Avocados – friend or foe?

I was recently talking to a family member who couldn’t believe that I eat avocadoes. “Aren’t those just loaded with fat? How can you eat those?" They said.

The monounsaturated fat in avocadoes provides you with "good fats" that are very difficult to get in the typical American diet. Monounsaturated fats can help protect your heart by lowering LDL (or bad cholesterol) while raising HDL (or good cholesterol). They also contain fiber and the phyonutrient beta-sitosterol, which also can help maintain health cholesterol levels and has been shown to promote eye health.

What about a good source of Vitamin E? Avocadoes have the highest fruit gram-per-gram content of this powerful antioxidant. One recent Japanese study showed that avocadoes also helped support the liver.

So don’t shy away from avocadoes. They do the body good! Here’s one of our all-time favorite recipes!


Guacamole

What you’ll need:

•	2 avocado, mashed
•	½ cup onion, diced fine
•	2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped fine
•	½ tsp cumin
•	½ tsp salt
•	Pinch of garlic powder
•	1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
•	1 hot pepper diced (or ½ pepper)

What to do:

1.	Mix ingredients well in bowl.
2.	Garnish with lime wedges.
3.	Serve with Mexican steak and eggs, in a sandwich wrap, or with baked tortilla chips.