish that helps in the fight against cholesterol, or rather serves to reduce it. Avocado perfectly normalizes metabolism (both fat and general).

This exotic berry is loved by those who decide to go on a diet, because its calorie content is incredibly low: only 160 kilocalories per 100 grams. The presence of the necessary nutritional properties makes the product even more valuable to the consumer.

Common Recipes

When buying an avocado, many people think about how to eat it, and indeed how to cook food containing this ingredient. And it should only be consumed raw. Eating avocados in this way is the most correct and beneficial for the body. But it is introduced raw into dishes not only for this reason. There is another side of the coin. If the berry is subjected to heat treatment, it will become unpleasant in taste and even spoil the food. This can be explained by the fact that the pulp contains a huge amount of tinin, and it, in turn, becomes tart and bitter when heated.

Despite the fact that avocados are only eaten raw, they can perfectly become one of the ingredients of a wide variety of dishes. There are quite a few recipes using this product that allow you to cook light and healthy food.

• slicing

This is one of the simplest cooking methods, and it serves as the first step in preparing more complex dishes. So, in order to make a cut, you must first wash the fruit, use a knife to cut it in half around the bone.

After that, you need to take a berry in two hands so that there are different halves in the palms, and, turning in a circle, break it into two parts. If the bone is stuck in one of them, then simply remove it using a spoon or the same knife.

There are two options for how to serve the dish. The first involves the fact that with the help of a spoon you need to scoop out the pulp into a bowl. The second method suggests using a knife to peel the skin and cut the berry into slices. Using the latter option, the avocado must be beautifully laid out and poured with soy sauce, so the dish will become an elegant delicacy for lovers of exotic cuisine.

• Paste

This option is great as an appetizer. Cooked pasta is recommended to spread on bread. The recipe for this dish is incredibly simple.

Having cut the fruit into two halves, with the help of a spoon you need to take the pulp and immediately spread it on bread. But for those who like a more aesthetic look, the recipe can be complicated. First of all, you will need several ingredients, namely: the avocado itself, two cloves of garlic, lemon juice from one half of the fruit. Having acquired everything you need, you need to turn the pulp of the berry into a puree. Pour the resulting mass with lemon juice. Chop the garlic in advance, add it to the paste, mix everything. It is important to know that such a dish can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two days, and it is recommended to use it with healthy cereal bread.

• Salad

This dish is a little more difficult to prepare than the previous ones. You need to purchase four berries, 2 tomatoes, 2 cucumbers, 3 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, lemon zest, salt (if necessary), pepper (ground), coriander. Once you have everything you need, you can start cooking. First of all, the berry should be peeled, and the flesh should be carefully cut into cubes. Next, you need to chop the vegetables. In a separate bowl, mix oil, zest, coriander and pepper together - you get a sauce. Pulp cubes must be placed in a salad bowl and pour over lemon juice, then add vegetables there. All this should also be mixed. Pour the resulting mass with additional sauce and serve. You can decorate the dish with herbs.

This is just a small list of goodies that can be prepared using avocados. The main thing is to serve it correctly and do not forget that the fruit must be raw. Otherwise, after heat treatment, it will become absolutely tasteless and useless.

To prepare a salad, berries can be mixed not only with cucumbers and tomatoes, but also with absolutely any greens, as well as beans, rice and other cereals.

It is also important that the use of avocados is not capable of causing allergies and adverse reactions in the body. Berry intolerance is rare. In this case, it is definitely not worth including it in the composition of the dishes. In the absence of contraindications, avocados deserve to be in the diet of every person!

It is very strange, but some people do not know what to attribute avocados to - vegetables or fruits. Since it does not have the sweet taste of other fruits, it is often considered a vegetable. Avocado is a fruit that grows on trees. The yield of each tree is approximately 100-200 kilograms. There are over 400 varieties of avocados in the world today.

A little about fruits

The peel of the fruit is of two types: wrinkled and smooth. There is no specific color. The shade starts from light green and sometimes reaches dark colors. The pulp of the fruit is light green in color, more like a cream. It melts easily and tastes like a nut. In the very center of the avocado is a rather large pit.

