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Avocado

Are avocados good for you?

Avocados are extremely healthy. An EAT ME avocado mainly contains unsaturated fats. And avocados are also rich in vitamin B6 and copper.

How conscious are you of your daily eating habits? Does your diet contain fruit and vegetables every day? All the experts agree: a responsible diet includes 250 grams of vegetables and two portions of fruit every day. And that is the minimum recommendation, so eating more fruit and vegetables is even better for you! But is every variety of fruit and vegetable suitable as an ingredient in a healthy meal? What about avocados?

The avocado is undoubtedly popular! The green-brown, pear shaped fruit is rapidly conquering the Netherlands. And that is partly due to the versatility of the soft, creamy flesh. And certainly because of the beneficial effects avocado has on your health. The EAT ME avocado is, for example, very rich in unsaturated fats. You know, the kind of fat that is good for our body. If you increase your intake of unsaturated fats and decrease your intake of saturated fats, you will see this reflected in your cholesterol levels: they will go down.

Do your body a favour, with an avocado

You will come across them in a large variety of recipes, from breakfast and lunch to dinner. Real foodies never skip a day. There is a reason why it is perhaps the most popular exotic fruit in Western Europe. We are talking about the avocado, that brown-green fruit that is conquering kitchens everywhere. And rightly so. Avocados are not only absolutely delicious, they also turn up on super food lists with great regularity. If you're watching your health, EAT ME avocados are simply a must-eat.

Fun quiz question: is the avocado a fruit or a vegetable? Experts tend to disagree on this sometimes. Per the official definition, the avocado is a fruit, even if it is also seen as a fruiting vegetable sometimes. That's because you will often find avocados next to cucumbers and tomatoes on the shelves. The Nutrition Centre sees it as a vegetable, because the avocado is usually eaten as a vegetable.

Is avocado a fruit or a vegetable? At last - the definitive answer!

Fruit or vegetable? An EAT ME avocado is technically a fruit but it is eaten and used as a vegetable. So you can include it in your daily portion of 250 grams of vegetables.

We all agree that the avocado is tasty, healthy and versatile. And that explains its sky-rocketing popularity in European cuisine. Lovers of culinary dishes praise its soft, creamy flesh. But there's one thing we never seem to agree on: is the avocado a vegetable or is it fruit?

Officially an avocado is classed as a fruit. But that is only half the answer. Botanically, avocados are defined as being fruit, but they are generally used in kitchen as a vegetable. So they offer the best of both worlds: fruit and vegetables. There are more of these ‘fruit vegetables’. Tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines are also well-known examples of fruits that are categorised as vegetables for culinary purposes. And the melon: it's actually a vegetable but is eaten as a fruit.

Are you conscious of your diet and do you make sure you eat at least 250 grams of vegetables and two portions of fruit every day? Then you can include the avocado as part of your intake of vegetables.

How to store avocado

An EAT ME avocado can easily be stored in the fridge for a few days. Already been sliced open? Then store it an airtight container.

Even though in the opinion of many the avocado is one of Mother Nature's finest creations, you don't always need all the avocados you bought right away. Or you have only used half an avocado on a sandwich. Luckily for you, you can enjoy avocados for a little longer. And a few tricks will help you give half an avocado a second chance. How?

EAT ME avocados can be stored perfectly well. But do keep them in the fridge. This will extend their usable life for a few days. But do they really need to be eaten right now? Do you have 10 minutes spare? Then whip up a quick guacamole, the delicious dip invented by the Mexicans. And no worries, even a novice cook can make it!

How to tell if an avocado is ripe

An avocado is ripe when it feels a little soft if you gently squeeze it. But far easier: look out for the purple EAT ME sticker, then you can be sure the avocado is ready to eat.

With some fruits it's easy to tell when you can eat them. A banana is ripe when it is no longer yellow. The red of a strawberry says it's time to enjoy me. And an apple is always ready to eat. But what about exotic fruits that might not be so familiar? The avocado, for example, is an exotic that is well on the way to becoming a ‘must eat’ staple on European menus. But it's also an example you have to think about carefully: eat today, or leave it for another few days? So, we present: a one-part EAT ME course: how to become an expert at identifying a ripe avocado...

Knowing precisely when an avocado is ripe will help you avoid disappointment. For example, brown, discoloured flesh when you slice open the avocado. Yuck… and what about when you've already cut into the flesh to discover that it's still rock hard! Help! How do you recognise a good avocado at the point of sale to avoid any disappointments at home?