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at the market double chocolate cookies with avocado By Sarah Hedger
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ay on the Central Coast is a good time of year! There are heaps of options available at the local markets—almost too many to choose from, which is not a bad problem to have in the least. This month we can find first season cucumbers, spinach, squash, avocados, as well as fresh figs, strawberries and rhubarb (a beautiful combo). Green peas are available as well as spring herbs and a variety of lettuces, which hit their peak just before it begins to warm up for Summer. This month’s recipe, Double Chocolate Cookies with Avocado, takes avocados a new direction. I recently had one of the best (no joke!) cookies when I visited a cafe which was making their own version with white chocolate and macademia nuts. The magic happened when the lady working told me they had been made with all the butter being replaced with (what some may argue as the healthier option), the mighty avocado. Living in our area it is easy to take advantage and forget the great benefit as avocados seem to be available nearly year round, yet in some places further away, avocados can reach $3/ each, if they are available at all. Thus, we are very lucky! Avocados
M A Y
2015
Journal PLUS
are a delicious way to get “healthy” fats into our diet. It seems in our society there is still such a fear that any fat is bad fat, will make us fat, etc. How did we get on this (albeit inaccurate) path? Why is it some of the healthiest people in the world, are consumers of large amounts of healthy fats? Avocados are special because, aside from having more potassium than bananas, as well as folate, they contain nearly 70% of monounsaturated fat, in the form of oleic acid (similar to olive oil). Thus the fat in avocado is usually claimed to be healthy and labeled as a “good” fat. Recent studies have shown it to increase healthy cholelesterol while decreasing the “bad” cholesterol. Avocados also have healthy amounts of Vitamins C, K, as well as a range of B vitamins. On top of all that, avocados pack a punch of fiber as well, with 75% of their fiber being insoluble, and the remaining being soluble. Recent studies of the health benefits of avocado are suggesting that the fats in avocados aid in making the vitamins and nutrients in other foods to be more easily absorbed. Thus, avocados are a good thing! This month’s recipe is a simple treat. It is an enlightened version as it has the traditional butter component replaced with an equal amount of