There’s just something about an avocado.

They have this magical way of making a salad seem complete, which is great because avocados are nutritional powerhouses. These little green gems are packed with over twenty vitamins and minerals, and are also loaded with healthy fat.

Avocados used to sort of be the black sheep of the fruit family. All the other fruit got invited to the low-fat party of the past few decades, while poor avocado sat at home alone. People were kind of afraid of avocados for a spell, because they have about twenty times more fat than most fruits--up to eighty percent of their calories come from fat. But as is so often the case with black sheep-- avocados aren’t bad so much as misunderstood. Half of the total fat in an avocado comes from oleic acid, which is the main fat found in olive oil: a healing, anti-inflammatory, heart-healthy, pretty awesome, fat.  So it is time to send poor, maligned avocado an invitation to your next event!

Avocados, full of rich, healthy, and delicious fats, work to promote satiation (the feeling of fullness). The low carbohydrate properties of the avocado, paired with its high fiber content, also work to promote blood sugar regulation. We love healthy fats for this reason, because our bodies receive the amount of nutrients that they crave and then stop sending out signals to demand more food. If we give our bodies nutrient dense foods, like avocado, then we become quickly satisfied and our body’s message sending mechanisms function properly. Bottom line: Healthy fats work wonders at stabilizing our appetites.

To top things off, the creamy, rich flavor of the avocado perfectly compliments pretty much everything. Chef Kristen came up with a mouth-watering post-holiday recipe to use up all of that leftover turkey: Tessemae’s Turkey Chilaquiles. This recipe includes plenty of Tessemae’s and Avocado, two of our favorite things. Enjoy, because this is one time it’s healthy to be fat and happy.