Avocados

At one point in my life, I swore up and down that I hated avocados. Truthfully, I was terrified to eat them because they contained fat, but that’s now no longer the case. I happily eat two a day and probably would eat more if I didn’t think that would be a bit overkill.

Regardless, I am asked quite regularly about how I buy so many avocados at a time (14 usually) and keep them from all getting ripe at one time. Therefore, it seemed about time to write a simple blog post about it! (And yes, the people at the grocery store know me as “avocado girl.”)

First off, when determining whether or not an avocado is ripe, you’ll want to look at the color. Ripe avocados are typically greenish-brown. Very overripe avocados are completely brown, while under ripe avocados are bright green. You can also pick off the little “stem” on the top of an avocado to reveal some of the flesh. If it is a light green, it’s probably ripe. If the stem is hard to remove or it’s brown underneath, it’s either under ripe or overripe.

Second, you can simply feel the avocado. The perfect avocado has a little give when gently squeezed. An under ripe avocado is rock solid, while an overripe one is mushy.

When it comes to buying and storing avocados, I always make sure to grab a few that are ripe or close to becoming ripe and several that are under ripe. This way, they won’t all be ready to eat at once. Plus, you can also store avocados in the fridge to make them last longer. I’ll store both under ripe and ripe avocados in the fridge to prolong their shelf life.

If I ever have an avocado that I need to ripen in the next day or so, I’ll stick in a bag with apples or potatoes or a banana. If I have the actual potato or apple sack, I’ll just throw it right in there. Otherwise, I’ll use a brown paper bag. I’ve also literally peeled an under ripe avocado, cut it up, and put it in the microwave to make it softer, although I really don’t recommend that method unless you’re desperate!

Otherwise, I leave my avocados in a fruit bowl on my countertop. If a few get ripe before I can get to them, they go in the fridge. After I eat my two each day, I replace those with ones from the fridge that are under ripe so at any given point, I have about 4-6 sitting on my counter. That is unless I bought a ton of under ripe avocados, in which case there is 14 in the bowl!

As far as eating avocados, I love to put them on top of any roasted veggie or eat with a little sea salt by itself. They obviously can be made in to guacamole or even pureed to resemble mayo. The possibilities are endless!

What are your favorite ways to eat avocado? Or, *gasp* are you an avocado hater?

xoxo Olivia