Avocados: Fruit / Vegetable of the Month

Avocados are nicknamed the "alligator pear" and come in may varieties, most of which are available all year long. Californians are fortunate to have local access to avocados as 90% of our nation's avocados are grown in California, most in the San Diego area. This is not surprising, since avocados originated in the neighboring county of Mexico.

Avocados are a powerhouse of nutrition. Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats which have beneficial effects on blood cholesterol, raising HDL (good cholesterol) and lowering LDL (bad cholesterol). Avocados also contain compounds which are known to signal cancer cells to self destruct, compounds effective against liver damage, and contain the antioxidant lutein which promotes eye and skin health as well as immunity.

To speed the ripening process, tuck your avocados in a brown sack and check on them daily.

Baby Food
Avocados are becoming and increasingly popular choice as "baby's first fruit"- especially with the support of well known and respected pediatricians Dr. Bill and Jim Sears. The generous monounsaturated fats present in avocados are great for the developing brains and central nervous systems of babies.

The Savory
Avocados are technically a fruit, although in the United States they treated much like a vegetable in the culinary world. Generally speaking, avocados are usually eaten raw.
Mash up and use on sandwiches, salads, toast and crackers combined with your standard condiments or use avocados as a condiment alone or with a bit of lemon juice a salt.
Make a quick guacamole for dipping all kinds of food by mixing your favorite salsa with lime juice and chopped cilantro.

The Sweet
In the US and in many other countries, avocados are usually used in savory dishes, while countries like Brazil use avocados in sweet milkshakes and other delectably sweet dishes.
So......having already explored many of the savory ways to enjoy avocados, we decided to use avocado a novel way (novel to us that is)!

Avocado Chocolate Bread
from Kirbie's Cravings

We found the recipe made 5 small loaves

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups of white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup smoothly pureed avocado (we used 1 1/2 medium avocados)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Avocados need to be baked at a lower temperature. 
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Then add the egg, pureed avocado, yogurt and vanilla until smooth. 
• Mix in the dry ingredients in a separate bowl- salt, baking soda, flour, cocoa powder.
• Add dry ingredients to your creamed mix. Use a hand mixer set to low. 
• We added about 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut to our batter.
• Place in oiled pans. 
• We baked ours for nearly 1 hour. The recipe calls for 30-40 minutes. We are at a high altitude (5800 feet) so that may have contributed to the longer cooking time. 

Those who dared to try it -loved it!
Kids will love it too!

If you are a child care provider in California you can receive cash reimbursements for providing healthy food to the children in your care. If you are a child care provider in El Dorado, Alpine, Placer, Nevada or Mono county our agency can help you enroll in the California Child Care Food Program (CCFP).

Recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables varies with age.

Children ages 2-3 need   1- 1.5 cups of fruits and 1- 1.5 cups of vegetables each day.

Children ages 4-8 need   1-2     cups of fruits and 1.5-2.5 cups of vegetables each day. 

Children ages 9-13 need 1.5-2  cups of fruits and 1.5-3.5 cups of vegetables each day.

Teens ages14-18 need   1.5 -2.5 cups of fruits and 2.5-4 cups of vegetables each day.

Keep in mind that fruits and vegetables are rich in essential vitamins and minerals needed for optimum growth and development. Check out  CDC's fruit and vegetable calculator for an more accurate recommendation based upon age, sex, and activity levels.

Remember your plate.......