The plight of the Avocados
 

Avocados are high in calories and high in fat, however, it is the "good" fats and I would assume "good" calories...

Some people I know who count calories do not count their fruits and veggies when they are raw...but avocados are so high in calories shouldn't they be counted? I love raw, unprocessed avocados with lemon juice but I have been avoiding them because they are 289 calories and as much as 31 grams of fat! (but that is NOT saturated fat that is mono and polyunsaturated fats). That is an entire meal for me sometimes...I eat whole dinners with less calories than an avocado!

So does anyone here eat this fruit? Do you think this would be ok to add to my diet or should I treat it as a special treat because of the high calories.

Thanks in advance!

hi
I eat the Hass( dark) avocado, but not whole, because of it s calories. My family eats salads a few times a week and avocado is always used, so I eat a few slices. For example, last night I eat a serving of refried black beans( 100 calories), 2 corn tortillas( 135 calories) and a tomato and avocado salad( more tomatoes than avocado ( maybe 130 calories? ) . I don't eat red meat or poultry so avocado is really healthy for me. Just like any food, too much can be a bad thing.
cheryl

Hi. I see that you are fairly new here. Welcome to 3FC. And congratulations on your 13 lb. weightloss!

I count calories and I most certainly without a doubt "count" my fruits and veggies. Since that's a large portion of what I eat - why would I NOT count it? Those calories add up - big time. So if you are indeed "counting caloires", IMO you've got to count all of them, otherwise what would be the point?

I love avocados, love, love, love um. I could easily polish off 2 or 3 of them quite easily - but I don't. Counting calories and being healthy in general is all about setting limits. So, I have avocado about once a week. Usually diced in a salad with hearts of palm, chopped tomatoes, red onion, lemon juice and fresh garlic. Or I make guacalmole and serve it with cut up veggies.

For me it's a very high calorie food, a good food no doubt, but I think it needs to be eaten in moderation. I would not sit and eat a whole avocado (anymore). I feel for the same amount of calories I can get much more food, volume wise and therefore be MUCH more satisfied.

I never knew avocados were so high cal. I was thinking of making guacamole this week but wow. :(

I always count fruits and veggies too, and yes, they can sure pack a punch. ~_~

Yuppy, I also count my fruits and vegetables but am a lot more stricter on the fruits. Vegetables I don't usually count for is Lettuce and cucumber but the rest are all written down. I never never never (this is silly of me I know) count ketchup but its because I don't eat it often and when I do it's quite minimal. Well anyways, I love love love love avocado and when I make a salad for everyone I try to give myself a minimum of a tablespoon of it chopped.

I "count" my fruits and vegetables, too... some days, they're most of what I eat. Avacados DEFINITELY count! They're sooo delicious, but fattening. It is "good" fat, but it's still fat. ;) Fruits can be high in calories, too, from the natural sugars...that doesn't make them bad for you or anything, though the healthiest fruits are those lower on the glycemic index.

Florida avocados are lower in fat and calories than California (Hass). However, they're much harder to find. I haven't seen a Florida avocado in ages. Which stinks because those are my favorite.

Yes, avocados are high in calories, but that doesn't mean you have to sit and eat the whole thing. I love sliced avocado on sandwiches or salads and I usually eat about 2 ounces at a time because the California avocados are about 50 calories an ounce. Florida avocados are about 30 calories an ounce.

I eat small amounts (1/8 avocado) on a regular basis and count the calories.

And here's a link to some nutrition information on the avocado :)

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...odspice&dbid=5

I buy small avocados at our local farmer's market and eat 1/4 of one at a time (on salad usually.) Guacamole is yummy too, but I only eat 1T of it when I have it.

I agree with what everyone is saying, I count my fruits and veggies too. I count everything that goes into my mouth! That includes lettuce, celery, and all the other very low-cal veggies. I also count my supplements (75 cals worth) and coffee (12oz has 7 calories.) I realize that some things are super low in calories, but they can add up over the course of the day. Plus I like to track the vitamins and minerals in the food I'm eating.

Originally Posted by zenor77:
I agree with what everyone is saying, I count my fruits and veggies too. I count everything that goes into my mouth!

I realize that some things are super low in calories, but they can add up over the course of the day. Plus I like to track the vitamins and minerals in the food I'm eating.

Yeah, what she said! ;)

This morning I had 1/5 an avocado on a flourless sprouted grain English muffin, 1 sliced roma tomato, baby spinach leaves and a veggie sausage, sprinkled with garlic powder and nutritional yeast. YUM!!!

I always count fruits and veggies and yes some can add up quickly! Sometimes the only difference between maintaining your weight and losing 1-2 pounds a week is a matter of a few 100 cals a day. Very important!

