Organic Ettinger Avocados

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Organic Ettinger Avocados

Photo by Ashley Sabra Werbel @ashsabra

Written by Christina P. Kantzavelos

Persea Americana aka Avocados are just about every Californian’s favorite superfood. Their creamy, rich texture and mild flavor allows for versatility in both sweet and savory dishes. They can be used as a hip topping on toast, tacos, and nachos, or make the most excellent dip (hello, guac!). Avocados can add the perfect creaminess to any smoothie, or be used to thicken a dessert pudding. Although native to tropical climates, Callifornia produces 90% of the nation’s crop, and San Diego is the top producer in the state. 

Fun fact: They are from the same family (lauraceae) as cinnamon. 


Nutrition

The avocado fruit is high in heart-healthy fats,low in carbohydrates (2g) and contains 20 different vitamins and minerals. The fat is monsuosaturated fatty acid, called oleic acid that is likely responsible for its health benefits, as it’s been associated with reduced inflammation. This same fat is resistant to heat-induced oxidation, making avocado oil a great oil to be used for recipes that require high smoke points. In addition, they don’t contain any cholesterol or sodium, and are low in saturated fat. They are high in potassium which is linked to reduced blood pressure and helps maintain balanced electrolytes in the body. Avocados are also associated with lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels, weight loss, arthritis symptom relief, cancer prevention, eye health, and nutrition absorption

Fun fact: Avocados contain more potassium than bananas. 


Locating and Storing Avocados 

Avocados can range in shape, color and size. From round to pear-shapes, small or jumbo, green and black. They are often called alligator pears, which lends to them having green, bumpy skin like an alligator. The green-yellow buttery flesh inside the fruit is eaten, and the seed and skin is discarded. A perfectly-ripe avocado will often have darker peel, and will yield to pressure. Generally, it should be used within 2-3 days of purchase. An unripe fruit will have a brighter peel and not yield to firm pressure. An over-ripe or spoiled avocado will likely have deep indentations, and/or will feel mushy. Ripe avocados are best stored in the refrigerator in order to slow down the ripening process, while unripe avocados can be stored at room temperature to speed up the ripening process. 

Photo by Ashley Sabra Werbel @ashsabra


Crispy Oven-Baked Avocado Fries (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Photo by Ashley Sabra Werbel @ashsabra

Ingredients

4 Ripe, but Firm Organic (Ettinger, or Other) Avocados 

Dry Mix 

  • 3/4 cup Fine Almost Flour Almond Flour
  • 3/4 cup Cornmeal
  • 3/4 tsp Paprika
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

Wet Mix 

3/4 cup Cassava, or Gluten-Free Flour

1 cup Vegan Milk (I used Oat Milk)

1/2 tsp Salt 

1 tsp Garlic Powder

Part 1:

Preheat the oven to 475F. Combine all dry mix ingredients into one bowl, and combine all wet mix ingredients into the second bowl. The wet mix should have a similar consistency to thick waffle or pancake batter. 

 

Part 2:

Cut each Avocado in half lengthwise, then peel the skin off. Cut each Avocado half into 4 pieces, making a total of 8 pieces for each Avocado. 

 

 

Part 3:

Dunk each Avocado slice into the Wet Mix, and then place it into the dry mix to coat it evenly. 

 

Part 4:

Place all of the Avocado slices on either a greased or lined baking tray and cook for a total of 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and flip each slice, and bank for an additional 7 minutes.

 

Voila! Dip your avocado fries into your favorite dip. I dip mine into a chipotle mayo! 

 

Photo by Ashley Sabra Werbel @ashsabra

 


Alternative Avocado Recipes 

  1. Guacamole
  2. Avocado Toast
  3. Avocado Sushi
  4. Avocado Sweet Potato Tacos
  5. Avocado Ceviche
  6. Avocado, Kale and Blueberry Smoothie 
  7. Chocolate Avocado Pudding

 

We hope this post helped you fall in love with avocados all over again, and taught you something new. Please tag @sagemountainfarm if you decide to recreate the avocado fries or any of the listed alternative recipe ideas! Thank you in advance for shopping local, small, organic, in-season and supporting your local farmer. 

 


 

 

PATRICIA (CHRISTINA) KANTZAVELOS, LICENSED PSYCHOTHERAPIST

Patricia (Christina) Kantzavelos is a San Diego-based Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), life coach, and writer. She has over 10 years of clinical experience in a range of settings, including both outpatient and inpatient psychiatric services, acute inpatient hospital services (telemetry, medical/surgical, labor and delivery, ER, and ICU), insurance case management, assertive community treatment (ACT), home health, hospice, applied behavioral analysis (ABA) for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), disaster mental health, and private therapy and coaching. She likes to meet her clients where they are. She is warm, interactive, and treats everyone with respect, sensitivity, compassion, and does not promote the use of stigmatizing labels.
She specializes in chronic health conditions and trauma, which she understands first hand. Chronic medical conditions (i.e. diabetes, dysautonomia, EDS, Lyme disease, Hashimoto’s, mast cell activation syndrome, vasculitis, sickle cell disease, mold illness, etc.) often come with significant challenges, like fear, anxiety, medical PTDS, and may interfere with relationships and daily function. She utilizes various holistic evidence-based treatment modalities and practice-based evidence, contingent on each person’s needs and goals, with an added focus on mindfulness techniques, positive psychology, and strengths-based therapy. In addition, she provides life coaching, case management, and elder and disability care planning and support. She received both her BA and MSW from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and her MLIS from San Jose State University (SJSU). She is also a writer for Edible San Diego, and an award-winning gluten-free and health-conscious travel and lifestyle blogger, @buenqamino.

BuenQamino is a San Diego-based, health-conscious and award-winning gluten-free travel and lifestyle blog designed to inspire adventure and healthy living without limit. We’re here to support you in creating the path of your dreams, regardless of any dietary restrictions. We hope the articles, photos, and videos on this site will help you navigate through real and imagined obstacles and empower you to create your own adventure — or join in on ours! FIND OUT MORE

CHRONIC ILLNESS WARRIOR

As a chronic illness warrior herself, she understands the other side of the couch (or, screen), and how important it is to talk to someone who gets it.
She has battled with food sensitivities and various autoimmune diseases for decades, and in 2007 she was first diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). She was later diagnosed with celiac disease, and in 2018, she began experiencing new and debilitating symptoms, only be diagnosed with various autoimmune diseases and illnesses. In October of 2018, she thankfully found a Lyme literate doctor (LLMD)/rheumatologist and was finally diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease, co-infections, mold toxicity, and other ailments, which is when her healing journey truly began.
Her healing has included a mixture of eastern and western treatments, nutritional changes (organic, gluten-free, casein-free [dairy], alcohol-free, and mostly soy-free and refined sugar-free), as well as switching to non-toxic living, and clean beauty. She completed DNRS (neural-retraining therapy) and received EMDR trauma-informed therapy, as well as prioritized radical self-care, including journaling, painting, joining CoDA, meditation, and being out in nature as often as possible. She can’t stress how fierce the mind-body connection is, and how much mental health and trauma plays a role in chronic illness. From being couch-bound, and sensitive to just about everything (scents, food, EMF’s), she is now back in the world, hiking, and tolerating most foods, and scents.
Although she is still very much on the road to healing, she has made a conscious decision to choose an attitude and intention of thriving, over an obsession with surviving and hopes to share that with others.
Let’s work together to get to the root cause of your dis-ease, and invite wellness and joy.

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