The avocado and your diet

I love summer, not only because of its relaxed schedule, but because of all the delicious fruits and vegetables that are readily available. Summer produce is so delicious it hardly needs any human intervention. Drizzle a little olive oil, top with fresh herbs and a bit of sea salt and your tomatoes, zucchini, squash, plums, peaches,…you name it, is delicious.

This summer I’m indulging, without guilt, in avocado. You may remember the days of the low-fat diet, when a dip of guacamole was considered a diet sin, but avocado is seen in a friendlier light these days. Researchers, whose study was published in Nutrition Journal say avocado is a powerful appetite suppressant. People who eat an avocado half with their lunches enjoyed a decreased desire to eat over the following 3 hours by 40%.

So how can you enjoy this satisfying, diet friendly fruit?

• You can do the obvious: 
• Add it to your salads. 
• Find a soft avocado, mash it, and use it on sandwiches as a substitute for mayonnaise
• Experiment: 
• Make your morning smoothy thick and creamy by adding avocado. 
• Make a healthy and filling pudding for snack.
• Make one of my favorite summer sandwiches:
•  Layer with tomato, onion, and cucumber in a whole wheat pita. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with feta cheese and season with sea salt and pepper. Throw it in the toaster oven until the bread is crisp. Yum!