Food Thursday: 10.18.12

We seem to go through a fair amount of avocados in our house.  Not only do we find them tasty, but they are nutritious to boot.  We like that here.  Get the most bang for your buck in the calorie department.  Half of a medium avocado is about 140 calories and, while it does have 13g of fat, little of it is saturated.  Like everything else, use moderation.


Avocados have been said to have a positive influence on your HDL, the good cholesterol.  If you are like me and have trouble remembering which cholesterol is the good one, think H for healthy.  L could stand for...well...I don't know.  Maybe Loser.  For something so creamy, you wouldn't expect much fiber, but each serving of one half fruit (yes, they are a fruit) has 2g of fiber.  

Avocados are a climacteric fruit, meaning they ripen off the tree.  Can you name another climacteric fruit?  That's right.  Well done.  The banana.  It's hard to find ready to eat, perfect specimens in the store, but look for the darker green to black ones that have a slight "give" when pressed.  If you aren't going to use them in the next 24-36 hours, buy a brighter green one and either leave it on the counter until ripe or place it in a paper bag.  This will speed the process.  It would seem you have a small window for perfection, so keep an eye on them.  If you are using half, leave the pit in and squeeze some lime over it to deter browning in the fridge.  Don't wait long though.  These don't last.

I use avocados in sandwiches, salads, omelets or just by themselves with some sea salt and a spoon.  Oh yeah.  Don't forget guacamole.  Which is the inspiration for this recipe: a deconstructed guacamole.  Today I impart you with my latest favorite sandwich.  I wish I had a picture for you, but I devour them too quickly to get in a photo shoot.  Here is a simple, quick recipe for my A.L.T. Sandwich.  Gone is the bacon in favor of a healthier fat... our buddy, the avocado.

A.L.T. Sandwich

Ingredients
1/3 of a Haas Avocado sliced thin (click HERE to learn how to slice an avocado)
2 toasted slices whole grain bread, such as Pepperidge Farm 9 Grain Natural Whole Grain Bread
1 thin slice of onion (preferably red onion or Vidalia)
1/3 medium tomato, sliced thin
1/4 cup of spring mix lettuce or any lettuce of your preference
1 lime wedge
1 pinch (1/8 tsp) of sea salt (I like Maldon flakes.  They are large and crunchy, adding both flavor and texture)

Method

Do I really need to tell you how to assemble a sandwich?  Nah.  I will say that if you find this too messy to eat, make it open faced.  Once you have layered on your ingredients, just squeeze the lime and sprinkle your salt.

Nutritional Data:
310 calories
12.6g fat (2.5 saturated) 
12.7g protein
49g carbohydrates
14g of fiber
548mg sodium

Cya next time,
M

What I ate today and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Grape-Nuts cereal w/toasted almonds, banana and almond milk
Lunch ~ A.L.T. sandwich
Snack ~ a cup of cream corn soup (no dairy in this)
Dinner ~ some 4-bean salad, a veggie burger on an english muffin w/chipotle mayo, about a dozen shoe-string sweet potato fries and pickle
Night out ~ 3, 71 calorie Kaliber non-alcoholic beers.
Exercise ~ none