Skinny Cado

If you like avacado, you may want to switch from the smaller nubby Haas variety to the larger and slightly more expensive Florida Avacado.  It turns out, the Florida Avacdo has 1/3 less fat for the same size portion.  I feel it has a slightly milder flavor.   They are larger than the Haas Avacado, so you get more to work with, per piece of fruit.

I love to serve sliced Avacado when we have fajita night or if I am serving a dinner salad as a meal.  Also, when ripe, it is slightly firm so it holds up well.  I normally slice out exactly the wedges I plan to eat, leaving the seed in place to keep the fruit from oxidizing.  If you are serving it on a buffet, you can squeeze and lightly toss with either lemon or lime juice, to keep the color bright.  For storage, when I have only used a few wedges, I wrap it with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap touches the flesh to reduce or slow oxidation.  I try to eat it within a the first few days of opening it. 

I find that eating Avacado (in moderation) when serving lighter fare, keeps me from returning to the kitchen a few hours later.  The fat is considered a healthy variety because it is monosaturated, similar to why Olive Oil is considered a good choice over vegetable oil.

Pictured, I ate these 4 slices on a Oven Roasted Turkey sandwich on Wheat Bread.  I used about 1 tsp of Mayonnaise and a small sprinkle of Kosher Salt directly on the Avacado.  It was delicious!!

My Skinny on Fat

Monitoring fat intake is a personal affair, I liken it to using the restroom and washing your hands. No one really knows what you did in there.

I sat in a meeting about 15 years ago where the speaker spoke on topics of eating and exercise. He discussed fat intake and fat cells. He explained that we form fat cells at 3 times in our life. The 3rd trimester (what the mother eats matters), between the ages 4-7 (what we feed our children at this critical time is highly important) and in times of heavy dieting. We can't control the 1st two but the third is tricky business. If you feel you lose weight and then gain it back and then some, you are probably right. You body forms more fat cells as its supplies are being depleted. If you gain weight, you have more cells to fill and more fat is in fact stored. Constant weight loss and gain is defeating the purpose. Excercise and a healthy diet of all food groups is always the best habit you can have. I have always had a very strong sense of both.

I have never deliberately cut fat out of my diet. I don't eat a lot of fried foods but I sautee with Butter and Olive or Canola Oil, I drink 1/2 & 1/2 in my coffee, and I only buy whole milk for my son and for my cooking needs. If you try to get by on a 1/2 grapefruit and a rice cake for breakfast, I think you will find you can't make it til lunch without a snack. If your snack is a bag of chips or cookies, which most often it is since we have the least access to the right foods, then it is my belief you would be best served having a real breakfast and omitting the snack.

From this long ago meeting the way it was explained was if you can't get from one meal to the next without a snack then you don't have enough fat in your diet. If your job is active that can be particularly true. I don't mean go crazy gourging on fatty foods, but set up a good mix of all foods including the amount of fat your body needs. Once I had a thin sliced low calorie bread with turkey and no fat cheese. What was the point, I was starving, it was as if I had never eaten lunch and guess what I did?

Some ideas might be to reduce the serving size and if you don't already, eat proper meals, begin to eat all 3 of them, and cut out all snacking in between. Another way to keep eating they way you like is to add excercise. Did you know you burn the same number of calories whether you run or walk a mile? I find if I excercise before I eat, it actually curbs my appetite. Grab someone you like to talk to and begin walking daily. It'll be good for eveyone!