I can’t remember ever eating avocado as a child. I don’t even know if they were available then. But in more recent years this pear shaped ‘berry’ has taken my liking more and more. I notice myself trying to sneak in avocado with all kinds of dishes. And as I learned more about the nutritional powers of these fruits, I knew I didn’t even have to feel guilty eating them. Quite the opposite in fact, because they are perfect against fatigue, depression and poor digestion. Something most of us should not feel ashamed to admit of having felt one or two of those symptoms. And there’s room for important vitamins A,B,C and E in there too. And you must have heard it’s great for your skin (some people rub it on, but I think it’s more affective to actually eat it) because it stimulates the production of collagen. Now which women over 21 doesn’t want that?!

And about the fattening image: the avocado oils are mostly mono unsaturated, the kind that lowers LDL (“bad”) cholesterol but maintains HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Avocados, being in fact a plant food, have no cholesterol. But above all it just tastes really good. The creamy texture of a perfect ripe avocado (especially the Hass variety) compliments just about any dish. Yes, there are some calories (round about 300 so I am told) in the avocado. But eating it is so fulfilling that, like eating dark chocolate, you don’t need to eat that much to thoroughly enjoy it anyway.

So again the o so good and the healthy are in perfect harmony here. I love it when things come together like this. Enjoying something that’s good for you, what could be more pleasant?

While reading about avocados on the internet I found that my advocating the avocado can be supported in more ways then one. Wikipedia tells me that the English name for the avocado was borrowed from the obsolete version of the Spanish language word for lawyer, now “abogado”.

Favourite avocado ways

On a bagel with mozzarella and tomato
In a salad with cucumber and seared tuna
In a mashed potato and raw endive dish
With wild! salmon on sour dough bread
In a summery Greek style salad with wild spinach
In a salad with boiled potatoes
With a sauce of yoghurt, honey and herbs
Not forgetting guacamole of course

Tip: I heard Sophie Grigson on BBC Saturday Kitchen say that if you want to quicken the ripening of your avocado, you should put it in a brown paper bag, together with a potato. I searched the web and found that you can also add an apple or a tomato. Store at room temperature. I usually tell my vegetable supplier: “Give me one that is perfect tomorrow”.