A post I can finally dedicate to one of my favourite fruits… AVOCADOS! Yes, they’re fruits guys! Berries particularly. These round or pear shaped fruits have been making their waves to the supermarkets lately and I’m always excited about purchasing them when they’re on sale. Here’s the lowdown on these exotic and interesting fruits.

Avocado is a tree native to South Central Mexico and also parts of California. There’s a wide variety of avocados out there with amusing names like Hass, Hopkins, Jessica and Fuerte. Regardless, this fruit packs a lot of nutritional punch and health benefits.

Fun Facts about avocados :

1. The early evidence of avocado’s being eaten is in Central Mexico around 5 million years ago (this is what research says)
2. Other names of avocado include Alligator Pear and Vegetable Pear.
3. Fresh avocado pear is very rich source of potassium. 100 g of fruit provides 485 mg or about 10% of daily-required levels. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids where it helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure, countering bad effects of sodium.
4. You can use avocado as a natural beauty treatment. It’s high in vitamin C, E and antioxidants. The oleic acid content in the fruit helps reduce redness, softens and hydrates the face.
5. Avocado trees can’t pollinate by themselves. If they’re gonna bear fruit, they need another avocado tree nearby.
6. In order to ripen avocados quicker, put them alongside bananas. Banana’s release ethylene gases which help ripen the avocados. Alternatively, you can also use a brown paper bag to trap the gas.

Moving on…. Prior to making any avocado dish, we gotta pick the right ones of course. If you’re planning to eat the avocado like a week ahead, it’s best to get an unripe one instead one of one ready to go.  If you’re having trouble selecting, here’s a chart that you can’t go wrong with.

Credit : http://hostthetoast.com

Once ripe, you’re ready to create your masterpiece. The usual thing I would do is take half an avocado, mash it up, add salt, pepper and a splash of lemon juice to stop it from turning brown. spread the mash on toast and it’s ready to eat. If you want to make your toast more filling, plop on a sunny side egg on top.  Easy peasy! If you’re feeling fancy, you can try this too…

Credit : http://veganistlife.tumbltr.com

Other creative ways of eating this dish is with pasta or a salad. For the pasta sauce, it’s prepared the same way how pesto is prepared. Ingredients include basil, spinach, avocado, olive oil, parmesan cheese and lemon juice. These ingredients are then grinded up in a blender or food processor. It’s like a creamy, healthy carbonara. Make it dairy-free, gluten free and whatever you prefer.

 Credit : http://jocooks.com

If you’re ever skeptical, there’s always Pinterest for customization and references. I hope people out there will get creative and experimental with this unique fruit. There are just various ways to enjoy it… slice it, blend it, mash it or use it as natural beauty treatment for your hair and skin. Good Luck!

Credit : http://http://www.nakumatt.co.ke/