From Health magazine
Although sometimes maligned for its fat content, the creamy, heart-healthy avocado can play a very versatile—and nutritious—role in your diet. Here are a few facts about avocados.Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable, and have more potassium than bananas.
The Aztecs, among the earliest harvesters of the avocado, used it as a sexual stimulant.
Avocados are cholesterol-free but have 30 grams of fat, most of which is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.
Hass avocados (the most common variety) are available year-round. They’re ripe when the skin is nearly black and the fruit yields to soft pressure.
Tip: In the bag
Contributing Editor Robin Miller, host of Food Network’s Quick Fix Meals With Robin Miller, offers this tip: To speed ripening, put avocados in a brown paper bag with an apple for a few days at room temperature. The apple releases ethylene gas, a ripening agent.
