Apricot and Avocado Chia porridge - Raw

Apricot and Avocado you say?? It is actually really good!!

Today is a little celebratory day to me, it marks my first full week (7 days) of eating Raw Breakfasts!! I returned to my Chia Porridge i initially started with, it is quite easy to put together and i love putting in bits and pieces of nuts and seeds and fruits i can find :) In my 1 Tbsp of soaked Chia seeds i put in my pepitas, chopped almonds, LSA, sunflower seeds, coconut, cinnamon and 3 chopped dried apricots. But after coming back from the gym i wanted something more to the porridge but not your typical fruit... so i tried avocado! Not wanting to overdo it to start with,I mixed in about a tablespoon of avocado which made it more moist with all the seeds i added. Avocado doesn't have a big flavour and i was inspired to add it after reading a raw recipe for a chocolate mouse the other day containing mostly avocado and cacao powder! I quite enjoyed my 7th raw breakfast and like i said before, strangely enough the apricots and avocado went really well together!

Avocado and Apricot Chia Seed Porridge 

It was also my first day back at work while on uni break, so i fixed up a raw salad lunch but topped with a favourite of mine... smoked salmon! Salads topped with salmon, tuna or egg will become a foundation of my lunches as they are so healthy, nutritious and the seafood and eggs are a great source of extra protein with all the exercise i keep up. Plus in all reality going raw is tough, and it should be balanced with other nutritious foods we love that aren't raw but still have their added benefits!

Needless to say there was also avocado in my lunch salad as well! So what is so good about avocado?

These tasty “alligator pears” as they are often referred to make a great fat burning treat as well as promoting overall good health.

Many people mistakenly dismiss avocado's from their diet simply due to its high calorie count. With 322 calories per avocado it is quite high in calories, but that’s not the entire story! Avocados have 54% of your recommended daily value of fiber, which gives this fruit much of its fat burning abilities.

Sometimes called the alphabet fruit because just one avocado provides your body with vitamins A, C, E, K and B6 so you can be sure you’re getting plenty of body nourishments with each bite. Other vitamins found in relatively large quantities in an avocado include riboflavin, niacin, folate and pantothenic acid. 
One avocado also has 975 mg of potassium!

Health Benefits of Avocados

The folate contained in avocados is mostly responsible for reducing the risk of heart disease, especially compared to people who have a diet low in folate. The vitamin E in an avocado has also been linked to a healthy heart, something needed to keep you successfully burning fat all day long.

It is also extremely helpful in preventing both rheumatoid and osteo-arthritis as the many different antioxidants nutrients such as vitamins C and E and manganese found in avocados help reduce inflammation, a major concern for sufferers of either type of arthritis.

Perhaps the biggest health benefit of avocados is that by adding avocado to certain foods, you can improve your absorption of nutrients. This means that when you combine other fat burning foods with avocado, you can improve your nutrient absorption up to 400%!

Avocados provide many general health benefits, in addition to its fat burning benefits due to its vitamin E and glutathione, which protects you against tons of diseases including several forms of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and cholesterol. Avocados also help reduce the signs of aging, regulate blood sugar and promote eye health.

Summary - 10 health benefits of avocado's

Prostate Cancer Prevention - Avocados have been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer.

Oral Cancer Defense - Research has shown that certain compounds in avocados are able to seek out pre-cancerous and cancerous oral cancer cells and destroy them without harming healthy cells.

Breast Cancer Protection - Avocado, like olive oil, is high in oleic acid, which has been shown to prevent breast cancer in numerous studies.

Eye Health - Avocados have more of the carotenoid lutein than any other commonly consumed fruit. Lutein protects against macular degeneration and cataracts, two disabling age-related eye diseases.

Lower Cholesterol - Avocados are high in beta-sitosterol, a compound that has been shown to lower cholesterol levels. In one study, 45 volunteers experienced an average drop in cholesterol of 17% after eating avocados for only one week.

Heart Health - One cup of avocado has 23% of the recommended daily value of folate. Studies show that people who eat diets rich in folate have a much lower incidence of heart disease than those who don't. The vitamin E, monounsaturated fats, and glutathione in avocado are also great for your heart.

Stroke Prevention - The high levels of folate in avocado are also protective against strokes. People who eat diets rich in folate have a much lower risk of stroke than those who don't.

Better Nutrient Absorption Research has found that certain nutrients are absorbed better when eaten with avocado. In one study, when participants ate a salad containing avocados, they absorbed five times the amount of carotenoids (a group of nutrients that includes lycopene and beta carotene) than those who didn't include avocados.

Glutathione Source - Avocados are an excellent source of glutathione, an important antioxidant that researchers say is important in preventing aging, cancer, and heart disease.

Vitamin E Powerhouse - Avocados are the best fruit source of vitamin E, an essential vitamin that protects against many diseases and helps maintains overall health

And the Avocado nutrition? 

Carbohydrate - Avocados are not a great source of carbohydrates and would rather fit in the category of low-carb foods. A whole avocado weighing 135 g on average, contains 11.8 g of carbohydrates and 9.2 g of fiber, which leaves only 2.6 g of net carbs.

Protein - Avocados are not a great source of protein. A whole avocado contains 2.7 g of protein. 

Fat - You may have already known that avocado's although great fat burners are high in fat themselves, BUT this is essential healthy fat!!  Fats in avocados are mostly monounsaturated, a type of fat that has been shown to be heart-protective, as explained by the American Heart Association. A whole avocado grown provides a total of 21 g of fat, of which 13.3 g are monounsaturated, 2.5 g are polyunsaturated and 2.9 g are saturated. 

Furthermore, just like other fruits avocados are high in water (75%) but remain nutrient dense. They are rich in fibre and healthy fats while naturally low in sugar and sodium. To name a few nutrients half an avocado can give the average adult:

5g of fibre (17% of adult fibre needs)
36% of the recommended dietary intake (RDI) for folate (great for pregnant women!)
31% of RDI for vitamin K
24% of RDI for vitamin E (antioxidant)
15% of RDI for potassium