Keeping it simple: Avocado salad

Earlier this week I ate a simple avocado salad.

I call it simple because the salad only consisted of four main ingredients; avocado, spinach, tomato and onion. A few spices were freshly ground in my mortar and pestle and I scattered some raw sunflower seeds as a topping.  But even though there weren’t a lot of ingredients, this salad was delicious. With my salads or any other meals that I do prepare, I try to keep the ingredients that I prepare to a minimum, since I do think simplicity is key.

I find that I really don’t need a lot of seasonings to flavor a dish. If you’re looking for salad dressing, you won’t find it in this dish and you know what, it really doesn’t need anything and that’s just how I prefer my salads, without salad dressing. Adding salad dressing to my salads are rare, since I much prefer experiencing the full flavor of the produce that I add to a meal.

Simple Eating

As you can see, even though my meal was ‘simple’ it is chock full of numerous nutrients and health benefits that my body craves. Since I eat simply, I detect a lot of flavors that most people can’t seem to taste and I do believe that is largely due to the types of foods that they consume. Many people consume food processed foods and other food like items that are loaded with a toxic mix of unhealthy ingredients and chemicals that aren’t designed for human consumption. Is it any wonder that westernized cultures are plagued with many health related diseases. It’s important to educate yourself on nutrition. Over time, these ‘foods’ can  affect what tastes good for us. It’s troubling, that the foods that are nourishing for our bodies and are quite delicious on their own are usually rejected the more unhealthy a person eats.

Health benefits

While simple, this is a highly nutritious meal. Avocados are rich in vitamin K, C, E and a variety of B vitamins. They also contain healthy fats,  protein, and they are a great source of fiber. Avocados has numerous health benefits. A few of them are; may help lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of certain types of cancers, aid in promoting healthy body weight and BMI. Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, great for the skin, aids in constipation and can be effective in prostate cancer prevention. Besides being a great source of iron, spinach is an excellent source of vitamin C.  It also contains numerous anti-cancerous and anti-inflammatory benefits. It’s also great for our bone health, since it’s a great source of vitamin K. I use onion and garlic in a lot of my dishes. Numerous studies have shown that they both are great for cancer prevention. They both are anti-inflammatory and onions also may increase our bone density. Great information to know, especially for women as they near menopause.

References:

1. Nutrition Facts:  Health Benefits of Avocados
2. The World’s Healthiest Foods:  Spinach
3. WebMD: Onions full of Nutrients
4. The World’s Healthiest Foods: Tomatoes