Healthy Food #4 Healthy Salad + How-to guide to Choose and Preserve Avocados
Hello Steemians! It's me again on my Healthy Food Series! This year 2018, eating healthy is my
New Year, New Resolution!
Today's dinner is a bowl of healthy salad (without dressings) - lettuce, Japanese cucumber, cherry tomatoes, strawberry, and superfood, avocado!
Why Salad?
It's a cook-free meal packed with fiber, multivitamins and micronutrients that a human body need. The best of all, it took me 5 minutes to prepare for 2 person. Salad is the way for busy people who wants to consume enough nutrients and save time.
Why Do I Made It Myself?
One reason, it's dirt cheap. Less than 2USD per meal.
Nowadays it is very difficult to find a delicious and affordable salad. I used to visit Chai Bar and Salad Bar. Unfortunately, two of them were closed recently. I seldom visit franchises such as T.G.I.F or Chili's because their salad is overpriced.
That's Why I Cook For Myself
I can choose my favourite veggie and toppings for my entire week! (FYI, I can eat one thing for one week). Usually it would cost me about 5 to 10 USD depending on the ingredients. For example, this week I bought strawberry and it is about 3 USD for a big pack.
But, some fruits may be tricky to choose. Avocado is one of them.
How to choose a good avocado and preserve it?
A good avocado shouldn't be neither too ripe nor too raw. I will include a practical guide to choose and preserve. This guide is meant 4 days of avocados. You'll know why 4 days.
1. Color
When it's raw, most avocado species is light green or grass green. Best to consume within 3 - 4 days. If you want to eat later, store them in refrigerator for another 3 days.
When it's ripe, it's dark green or dark brown. Best to consume within the day.
Exceptions: Some species is ripe but is still green, so the second guide comes handy.
2. Hardness
Give it a quick squeeze (but not too hard).
When it's raw, most species is hard. When it's ripe, mostly are soft.
3. Taste
This is the final stage of knowing a good avocado.
When it's raw, it's bitter. When it's ripe, it's almost tasteless.
I can't finish an avocado in a meal, can I keep for tomorrow?
Yes, of course. The trick is really simple. Get a lemon.
Avocado easily oxidize when exposed to air and nutrients are lost as well. So, eat avocado when it's still packed with monosaturated fats which is good for our body.
Ingredients:
- A lemon
- A Container
- A knife
Method:
- Cut the lemon in half
- Squeeze the lemon juice on the avocado flesh
- Store the avocado and the other half of the lemon together in a container and seal it
- Store them in a refrigerator
Caution: Use only once. Oxidisation can only be delayed once.
That's all for today Healthy Food Series! If you have better suggestions, comment below, resteem and upvote!
Super healthy. Really loving the colours of fresh fruit and salad.
Thank you @lindale, hope you like it & Happy Chinese New Year! :)
You are doing good, keep it up! I like it!
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Thank you @newbieresteemday! I will :)
Do you make your own guacamole?
I did not know that the ascorbic acid trick worked on avocados, it also works on apples to keep them from browning. I also just learned that the word ascorbic is not in my browsers spell check dictionary, which I find odd.
Yea, apparently it works on avocados too. I just google around and find the solution and I'm happy to share it with other Steemian. I'm so glad it helps you too.
I plan to do guacamole on my own but not so soon, maybe a few months later. It has been on my bucket list for quite a while.