The Avocado - What an Amazing Food

Way back in the early 80's I was on a business trip to Oregon. My company had a large project going on and I needed to be on site to manage it directly. That meant that I was going to get to know the people that I was working with at the job site. There was a gentleman that led the Process Engineering Group that I had become friends with who also liked to keep his body healthy and fit. We began jogging together and having dinner afterwards. One evening I was in his kitchen looking at a food poster that he had pinned to the wall. The poster was all about the evils of fat and how it needed to be removed from your diet completely. The poster showed a picture of an avocado and said that it was a worthless piece of food that should never be eaten.

I stared at that pic of the avocado and thought to myself, "I just don't buy it. How can it be worthless, when it tastes so good? I'll bet in a few years, science will catch up with God and find great value in that little ole avocado." At that point in my life, I didn't know much about food. I certainly didn't do any research as the internet had not yet fully manifested for public use. I was just like everyone else, taking in only what the "experts" were telling me through various channels. Today we all know otherwise about whole foods and how much our bodies need, not only the avocado, but other sources of great fats to keep us healthy and fit.

What are some other great sources of fats? Glad you asked. There are many foods that contain O-mega 3 rich fats that help our bodies. Fish, nuts & seeds, oils, and some dairy products will benefit you well.

In the fish category salmon, tuna, lake trout, mackerel, and herring are great sources of fat and provide our bodies with essential fatty acids that we can only get through our diets.

In the Nuts & seeds category, my all time favorite is cashews. Others are Almonds, walnuts, and don't forget natural peanut butter. Some seeds that are worth bringing into your diet are raw sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds (buy these whole and grind them before use for the best benefit). All of these are able to provide your bodies a full complement of healthy fats that are good for your heart.

In the oil category, my favorite to use is olive oil. Other good choices of oils are sesame, avocado, walnut, canola and flax seed oils. These contain Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) and are liquid at room temperature. Try experimenting with different oils with different foods to find out which ones you prefer. My family likes to just dip bread into walnut oil and balsamic vinegar mixed. It's a great after school snack and gets their brains ready for homework.

In the dairy category, my favorite is eggs. I just love to eat a couple of eggs fried with a little pam sunny side up. I put them over a piece of turkey sausage and a piece of bread on a regular basis. I just don't seem to get tired of having this for breakfast. Other foods are whole milk, cheese, and grass fed beef. If you shop from local sources for these products they will be higher in omega 3's and you will gain a greater benefit.

In my family, my husband is the main grocery shopper and cook. He has taught all four of my boys to follow in his foot steps. My #2 son is an expert at making a family favorite, guacamole. He makes sure to put in at least four beautifully ripe avocado's in his recipe. We all love it when his guac dip is sitting on the table at dinner time.

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Jen Thorne is an accomplished wife, mother of five, business women, and church leader. She has overcome many places of brokenness in her own life with God's help. She loves to help others by creating peace in their chaos. You can read more from Jen at http://www.jenthorne.com.

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