When the avocado is fully ripe, it will take on a slightly sweet flavor. The fruit has an oily flavor and combines the taste qualities of a pear and a pumpkin. Fruits are sent for sale solid. The ripening process lasts for several weeks, and already at the end the peel becomes so soft that it forms a small dent when pressed. Avocado pits can be grated and used as a flavoring.

History of appearance

The name appeared due to the ancient language of the Aztecs and is translated as "testicle". There are several reasons for such an interesting name. First, its oval shape. Secondly, the fruits always hang in pairs.

The Indians learned one secret: avocado has a stimulating effect, and during military campaigns, soldiers were forbidden to use it. An interesting fact: for a long time, the fruit was mistaken for a kind of nut.

A little about the benefits

"Alligator pear" is the second name of avocado. What is useful fruit? To begin with, it should be noted that the high protein content contributes to the fact that avocados can replace meat in our daily diet. The fruit does not have cholesterol, but is rich in iron, magnesium, zinc and potassium. This tropical guest is the best ally for female beauty. Masks prepared on the basis of avocado fruits help in the fight against cellulite, restore facial skin elasticity and help strengthen nails.

Another thing that avocados are useful for is that they will help people suffering from heart disease no worse than pills. This is an excellent tonic for our body, in America it is widely known as an aphrodisiac. But the most important thing that avocados are useful for is that they have a unique ability to strengthen human memory.

There are a lot of answers to the question, avocado - what is useful. There is such a terrible disease in the world as cancer. So, this tropical medicine can protect the human body from the appearance of cancerous tumors.

As you already understood, this fruit is simply unique. How is it useful for older people? Thanks to the lutein found in avocados, the fruit will help prevent vision loss, which means you won't have to wear glasses any time soon.

Beauty secrets

How useful is this fruit in cosmetics? The healing properties of avocado oil are known due to collagen. This protein is an important element for maintaining the elasticity of the skin. Thanks to the useful substances contained in the fruit, oil is obtained from it. It has a delicate texture that easily penetrates and moisturizes the skin. It is also a good stimulator of metabolic processes, gradually returning youthfulness to the skin.

In fairy tales, it was often said that beautiful ladies wanted to find a rejuvenating tree or apples. And even today, each of us is ready for anything, just to prolong the youth of our skin. In the modern world, for this you do not need to send your loved one to distant lands, it is enough to send him to the supermarket so that he brings the rejuvenating avocado fruit. How useful a tropical fruit is for the skin, we learned, it's time to discover the secrets of making face masks based on it.

Face masks

In avocados, useful substances are found in the pulp of the fruit, so when preparing masks, it is she who will be needed.

Purifying mask

1 st. l. mix avocado pulp with 1 egg. Add 1 tsp. honey and mayonnaise. To the resulting mass, add 1 tbsp. flour. This composition is applied to the face and kept for 15 minutes, then washed off with cool water.

Mask for oily skin

1 st. l. crush the pulp. Add 2 tbsp. l. any dairy product (milk, kefir, curdled milk). This mask is kept for 15 minutes and washed off with cool water. It removes excess greasiness and mattifies the skin of the face. Thanks to milk ingredients, it whitens the face a little.

Hair masks

What is useful for avocados for women who have unhealthy hair is that it is an ambulance for restoring, strengthening, as well as hair growth. Such masks are considered the most effective. If you decide to make an avocado mask at home, then it’s better to buy an overripe fruit and use a blender to turn it into porridge. The mask can be applied without other ingredients to dry or damp hair. But it will be effective only for those who have healthy hair. This procedure is suitable for prevention. Ingredients are added depending on what type of hair you have.

For oily hair

Mix the crushed pulp of one avocado with 1 tsp. honey and 2 tbsp. l. kefir. Apply the mixture to your hair and hold the rod with a film and towel for at least 30 minutes. It can be done even at night, nothing will happen to the hair. Wash off in the usual way.

For density and hair growth

Heat up 1 tsp. avocado and castor oil, mix and add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil. Keep this mixture on your head for 1 hour. It is important to wrap your head in a towel.

For dry hair

2 tbsp. l. colorless henna pour hot water for 15 minutes. Add the pulp of 1 avocado and 1 tbsp. l. preheated castor oil. This mask will restore even the most damaged hair.

