Add avocado to recipes if you crave extra flavor and vitamins

Technically, an avocado is a drupe?a fleshy stoned fruit. Other drupes include cherries, peaches, mangoes and olives. It?s the strange leather-like skin of the avocado that seems to set it apart in a special class?strange. The skin of mostly all avocado varieties is textured like fine, grained leather but colors range from almost black to a medium green.

Some are higher than others in oil content. All are interchangeable in avocado recipes and all are jam packed with nutrients. In addition, all varieties share one universal attraction: a creamy yellowish flesh that encases a big round seed. It?s the buttery-looking flesh that is used in avocado recipes. The seed is not consumed. However, it is easily carved with basic sculpting tools from art supply kits. And the seed grows readily if partially submerged in a small glass of water placed in a sunny window.

Avocados used in recipes

? Hass?most common
? Reed?good all around
? Bacon?great for salads
? Pinkerton?firm and aromatic
? Harvest?super for soups
? Zutano?sensational in salsa
? Ettinger?fragrant and smooth
? Nabal?weighs a pound or more

Avocados are powerhouses full of vitamins and taste appeal. They have no sodium or cholesterol. Their vitamins support heart health and add to the body plenty of minerals?copper, iron, calcium and more. Today, California is the origin for some 80 percent of sales in the United States. The drupes go well in avocado recipes featuring seafood, vegetables, chicken and also cream sauces.

Avocado Crab Cakes

1 pound crab meat
1 avocado, chopped
® cup finely chopped onions
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
ª cup olive oil

Instructions: Combine crab meat, avocado and onions. Add egg, lemon juice and half of the bread crumbs. Toss gently. Shape into 6-8 cakes. Coat the cakes with remainder of crumbs. Fry both sides in olive oil or butter until golden brown. Serve warm on an attractive platter or some pretty kitchen wear.

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Avocado oil has healthy components

Nowadays, healthy eating includes utilizing high-quality foods. Avocado recipes contribute to that plan. Keep on hand a bottle or two of avocado oil, to make it easy to use the luscious liquid for cooking or for frying any food that needs high heat. The oil has loads of anti-oxidant Vitamin E, plus monounsaturated fats?good fats.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) nearly 70,000 acres are dedicated to growing avocados in California, Florida and other warm-natured states. More than a million tons annually are harvested. Sales spike for Cinco de Mayo?and in advance of Super Bowl Sunday party planning. But avocado recipes steadily are making their way into everyday use and avocados by mail are available all year long.

Avocados fill the bill with flavor

Some folks enjoy avocados with just a spritz of lemon juice or the lightest fluff of salt. There is something decadent about prying out the big seed and laying into a beautiful, ripe avocado with nothing more than a spoon or a specially designed avocado tool that simultaneously scoops and slices. But there are a multitude of avocado recipes that are so easy to make.

? Add 3 or 4 rough-chopped avocados to any salsa recipe
? Mash a couple avocados and add to any salad dressing
? Puree a few avocados and stir into soups
? Blend mashed avocados into garlicky mashed potatoes
? Slice avocados and serve with mozzarella and tomato

Nutrients in avocado beautify the hair

The benefits of avocados also are available for uses unrelated to food. Generations attest to the beautifying properties of this rough-looking little drupe. Inside the avocado are marvelous oils and rich nutrients that contribute to women whose healthy lifestyles also include healthy beauty practices.

Avocado recipes for the hair are simple. A homemade once-a-week treatment for hair entails mashing one avocado and mixing into the pulp about three tablespoons of avocado oil?or olive oil. Massage the mixture into the hair and let some time elapse?up to one-half hour. Avocado-based beauty products contain pure essences and are available in many forms?shampoos, lotions, creams and fragrances.

Avocado oil also enhances the skin

Using some avocado recipes topically may result in smoother skin. Consider trying some fragrant avocado hand butter. Or, make your own magic with equal parts of avocado oil and olive oil. Apply to the face and later rinse away with lukewarm water. Likewise, a treatment for the hands can be beautifying. Coat the hands with the oil combo. Slip on some rubber gloves that are not too tight. Ordinary household-cleaning style gloves seem to do a good job of retaining the oils during this beauty treatment, courtesy of Mother Nature.