Avocado: The Superfruit

I love avocados. Particularly its creamy texture and the delicate and rich aftertaste. It is one of the superfruits with contain something of everything and has numerous health benefits. It will take me a day to write about its goodness and nutrient content, believe me there are loads. But for starters, let me pen down the 3 basic reasons you need more avocados in your diet; its fiber content, number of vitamins and minerals in it and fat. Don't freak out, this fat is exactly what you need; monosaturated. 

Here are some health benefits to keep you motivated:

1. This tops my list. You can put avocado to use as a facial mask (this mask works!)for cleansing, moisturizing or as sunscreen. 
2. Avocados reduce LDL in the body and increase HDL. Therefore, they keep cholesterol in check and keep the heart healthy.
3. They contain lutein, a carotenoid which are antioxioxidants.
4. It makes you lose weight. Yes! It contains soluble fibre which slows digestion of carbohydrates. So, have your avocados and you won't be feeling hungry anytime soon.
5. A friend of all Mommas-to-be. It contains folate which boosts healthy growth of the unborn baby.
6. They contain vitamins Bs, K, and E. What more can you ask for?
7. They have all the minerals. I cant even list them down.
8. They are awesome to taste.

They mostly grow in tropical climate with little care. But you are elsewhere, do not worry. These countries produce a lot of avocado and share it (export) with others too :). 

Some people take time to develop the taste for avocado. Its a bit too rich to be eaten as is. So, here is a simple recipe you can use to make an avocado spread. It tastes great with some wholemeal bread, nachos and pretty much anything you'd like to take it with.This is a lovely recipe for breakfast or snacks and takes just about 5 minutes.

Ingredients

1. Avocado: 1 ripe (you can increase the quantity as you like and relatively increase other ingredients)
2. Garlic pods: 2-3
3. Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp
4. Chillies: 1-2 (medium spicy); You can always adjust this according to your taste.
5. Parsley or cilantro: 1 tbsp (too much will overpower the flavour of the avocado)
6. Olive Oil: 1 tbsp
7. Canola Oil: 1 tbsp
8. Pepper: 1/4 tsp (preferably crushed)
9. Salt: to taste
10. A good blender (very important)

Method

1. Cut the avocado lengthwise in half. One of the halves will have a seed. Remove it by simply scooping it out.
2. With a teaspoon, scoop out the fruit (you will only be able to do this with a ripe one) in a blending jar. 
3. To avocado, add chopped garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley/cilantro, pepper, salt together and blend until a paste forms.
4. Slowly trickle canola oil while still blending.
5. Stop when the texture is smooth and creamy.
6. Garnish with a sprig of parsley and serve with wholemeal bread toasts or use as spread in a sandwich, that's pretty much your take.

Tip
Keep everything ready before pitting the avocado. If kept in the open for too long, the flesh will oxidize and turn brown, not very appetizing to look at.  If at all you had to attend to your baby who wants to pee after you've cut the avocados, here's the trick. Squirt some lemon juice on them. This will stop oxidization until you're back.

Tony Stark loves Pepper... and so do I

It was a typical day of Ozzie winter onset and my husband, just back for lunch, couldn't resist a couple of helpings of some steaming hot tomato rice, tempered with garlic and pepper. Truly content, he casually blurted out, "What would we do without pepper?" Yes, what would I do? It just had to be the ingredient in almost everything I cooked. I simply loved the hot flavour of pepper, just like so many countless people in the world. This spice with its delicately pungent aroma has the power to transform a tasteless poached egg into a culinary magnum opus. But it's just not that, pepper had been the most sought-after spice since ages and has been the reason behind all the exploration in the name of spice trade. Let me pen down a few pointers about pepper and why it is good.

1. To all the lovely ladies out there, it prevents the development of breast cancer tumours. 
2. Just a few teaspoons contain a whole bunch of nutrients like manganese, iron (now you know why Stark loves pepper: pun intended), vitamin K, fibre and calcium. You wouldn't want to miss it when it's so readily available in your kitchen. 
3. Black pepper acts as an inhibitor for intestinal gas to form, in other words reduces flatulence.
4. Pepper promotes sweating (diaphoretic) and urination (diuretic). That's a great thing for weight loss, cleaning of pores and detoxification.
5. Attention all green tea freaks, black pepper is an antioxidant. That means it can get rid of the free radicals in your body.
6. Black pepper is antibacterial.
7. It is a natural anti-depressant.
8. it improves secretion of hydrochloric acid which breaks down food during digestion. So it's a great digestive.
9. And above all, it has a very very low glycemic index.

Many of us don't like to chew peppercons when we find it in food. the solution for that is to keep a pepper mill handy. Crushing peppercons into fine or grainy powder is the best way to consume it. It has been proved that the outer shell of peppercon helps break down fat cells hence keeping the body in shape.