That, in fact, is the whole answer to the question of how avocados are useful for women in cosmetology.

How to eat

Before proceeding to our next question, we will learn how to peel these healthy tropical fruits. They are cut along the bone, that is, forming a circle near it. Then they take her out. You can remove the skin from half of the cut fruit or chop it into slices, and then proceed to cleansing. Now you can get down to the question of how avocados are useful and how they are eaten. It is useful in that it does not even contain a gram of cholesterol, which is why it is so popular in dietary nutrition, but more on that later. We have considered the use in cosmetology, now let's proceed to cooking.

Using raw avocado for salad

The fruits are cut into slices and soaked in 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice. Cut half of the red onion into strips (the thinner the better). Cut 100 g of cheese into cubes. Cut 100g cherry tomatoes in half. Cut lettuce leaves. Grate lemon zest on top, mix and season.

sandwiches

2 buns cut in half. The pulp of one avocado is mixed with 0.5 tbsp. l. curry. Grease the halves of the buns with the resulting paste. A layer of lettuce leaves is placed on top, then sliced ​​radish and cucumber. The sandwich is ready.

Well, here we learned a little more about how avocados are useful, and how they are eaten raw.

Avocado desserts

Any housewife is always for a healthy diet in her home, and avocados are one of her allies in the fight for such a lifestyle. In the summer, when there is no desire to bake something, but you want to cook something unusual, various desserts come to the rescue. We will tell you more about the benefits of avocados and how to use them.

Pistachio and avocado mousse

An incredibly simple yet effective mousse that takes 8 hours of freezing in the refrigerator to achieve a silky-soft texture. No whipping, even the most thorough, can achieve such a result.

1 st. Peel the pistachios and soak in water for 3 hours. After that, pour out the water and dry the nuts. Pour dried pistachios into a blender, add 0.5 tbsp. honey and 1 tbsp. l. water. Whisk. Remove the resulting mass for 5 hours in the refrigerator. 3 chilled avocados cut into large chunks Transfer the chopped fruit and nut mass to a blender, while adding a little sea salt, 1 tsp. lime juice and 1/4 tbsp. water. Set the speed to high and beat until smooth. Divide the mixture into molds and refrigerate overnight.

Well, our piggy bank of knowledge about the benefits of avocados, and how to use it in cooking and cosmetology, has been replenished. But the usefulness of the fruit and its scope does not end there.

For those who want to lose weight

Since the calorie content of the fruit is too high (100 gr. - 160 kcal), many losing weight refuse to use it. But this is a big mistake. Many, probably, thought about the benefits of avocados for weight loss. Despite the fact that the fruit contains more than 70% fat, it is an excellent helper for weight loss. After all, the composition includes healthy fats, namely monounsaturated acids, which reduce the level of cholesterol in the body. If you follow a diet that includes this healthy tropical fruit, then you can lose a couple of kilograms in a week. And this is not a joke! Avocados should be eaten 4 times a day. And it is also very important to stop using sugar, bread, soda and alcohol.

This is how 1 diet day looks like:

1. Breakfast. Put fat-free cottage cheese in half an avocado. Drink a cup of green tea with this sandwich.
2. Dinner. A bowl of vegetable broth. Prepare a salad of 1 egg, half an avocado fruit, 1 fresh cucumber. Fill 1 tbsp. l. olive oil. You can also add a little cinnamon and ginger to the salad to enhance the effect.
3. afternoon tea. Prepare an avocado smoothie with the addition of any citrus fruit.
4. Dinner. A glass of yogurt, half an avocado and a couple of slices of boiled beef.

Avocado benefits for men

Among the ancient Aztecs, the fruit of this tropical fruit served as a symbol of strength and endurance. No wonder they called the male genital organs this word. It's not even about looks. In avocado, the beneficial properties for men are expressed in the fact that it restores potency. And if you use it regularly, it will even strengthen it. There is an opinion that fruits can also increase fertility.

For those who do physical labor, it is also useful. After all, the fruit is able to restore lost energy. Substances contained in avocados destroy cancer cells. Men who are addicted to tobacco should know this fact, since smoking is the main cause of oral cancer.