Thanks
 

First, thank you for the welcome and congratulations. I love this site I have been using it for some time just for recipes and then when I decided to lose weight I was using it for calorie counting...and recently I started posting :)

Thank you also for your feedback...I too count every calorie that goes into my mouth, even the 7 calories for 1 cup of lettuce in my salad :) I need to...if I didn't I wouldn't lose any weight I am sure.

The avocado advice is helpful, it is hard though because no one in my family eats it but me so I feel so much would be wasted. How do you keep leftover avocado fresh? Or do you just toss it? At 1.50 - 2.00 a piece around here I would hate to throw it!

Thanks again for the welcome :)

I never have a leftover avocado in my house, as everyone loves them! My DH and DD will eat them with a spoon and some seasoning if we have enough of them.

Making a spread or guacamole or squeezing lemon over the half that still has the pit in it and covering it will help keep it fresh though. ;)

We also don't have the problem of leftover avocado in my house. Each and every one of the 5 of us loves it. Which is a great thing for me, cause then I don't overeat it.

Even when I make guacamole WITH lemon juice and by some miracle there is a little leftover I find it doesn't keep very long - even with the pit in it. The lemon juice trick over the cut avocado I haven't had much success with either. But hey, it's worth a shot I suppose.

At those prices and given the fact that some just might go to waste, you've really got to think if this food is worth it for you on a regular basis. Perhaps, this would be a great food to eat when you go out. Lots of places I know of now are making great sandwiches with avocado and fantastic salads as well.

I eat avocado once or twice a week with my lunch--I make a particularly delicious wrap with salmon, avocado and some pico de gallo. Yum! I usually squirt some lemon juice over the leftover avocado and then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. It gets a bit brown around the edges, but it is just fine for a week or two. You can turn the rest into guacamole, instead, but you still need the lemon juice, the light plastic wrap and a willingness to eat browned avocado :)

:lol: Just read this thread after I ate 1/4 avocado for lunch. I love them with just a little bit of ff sesame ginger salad dressing. I am another who could just sit and eat one with a spoon, but I don't (anymore!). I usually have it in a salad, or on a sandwich, or today along with some salmon and a hb egg (cleaning leftovers out of the fridge :) ) My DH will not eat them, so when I do buy one, I'm committed to eating the whole thing, so I have it 3-4 days in a row, then not for another few weeks.

I think the key to the lemon juice trick it to make sure you leave the pit in and don't remove the little stem piece either (if you can help it. I do this and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap without problems.

My hand has healed since my avocado/knife incident (trying to get the pit out)! DH and I love them in our southwest salads, but the kids don't like them at all. I try to buy small ones so I don't have leftovers because a leftover avocado just sits and calls my name! Once I took a tiny bit of tuna (like a 3 ounce can) and drained it and put it in the avocado half and ate that for lunch. Yum!

Originally Posted by malinakrome:

The avocado advice is helpful, it is hard though because no one in my family eats it but me so I feel so much would be wasted. How do you keep leftover avocado fresh? Or do you just toss it? At 1.50 - 2.00 a piece around here I would hate to throw it!

This is one of the reasons I don't buy them as often as I'd like to. No one else but me will eat them and I usually only eat 1/2 at a time, then I've got another half that usually sits until I have to pitch it out. The half that I don't eat right away, however, I leave the pit in just in case I decide to use it for something else and then put it in the fridge. I'm real picky about my avocados, though, I like them room temperature, not cold. So once they go into the fridge, 9 times out of 10 I don't eat the rest of it.

I count my lettuce too, my cucumber, etc. Though I never even thought of my supplements! Darn. Now I have to figure that out LOL.

Ketchup is normally around 20 cals per tablespoon, which can definately add up. Mustard is supposed to only be five, though.

I too love avacado, but no one else around me eats it, so I do end wasting quite a bit when I buy one. But I only used about a TBspoon per serving.

I'm the only one in my house that will eat avocado plain (my SO will eat guacamole, but not an avocado by itself). I usually eat no more than 1 oz per day (which is about one-quarter of a Hass avocado and 50 calories). I try to pick out the smallest avocados I can fine.

Generally I leave the skin on the avocado and just cut away one-fourth of the fruit at a time, leaving the pit intact. Then I put the part that I'm not eating (that still has the pit in it) in a ziploc bag and throw it in the fridge. The part exposed to the air will brown, but it still tastes fine. It's a pretty thin layer that turns brown, so you could just cut it off if you don't like it.

When I buy an avocado, I try to make sure I have four meals planned with it (e.g., 4 lunches) so that I'll use the whole thing in a week or so.

And I count all my veggies, but I'm pretty fast and loose with lettuce and radishes. I suspect that my dinner salad has more than the cup of lettuce I count for it and I know it has more than the ounce of radishes I count. It's stupid; lettuce and radishes have so few calories, I don't know why I don't just count them accurately. Everything else (including cucumbers, spinach, and definitely any fruit) I weigh and count accurately.