avocado-related stories
Potassium - Best Food Sources for a Better Diet
I was a cheerleader back in my high school days. When my squad was training for competitions, we really worked out long and hard. Many times, the muscles in our legs would visibly shake with strain. Our coach, restricted from recommending vitamins or anything of that sort, always brought bananas with her to practice to help us with muscle weakness and muscle cramps. Bananas aren't my favorite fruit, but I have to admit that they helped.While bananas are a decent source of potassium, there are many other options. Potassium-rich foods are important for your diet. Not only do they help with muscle cramps, but they can also have a positive effect on blood pressure. Good sources include:
- Avocado
- Baked potato with skin
- Edamame
- Papaya
- Sweet potato
- Salmon
- Tomato sauce
- Winter squash
- Cantaloupe
- Dried apricots
The Hot Latin Diet Isn't So Hot
The Hot Latin Diet by Dr. Manny Alvarez promises to provide the fast track to a "bombshell body." Sounds good, right? Who doesn't want to look hot -- and Latin food has a pretty high yum factor. Alvarez is an OB/GYN and a medical contributor for Fox News. He claims that Latin Americans have a long life expectancy and lower levels of obesity. Alvarez believes this is because of seven Latin superfoods -- tomatillos, garbanzo beans, avocados, chilies, cinnamon, garlic, and cilantro. The book suggests two phases that introduce these superfoods into the diet.
Helene Charlebois, a Canadian registered dietitian reviewed the book and has some concerns. While she agrees that the seven foods Alvarez includes in the diet are health-promoting and good additions to your menu, she says that the plan lacks good science, clear directions, and easy-to-follow menus and recipes. She says that The Hot Latin Diet is not a plan that can be easily incorporated into your lifestyle.
Quinoa and grilled zucchini recipe showdown
Healthy Recipes, Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
What? What do you mean I've posted a quinoa and grilled zucchini recipe before? OK, I admit it, I did the deed. But since these two recipes are so radically different, I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of the two recipes; surely you'll choose a favorite.The new quinoa and grilled zucchini recipe has eggs, pine nuts, goat cheese and a tantalizing yogurt avocado dressing, all providing protein and other nutrients. The original recipe I posted has garbanzo beans as added protein.
Most of the flavor in the original quinoa recipe is provided by curry spices, like cumin, paprika and turmeric. In this new recipe, fresh cilantro dominates for a very different flavor. Both recipes use healthy spices, so we're win-win here.
The planet's sexiest fruit
Let's talk avocados. A sexy fruit? Yes, says RealAge, when you consider that the fruit gets its name from the word ahuacatl. That's Aztec for testicle, which it apparently resembles (I guess, maybe). Because of its shape, the Aztecs thought it a powerful aphrodisiac. Maybe it is, I don't know. I do know it's a highly nutritious fruit, though.The avocado is one of nature's most perfect foods. Filled to the brim with vitamins E, C, fiber, some protein, and healthy fats, this sexy food, like oatmeal, is also good for the skin and is starting to show up in skin care products. It seems the antioxidants found in avocados help protect skin from aging and damage from the sun, smoke, and pollution. Avocados also moisturize.
Eat your avocados (check out this recipe) or put them on your skin (try this rejuvenating skin mask). Either way, you'll be nourishing your body.
Healthy recipe: Avocado gazpacho
Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
For all the love I have of tomatoes, I really can't stand a traditional gazpacho soup, or any tomato soup for that matter. It is just too... tomato-y! Gazpacho is so healthy, though, with all of those fresh, raw veggies.Well, I found a gazpacho recipe that will satisfy even the pickiest gazpacho eaters, as long as they like avocado. Mothering's Avocado Gazpacho recipe is the perfect answer for my gazpacho issues: it is basically traditional gazpacho, with avocado instead of tomato.
And the beauty of this cold soup is that you toss all the ingredients into a blender, press a button, and you're done. I have to think that with the healthy fats in avocados that this recipe adds a new layer of nutrition, too.
