Super weird title for this post, right?! I'm talking about eating AVOCADO pits. Apparently the lush, green meat inside an avocado isn't the only part of this superfood with health benefits. If you follow me on Instagram, you know how much I love avos. If you know me personally, you know that I absolutely hate wasting food. Since we eat at least two avocados per day in our household, I was so happy to find out that there is a reason save (and consume!) the seeds inside avocados.
Avocados are such a perfect food. They are so healthy and versatile. They taste good in smoothies, salads, soups, and dips...and the list goes on as on. You can use them on your skin and hair too! I've posted about avocado many times on my Instagram page because they are so good for pregnant mamas due to their high amounts of folate, which is said to reduce the risk of birth defects. Folate also promotes brain health (pregger or mommy brain anyone?! It's a thing.) One cup of avocado contains a quarter of your daily recommended intake of folate. Folate is important for the health of your cells, as it prevents cell changes that could lead to cancer. So everyone should be getting lots of it! Most people already know about the health benefits of avocados, but I just recently discovered the seeds are extremely healthy as well! There are many sites that support this, and according to OneGreen Planet, avocado seeds:
*have more antioxidants than most fruit and vegetables
*have magnesium and calcium, both which are super important for preggers and breastfeeding mamas
*have polyphenols like green tea
*have more soluble fiber than just about any other food
*may lower cholesterol and helps fight off disease
*may help with inflammation
*helps boost immunity and may prevent bacterial and viral diseases
*contain collagen, which is great for skin, hair and nails
Enough good reasons to give it a try?!! For me, definitely! FYI: Half a seed per day is enough to get the nutrients you need. Since I make smoothies daily (sometimes twice a day!) I figured the easiest way to eat it is to just add it to my smoothies. I saved my avocado seed from breakfast and cut it (easier than you would think), put it into my Blendtec and pulsed until it was chopped finely.
I took out about half of what was there and saved it for tomorrow's smoothie. Then I added some almond milk, kale, frozen coconut, blueberries, banana, Ground Based Nutrition chocolate protein powder and ice. Blended it all together and it was a tasty and healthy and afternoon pick me up. Rio loved it too!
Here are some resources if you want more info about the benefits of avocado seeds.
http://www.stethnews.com/2543/dont-throw-away-avocados-healthiest-part-its-seed/
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/why-you-should-eat-that-avocado-seed-and-how-to-make-it-tasty/
http://dailysuperfoodlove.com/4448/the-surprising-benefits-of-avocado-seeds/
I've had lots of people ask me for my grocery list lately. I thought about doing a post like this Instagram but it seemed too long and I didn't think people would really be interested. I tried to break this up into a couple different lists so it wouldn't be too overwhelming. Obviously I don't buy all the things listed here every week. Generally, the items I buy weekly are greens, veggies, fruit and eggs. I wanted to list all the fresh food, pantry items, and spices that I almost always have in my kitchen. One of my favorite past times is hitting up farmers market's and grocery stores, so you can find me here (my favorite Farmer's Market) and here pretty much every Sunday. Sometimes here on a random weekday if I need more veggies or fruit. My husband handles Rio on Sundays while I have a wild day of yoga and hitting up my markets. Am I a total weirdo that I would rather go to Whole Foods than the mall?! Anyway, I keep a list of these item in the notes section of my phone so I always have it with me. I created the list with check marks next to each item. When I run out of something, I erase the checkmark so when I'm at the store I can quickly glance to see which items I need. This is just my method to stay organized.
Here are things I always prefer to buy locally at my Farmer's Market: Try to always buy the best eggs you can find (free range is most important in my opinion!)
*Eggs
*Greens (Spinach, Chard, Kale, Collard greens) (Depending on what/how much have in my garden)
*Herbs (Parsley, Basil, again depending on my garden)
*Bone Broth (organic chicken)
*Avocados
*In season veggies (squash, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, are staples)
*Ghee
*Happy Pantry kombucha and fermented veggies (making my own these days but that's a whole other post!)
*Grass-fed cheese (only every so often)
Pantry-Here is what I always have in my pantry. I usually buy beans, oats, and lentils in bulk at Whole Foods Market and get my oils at Costco. Coconut, avocado, and grapeseed oils are my favorites to cook with. I also use olive oil in a lot in things I'm not heating. Pasta (lentil and brown rice), marinara sauce, black beans, northern white beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, Wild Planet canned salmon and tuna, organic canned pumpkin, organic rice, apple cider vinegar, raw honey, tea, steel cut oats, nutritional yeast, spices, coconut flour, coconut sugar, chocolate chips, Qia oatmeal.
Refrigerator-I always have apples, pears, greens, eggs, cucumber, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, fermented veggies, dates, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp hearts, mustard, grass-fed butter, and homemade nut milk and nut butter (I love making my own walnut and almond butter!)
Freezer-cooked garbanzo beans (easy to thaw and make a quick meal or hummus), lentil soup, bread, broccoli, peas, asparagus, Lima beans, quinoa, frozen strawberries, blueberries, pitaya or acai packets, Dr. Praegers super greens burgers, nuts (store in freezer so they don't go rancid!-almonds, walnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts.
Fruit basket-tons of avocados, bananas, lemons, oranges, and sometimes tomatoes
Veggie basket-Spaghetti Squash, sweet potatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric
Herbs- parsley, basil, cilantro
Snacks- organic dark chocolate, popcorn, goat cheese, crackers (these and these), hummus (homemade! recipe on Instagram)
I hope this gives you some ideas! Follow my Instagram @thepreggerspantry and Snapchat @preggerspantry for recipe ideas. Would love to hear your feedback and some of your kitchen essentials!
