Eat Heart Healthy with Avocados

For National Heart Health Month, I have partnered with Aguacates Frescos – Saborea Uno Hoy to raise awareness that there are simple steps we can take to live a heart healthier lifestyle. Adding fresh avocados to your meals can be a tasty addition and it gives you heart health benefits. Eat heart healthy with avocados.

Disclosure: I am a spokesperson for Aguacates Frescos – Saborea Uno Hoy.

I love to eat avocados in salads and as guacamole. The fun part is that you can serve it differently such as mashed, sliced, cubed, blended, frozen (popsicles), or stuffed with a black bean salad or ceviche. Avocados add this bright green color to any dish, and it combines well with many dishes.

The avocado fruit is also ideal for making creamy dressings for salads. Just combine avocado, lime juice, cilantro, and some Greek yogurt, blend it all up and it is ready. It gives you a new rich flavor to your salads. There are also other ways to add avocados to a variety of meals to add that creamy and rich flavor to your dishes.

Do you know that fresh avocados are a fruit?

Yes, avocados are a heart healthy fruit and they are a good source of fiber.  One-third of a medium avocado provides 3 grams of dietary fiber and 6 grams of naturally good fat.

By the way, not all fats are good.

There are two types of fat: the unsaturated (good) and saturated (bad) fats. Limit saturated fats as they can cause cardiovascular disease whereas unsaturated “good” fats can have heart-healthy benefits. The body needs some dietary fat to help with the absorption of nutrients and good fats do not raise cholesterol levels, in fact, they help lower bad (LDL) cholesterol levels.

Here is more good news:

Avocados contain monounsaturated fat and as part of an overall healthy diet, avocados help reduce blood cholesterol levels when used to replace saturated fats and this may lower the risk of heart disease. I’m sure you are wondering how to make this work in your diet.

One simple step to eat more heart healthy.

A great start to help reduce the risk of heart disease is to swap out bad fats for good fats like those found in fresh avocados.

Avocados contain mostly the good unsaturated fats making them a great substitute for foods high in saturated fat.

5 ways to eat heart healthy with avocados.

1. Use avocados as toppings: Top your salads, tacos, pizza, oatmeal, or eggs with avocados such as in this Grilled Salmon Taco recipe. Also, slice avocados on top of enchiladas. Use less fatty toppings.
2. Use avocados as spreads: Mash avocados and spread on tortillas, toast, or smear on your sandwich to make a creamy filling. Use less fatty spreads.
3. Use avocados in smoothies: Add avocado in smoothies to add fiber which also helps with weight management. Avocado will add a creamy flavor and help satisfy you longer.
4. Use avocados in baked goods: Avocados can substitute solid fats in baked recipes and in pancakes such as in this Avocado Banana Pancake Stacks. Skip the solid fats.
5. Use avocados in soups: Top your soups and chili bowls with avocado. It can also be used to thicken soups such as in squash soups. Skip the fatty ingredients usually added in creamy soups.

I also had the pleasure to chat with Kathy Cano-Murillo, YouTuber, blogger, artist, entrepreneur, and owner of Crafty Chica via her podcast to share some ideas for swapping out bad fats for good fats. Here is the podcast episode:

https://craftychica.com/2020/02/heart-healthy-ideas-using-avocados/

We shared that eating a heart healthy diet can be done with some recipe makeover ideas and creativity in mind. Adding avocado instead of fatty spreads or toppings offers heart health benefits while not sacrificing satisfaction of your favorite dishes.

These avocado recipes are available in the new Healthy Swaps for the Heart Featuring Fresh Avocados cookbook, free to download at SaboreaUnoHoy.com/heart  

Grab the cookbook and enjoy some flavorful ideas.