Healthy recipe: Mexican chopped salad
Healthy Habits, Healthy Recipes, Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
This weekend, our family went to a Mexican Fiesta party. I gotta say, not only were the food offerings delicious -- and plentiful! -- they were also healthy. From guacamole and veggies to slow-cooked beans with cilantro, there was something to satisfy every taste, and every nutritional need.My favorite had to be the Mexican chopped salad with honey lime dressing. This salad had greens, chunks and color, color, color. Everything is fresh and the balanced ingredients are oozing nutrition.
Talk about a masterpiece: romaine, black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, jicama, radishes, red pepper, and a delectable dressing, complete with fresh garlic.
Three salsas, all healthy and unique
Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
Salsa is such a wonderfully healthy condiment on its own, and makes a wonderful addition to grilled chicken and fish, brown rice and quinoa. Steer clear of the traditional corn chips, if you can, though!Do you sometimes get tired of the same old tomato salsa? I've found three unique salsa recipes to put a little spunk back into your salsa meals.
The first celebrates a favorite food of mine: the avocado. Epicurious' Asian Avocado Salsa lends a different twist to traditional salsa, with ingredients like soy sauce, sesame seeds and oil, jicama, and watercress. With a powerhouse main ingredient like avocado, this one is sinless.
How Many Calories ... in Guacamole and Chips?
When it comes to dips and dressings, we pretty much know which ones are the bad guys: Things that are cream-based, made with cheese, high in fat or all of the above. So when snacking, we healthy eaters tend to lean towards nutritious things with nutrients and fiber. Vegetable-based snacks like salsa and guacamole fit the bill, right?
Salsa, yes. But guacamole? Is it healthy? What do you think?
Salsa, yes. But guacamole? Is it healthy? What do you think?
A Magical Holiday Treat: Papaya, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
Healthy Habits, Vegetarian, Womens Health, Healthy Recipes, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Kids, Healthy Products and Reviews, Cellulite, Healthy Events, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Going to a Fourth of July bash this weekend? Straight from the Delicious Disney, The Disney Chefs with Pam Brandon book I bring you the most yumtastic side salad ever! Want to look like a fancy pants when you walk through the door at that party? This is the way to do it. I've posted the fairly simple recipe for Papaya, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad in my recipe book at Fitzness.com (page 37) for permanent access. Enjoy!
Tuna fish version 2.0
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
For someone who is as hopeless in the kitchen as I am, it's a bit audacious of me to be offering my second cooking tip here on That's Fit in two weeks. However, I felt this one was far too healthy -- and, of course, easy to make -- to not pass it along.Replace avocado for mayonnaise. That's really the gist of it. How easy was that? Oh, right ... what are we making? Tuna fish. Rather than mess around with the high sat fat content in regular mayo in your tuna fish recipe, replace it altogether with the very healthy monounsaturated fats found in avocados. Smush a half of an avocado and then mix it into two drained cans of tuna fish. Add a little bit of olive oil, a pinch or two of salt, maybe even some chopped tomatoes if you want to be fancy, and then mix it all together. Then, take a dollop and spread it across a couple of whole-grain crackers or a slice of whole-grain bread. Viola!! A healthier and arguably tastier tuna fish treat.
If you have any simple healthy recipes of your own, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
Snack on this
Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
For those of you who know your way around a kitchen, you're at a bit of an advantage over the rest of us when it comes to whipping up some healthy food.No word of a lie, two nights ago I actually screwed up Jello. How is that even possible? Evidently, it is -- because I somehow pulled it off. My goal was to make something tasty without throwing my meal plan into a tailspin. That was my plan, anyway. The result of that plan was a bowl of half-solidified raspberry Jello and red colored water. My culinary incompetence is the reason why I always get excited when I come across recipes for easy to make healthy snacks and meals. That's why I've been pretty psyched about trying this one for avocado toast, which I found in the Celebrity Diet Secrets book released by Men's Health.
