Avocados have become pretty common in the past few years. There are few places you can go for lunch or online without either seeing them on the menu or hearing someone talk about how great they are.
If you’re a fan of juicing, then you’re probably wondering if you can use your favourite fruit (yes, it is a fruit) to make some tasty juices, alongside your favourite veggies. This article will give you the answer, along with some information about avocados themselves and the best ways to enjoy them. We’ve also curated some recipes for you to try out yourself.
Well, Can You Juice an Avocado?
In short: no. Avocados are great because they’re packed with healthy fats but their oily texture doesn’t lend itself well to juicing. If you were to try putting an avocado in your juicer, you wouldn’t find any juice at the end. It just has the wrong texture and composition – sorry, folks!
There is some information out there that suggests if you have the right juicer and use the right type of avocado, then getting avocado juice is possible.
People have suggested that the Omega VSJ843R is one such machine that can juice avocados, provided they are unripened/really firm; cut into quarters; and put into the juicer slowly, one at a time. You can even juice the pit in this way if it is also quartered. Generally, the rule is that firmer fruits will juice better than soft ones, so this method should work with a powerful enough juicer. However, please avoid the skin of an avocado, it tastes really bitter and nasty.
While juicing avocados in this way would mean that your juice would include this antioxidant-packed superfood… unripened avocados do not taste good. And neither do the pits. So while it is possible, this may be a good instance to ask that even though you could, should you?
However, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options.
Alternatives to Juicing
The ultimate avocado juice recipe may just be a fantasy, but the avocado smoothie is alive and well.
Avocados lend themselves really well to smoothies, since their natural creaminess can make any smoothie seem luxurious. Smoothies are generally thicker and can offer a different experience to your usual green juice.
If smoothies aren’t your thing, though, avocados are a really versatile ingredient. They have a unique, fresh taste that would go great with those leafy greens. My personal favourite, and the favourite of most people I’d imagine, is using avocados to make guacamole. With a little bit of spice, this dip tastes fantastic!
It only takes a couple of slices of ripe avocado added into your favourite smoothie recipe or popped on top of your salad to not only fill you up, but to reap all of those health benefits that avocados bring.
3 Health Benefits of Avocados
The huge number of health benefits is one of the reason that avocados have appeared on everyone’s radar. They’re hugely nutritious and packed with goodness.
1. They’re the right kind of fatty
Across all of the food we eat, there are bad fats and good fats. Bad fats are saturated fats, usually found in a lot of dairy products and are generally linked with high cholesterol levels.
Avocados are really high in the good fats – monounsaturated fats, to be exact. These ‘healthy fats’ help keep your heart healthy, which is the opposite of saturated fats.
The fact that avocados are high in monounsaturated fats is also a good thing if you’re focused on weight loss. These healthy fats leave you feeling full, without the drawbacks of saturated fats, so you’re less likely to snack on junk food. However, don’t overdo it – 2 avocados a week is plenty for anyone looking to lose some weight, since they have a high calorie count.
Keeping up? Because there are a lot more!
2. They’re packed with potassium
If we’re worried about getting enough potassium, generally we’ll turn to bananas (coincidentally, another fruit that doesn’t juice well). However, avocados are high in this mineral too. Potassium has been shown to reduce your blood pressure, as well as reducing your risk of suffering a stroke by around 25%.
Potassium also acts as a diuretic: it helps you pee! This is a good thing, since potassium makes sure that any excess fluids in the body get flushed out properly, which relieves pressure on your heart and other organs. It also means that eating avocados will help you prevent bloating – yet another benefit!
3. They improve how well you absorb nutrients
If you’ve gone to all the effort of making a delicious, healthy vegetable juice, you want to be absorbing as much of the goodness as you can. Eating avocados can help you do that. They boost how well your body absorbs a group of nutrients called carotenes (alpha carotene and beta carotene are common), as well as Vitamin A.
The list really goes on and on: high levels of fibre, Vitamin E, Magnesium, Vitamin K. Avocados are just packed with the good stuff and are a must if you’re interested in maintaining a healthy diet. Including avocados on a weekly basis will be the easiest detox you ever tried!
5 Avocado Smoothie Ideas
So how do you begin adding this magic ingredient to your fruit smoothies? We’ve put together a selection of avocado smoothie recipes that you can try at home, so you can start enjoying these brilliant health benefits.
Apple Avocado Smoothie – Well Plated
This recipe is everything you would hope for from a green smoothie: fresh, tasty and energising. It’s made with ingredients like frozen banana, honey, apples, spinach and a piece of ginger to keep things interesting!
The apple and spinach in this recipe give it a cleansing effect, which makes it ideal for the detox we mentioned earlier. This smoothie is also made with almond milk, making it a great vegan option (depending on how you feel about honey).
There is also the option of adding things like chia seeds or protein powder to this smoothie if you’re interested.
Blueberry Banana Avocado Smoothie – Well Plated
Not your traditional green smoothie this time, but this magical mixture is excellent for keeping your skin healthy! The blueberries are an excellent source of Vitamin C, which means you don’t just have to rely on your everyday orange juice. This smoothie also includes almond milk, so it’s an excellent dairy-free addition to your diet.
Grapefruit Almond Smoothie – Green Blender
This smoothie is a little different, since one of the key ingredients is grapefruit. This smoothie is zesty and tart, without being bitter. Its ingredients are a little more unusual, with things like swiss chard and coconut water (if you were looking for more creaminess, you could consider substituting this for coconut milk). This is a super healthy smoothie recipe, especially if you’re daring with your tastebuds. This is also another vegan-friendly smoothie.
Super Green Detox Smoothie – Watermelon Board
Why settle for your plain fruit juice when you could have something this fun with your breakfast? This smoothie has watermelon in it, which due to its high water content is really hydrating and refreshing. It also has kale – another super nutritious ingredient which, when paired with a superfood like avocado, will make you feel like a superhero. This green smoothie is also an excellent option if you have little ones that maybe don’t enjoy eating their leafy greens with dinner.
Avocado, Mango and Papaya Smoothie – Love One Today
This is another tropical pick from all of the great smoothie recipes out there. This one includes fruit like mango and papaya, as well as coconut milk and low-fat yogurt. The creaminess of this one is unrivalled by the other smoothies in this list! If you were feeling decadent, you could even substitute the yogurt for ice cream… but you didn’t hear that from me.
All of these smoothies are great if you’re interested in weight loss, since the healthy ingredients and satiating avocado mean that you’re getting all the nutrients you need, without the empty calories of chips or sugary candy. Trust me, your blood sugar will thank you for it!
All in all, avocados are an essential addition to anyone’s diet. They’re incredibly nutritious and can be blended into or chopped on top of just about anything: breakfast, lunch or dinner. They aren’t the ideal candidate for juicing, but their health benefits outweigh this big time.
Although some people have said that avocado juice is possible, I think that the trouble you have to go to juicing avocados just isn’t worth it, especially when there are so many great alternatives out there.
So, whip me up an avocado smoothie! I’m going to have glowing skin, low blood pressure, healthy blood sugar and great cholesterol levels in no time.
Curious about whether you can juice banana’s too? Check out this article.
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