Reasons to love avocados: Vitamins, minerals and–yes!–guacamole

The mighty avocado has a lot going for it.

While not low in fat, it’s the good kind of fat, and it’s loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. This leads nutrition experts to lump it in with many of the “superfoods” we should all be eating. So, if you hate kale, there’s still hope for you.

What you might not know is that there’s more than one kind of avocado. The type you typically see in most supermarkets is the Haas avocado, notable for its bumpy skin. Most of these are grown in California.

The smooth-skinned avocados, sometimes called Florida avocados, are much larger than the Haas variety. They’re also lower in fat, though many chefs prefer the more dense Haas avocado for our favorite food–guacamole.

We’re guessing that you know the basic ingredients for guacamole. Two avocados, squeeze in half a lime (give or take), finely dice a garlic clove (you may omit this) and a slice of white onion, add a touch of salt, and you’re good to go. Unless, of course, you like the taste of cilantro. If you love it, chop up about a tablespoon, and toss it in. And no purist would neglect a diced jalapeno. If you’re not keen on heat, replace the jalapeno with a bit of chopped sweet green or red pepper.

And, speaking of other things we like to toss in guacamole, a search of great guac recipes suggests adding one or two of the following:

• One tablespoon of sour cream
• Half a diced tomato
• Two tablespoons of chopped bacon
• One-third cup of cheddar cheese
• Half a chopped mango

Before you pull out the tortilla chips, put your chef’s (and thinking) hat on. Nothing is wrong with a fine chip, but we’re also keen on toasted pita slices or pita chips. Veggies can be dunked in the dip, as can shrimp.

Finally, remember that if you have five ripe avocados, there’s no need to stop at guac. Top most any soup with an avocado to improve the flavor; likewise with soup. And any South American dish is best served with chopped avocado, from tacos to tortilla soup.

We have just one suggestion for all those avocado fans. Buy yourself the OXO 3 in 1 avocado tool, $9.95, crateandbarrel.com (pictured below). The blade slices the skin, the pitter digs out that pit and it’s designed to perfectly slice the fruit. Enjoy that high-fat fruit in good health.