To make avocado toast, you need:
- 2 tsp of honey mustard
- 2 slices of whole-grain bread
- 1/2 avocado, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 tomato, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 tbsp ground flaxseed
Sample-6
Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Time for another installment of Sample-6, where I offer an easy combination of meals and healthy snacks. In case you haven't heard, eating 5 to 6 small, healthy snacks/meals per day is the optimal way to increase your metabolism and lose fat through diet alone. What happened to 3 squares, you may be wondering? Gone the way of the dinosaurs.
With that, here's a great Sample-6:
BREAKFAST: Bowl of steel-cut oats; 1tbsp of almond or all-natural peanut butter; 1 glass of milk
MID-MORNING SNACK: Plain yogurt mixed with fresh berries; a handful of almonds
LUNCH: Tuna mixed with mashed avocado, olive oil and spinach, spread on toasted wholegrain bread
MID-AFTERNOON SNACK: Sliced cucumber, celery and peppers dipped in hummus
DINNER: Grilled salmon; steamed broccoli; small portion of brown rice
EVENING SNACK: 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese mixed with 1tsp of horseradish and a dash of pepper
For more great ideas for healthy snacks and meals, visit AOL Body by clicking here.
Dynamic duo
Healthy Habits, Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Some things just work better in pairs. Martin and Lewis, Hanz and Franz, Ramirez and Ortiz, Tom and Jerry -- all play very well off the other, creating a synergistic effect for laughs, baseball, and cartoon antics. But synergy of this kind can also be found in food; avocado and spinach seem to work better together than when eaten individually. The high monounsaturated fat content in avocado helps you absorb more of the nutrients found in spinach when the two are eaten together. Specifically, you'll absorb about five times more lutein and 15 times more beta-carotene, making each of these healthy foods worth enjoying together.
For a tasty way to audition this healthy pair, try adding a half an avocado to the top of your next spinach salad.
Wholly Guacamole comes out with 100 calorie packs
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
I hope this news makes you as happy as it just made me. Wholly Guacamole, my very favorite pre-made guacamole, has come out with 100 Calorie Snack Pack. Wholly Guacamole is made of avocados, spices, and not a lot else. It is "Fresherized," meaning that they use pressure to preserve the product, not chemicals. In the regular size, they offer Classic, Spicy, Pico Style, Guaca Salsa, and Organic. So far, the 100 calorie packs are just available in the Classic flavor, but hey, I have no complaints.
Why am I so excited about this new option? Avocados have all kinds of health benefits (and a guac like this is a good source of avocado), but they are a bit higher in calories and fat then most fruits and veggies. I know perfectly well how much guacamole I should put on my plate. However, when that bowl is in front of me, it's really, really hard to take just what I should have and walk away. Having only 100 calories in the packs (and they come in packs of three or six) is just what I need to help me with my guacamole portion control.
Snack on this: Avocado & Corn Salsa
Healthy Recipes, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
Are you thinking about upping your magnesium intake after reading yesterday's post about strong bones? If so, here's a snack, right from the pages of HEAL magazine, that you might try. It contains a recommended magnesium component: Avocado. Even if you're not so concerned with magnesium but just want a tasty treat, give this recipe a try.
Avocado & Corn Salsa
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes
1 medium avocado, diced,
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or not)
Toss all these ingredients together in a medium bowl, serve with tortilla chips, and there you have it. Rest assured, each of the eight 1/4 cup servings in this dish won't break your health bank with their 50 calories, 3 g fat, 5 g carbohydrates, and 37 mg sodium.
Avocado & Corn Salsa
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes
1 medium avocado, diced,
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or not)
Toss all these ingredients together in a medium bowl, serve with tortilla chips, and there you have it. Rest assured, each of the eight 1/4 cup servings in this dish won't break your health bank with their 50 calories, 3 g fat, 5 g carbohydrates, and 37 mg sodium.
