We’ve all heard the old adage “an apple a day helps keeps the doctor away.” That may have held true in the past when the apple was about the size of your fist and it was grown organically. But things have changed and nowadays and apples are #2 on the Dirty Dozen on EWG.org. If you are not familiar with the Environmental Working Group, you should check out their site. Getting back to the apple…
When I was young, I could go pick an apple of an apple tree and eat it right there in the field. The worst thing you had to worry about was finding half a worm! Today, things are much worse. Not only are the apples sprayed with pesticides that are harmful if ingested, there are long term health issues with the possibility of those chemicals being carcinogenic. And because we should eat the skin for all of its fiber content, it has to be “decontaminated” in order to make it safe to eat! Certainly washing your fruit isn’t a difficult obstacle to overcome but the idea that it may not be completely free of pesticides even after a bath in apple cider vinegar or lemon essential oil isn’t enough to give me the warm fuzzies to eat a conventionally grown apple.
Many apples are now super-sized just like the rest of our food. So instead of eating a small or medium apple, we aren’t satisfied until we have one that’s the size of a small melon! So instead of eating a small apple for a treat and getting a couple of grams of dietary fiber that help control the fructose levels, we go for the super-sized one that has almost three times the amount of sugar content. The combination of pesticides and higher sugar content make apples less of a choice for my snack unless I find small, organic apples from a grocer that I can trust and know the source of the food.
In this age of ever increasing rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s (referred to by many as Type 3 diabetes), I say the new adage should be “an avocado a day helps keep dementia away.” If you check out the EWG Clean 15 list you’ll see avocados ranked #1 as the fruit produced with the least amount of pesticides. Besides it comes packaged in its own nifty casing that you peel off and don’t eat. High in dietary fiber and low in natural sugars, it’s a no-brainer to take its rightful place as the fruit we eat daily. Loaded with lots of healthy fats that it’s the perfect food for brain health! So incredibly nutritious – loaded with all sorts of vitamins, minerals and heart healthy fatty acids!
The versatility of the avocado makes it my favorite choice for the fruit to add to my regular menu. It can be used in guacamole, soups, appetizers, smoothies and yes, even desserts. My favorite is Chocolate Avocado Mousse. I’ve added the recipe below. Try it and tell me how you like it. It’s my favorite.
“An avocado a day helps keep dementia away” and tastes good too!
- About 9 Medjool dates, soaked and pitted
- ¼ cup organic maple syrup (local is preferable)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 ripe avocados, mashed
- ¾ cup raw organic cacao powder
- ¼-1/2 cup water
- Place the pitted dates, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Add the mashed avocados and cacao powder and continue processing until the mixture is a creamy pudding texture.
- Scrape down the sides of the container.
- Add water until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.
- Store in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.
Vegan
Vegetarian
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