Women's Health Benefits

In avocados, the beneficial properties for women are expressed not only in masks. For example, it can be used by young mothers while breastfeeding, as it contains vegetable proteins that are useful for the newborn.

It is useful to include this fruit in your daily diet for women in position. Such beneficial properties will positively affect not only your well-being, but also the health of your baby. But, like any exotic fruit, it can cause allergies, so if you are prone to such a disease, then it is better not to use it.

Useful properties of avocados and contraindications

So many useful properties of this fruit have been listed, but nothing has been said about the dangers. Like any product, avocados have their own contraindications, although not many. Firstly, you can not use it for people prone to allergies to citrus fruits. Secondly, be careful about the bones of the fetus, as they adversely affect our health and are very toxic. They must be thrown away immediately after cutting the avocado. If there is a desire to grow this exotic fruit at home, then you can use the stone as a seed. Do not leave them in a conspicuous place if there are small children at home. It is also contraindicated to use this product for people who are allergic to latex, as the fruit can cause serious harm to health.

How to choose an avocado

The fruit should be fairly firm, but there may be a slight dent when pressed. Do not buy fruits that have large dark spots, as they are spoiled. Pay attention to the base of the avocado. There shouldn't be any rot. If you purchased an unripe fruit, then put it at home in a dark place, and in a couple of weeks it will ripen.

As you understand, there are no harmful substances in avocados, only contraindications. This is a truly unique and useful product that nature has given us. A person can only use this exotic fruit correctly and thank the Aztecs, who discovered all the beneficial properties of avocados.

The dark green part of an avocado - its skin is more nutritious than its yellow or pale green parts. It has the highest concentration of carotenoids, which are anti-cancer agents, and chlorophylls, which are blood builders and detoxifiers. Rich in bioactive antioxidants such as phenols and flavonoids, the peel also helps fight oxidative stress and protects nerves from degeneration.

To state the obvious, avocados are nutritious. But if you think nutrition is limited to the yellowish-green part of the eaten fruit, with the peel and seeds often ending up in the trash can, drop that thought. The peel is even more nutritious.

In addition to providing the fruit with natural resistance to pests and diseases, thanks to its antifungal properties, which decrease as the fruit ripens, the peel of 1 avocado proves to be a pantry for nutrients.

If you cut open a ripe avocado, you will notice that the skin color varies from yellow to pale green in the middle and dark green towards the skin. And when we talk about the peel, which is nutritious or sometimes even more nutritious than the fruit itself, we are talking about this dark green side.

Nutritional Facts and Benefits of Avocado Peel

Carotenoids and chlorophylls
Carotenoids act as antioxidants and have anticancer properties, while chrophyllyl is a blood substitute that detoxifies your body, fights bad breath, and prevents cancer.

It was found that the total concentration of carotenoids and chlorophyll in the fruit is highest in the dark green part of the fruit closest to the skin and furthest from the seed.

It was also observed that the levels of carotenoids and chlorophylls did not change significantly during maturation.

Phenols and flavonoids
Avocado skin is also rich in other bioactive compounds such as phenols and flavonoids. Phenols are antioxidants that prevent oxidative damage to biomolecules such as DNA, lipids, and proteins. Oxidative damage plays a role in chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Plant phenols are able to interfere with the cancer process, potentially leading to a reduced risk of cancer.

Flavonoids - These are antioxidants that exhibit anti-inflammatory, anticrotic, antidiabetic and antitumor activity and protect nerve cells from degeneration.

The peel of an avocado contains a significantly higher amount of biologically active compounds than the fruit. For every 100 g of fruit, there are about 0.815 mg of carotenoids, 410.2 mg of phenolic compounds and 21.9 mg of flavonoids, while every 100 g of peel contains 2.585 mg of carotenoids, 679.0 mg of phenolic compounds and 44.3 mg of flavonoids.

How to eat avocado peel
Since these beneficial chemicals have been found to increase the closer you get to the peel, don't peel it. Don't stop at the yellow fleshy part. Take out the contents of the fruit with a spoon deeper, and scrape out as much of the green part as possible.