I have to admit right now, that I don’t like avocados. Seriously. I don’t.

It’s not that they’re bad, exactly. It’s more that they’re not actually good. And they’re a pain in the butt if you don’t eat them immediately because they oxidize about as quickly as apples, but taste worse after they’ve gone brown.

But they’re practically superfoods.

1 avocado provides approximately 1 cup of “meat”, which has over 35% daily value of vitamin k, 30% DV of dietary fiber, 25% DV potassium, 24% DV folate, 23% DV vitamin B6, 21% daily value of vitamin C, and 20% DV pf copper. Keep in mind that those numbers are approximate- but I’m sure you can see the value to those with weak immune systems (vitamin C and B6), who are pregnant (folate), or who have heart disease (potassium).

Avocados, as are egg yolks and spinach, are a good source of lutein- which helps prevent macular degeneration. And, even though they’re a fatty fruit and comparatively high in calories, the fat is the healthy kind. Not to mention that avocados can help prevent breast cancer.

The one thing you need to be wary of, is if you have a latex allergy, you may not be able to eat avocados. If you’re able to eat bananas safely, avocados should be fine, but proceed with caution.

Perfectly ripened avocados don’t have a strong flavor, and some varieties are stronger than others. If you don’t like the flavor of avocado alone, you may want to consider one of the varieties that don’t have a strong flavor, such as the Pinkerton or Bacon avocados, and hide it in other foods.

As perfectly ripened avocados are soft, they can be easily blended into smoothies (or even milk shakes), soups, spread on sandwiches, mixed into hummus, or snuck into almost anything. Even a hamburger.

Unripe avocados, however, don’t have a very good flavor. I don’t know how to describe it since avocados don’t really taste like anything else. You’ll know fairly quickly, though, as a ripe avocado can be sliced open easily, and an unripe one will resist. Lightly squeezing the fruit before cutting should let you know, as a ripe one will be firm but give a little (and the Hass variety turns a purpley-black), and an unripe one will simply be firm.

Over ripe avocados aren’t too good either. If you see brown lines running through the pretty green flesh? You can simply cut around the brown, but often it’s too late and the brown is all through the fruit. Also, if you cut into the avocado and a, shall we say pungent aroma? hits you… throw it into the composter and pick up another one. A proper avocado doesn’t smell much at all, so just avoid the nasties.

Now, just because I don’t like the taste, and tend to hide mushed up avocados in other foods doesn’t mean that you won’t like them. Some people are madly in love with avocados and will eat them plain, straight from the tree! There are a lot of varieties, so experiment!

Tags: avocado, Nutrition Information, Tuesday Nutrition