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Welcome to Raising Califorina where you will be taken behind the scenes to peek at the lives of a Southern California family. You will have access to never before seen footage and exclusive interviews that will give you insight on what it is like to be a kid in California!


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California Avocados

My mother in law sent me an email (THANK YOU to Daddio's Mama) about the health benefits of avocados a couple of weeks ago and I have been waiting to blog about this until I had a good picture to post of California eating one. He LOVES them so much he can't wait for me to peel them. See?


California said: "Two cados! One, two."


"Peel dem, Mama? Please." he says.

One of the reasons why he loves them so much is that I started him on them as a "first food" when he was 5 months old after I read a book called Super Baby Food. I fed him home made baby food and avocados were so easy to mash and puree. Apparently, avocados are considered a super food. They contain a chemical that kills cancer cells and prevents precancerous cells from forming into cancer. They also contain lutein, zeaxanthin, beta carotene and folate, among other nutrients.

California avocados are healthier than avocados grown elsewhere. According to the author of "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth", Jonny Bowden, 100 grams of an avocado that was grown in California has 28% fewer calories, 35% less fat and 10% fewer carbs
than avocados grown in Florida.

Go HERE to learn everything there is to know about avocados (and other vegis and fruits). You can go HERE to find recipes. L.A. Mama loves spinach salad made with avocados, croutons, artichokes, mushrooms, mozzarella and tomatoes with fat-free Honey Dijon...NO BACON! mmmmmmm....YUMMY. Try it sometime. It is easy to make, but if you are ever in L.A., a restaurant called Earth Wind & Flour has it on their menu. (They have a location in West L.A. and Santa Monica).

Also, if you want to immerse yourself in avocados, there are avocado festivals in California that might be of interest to you:

There is one just around the corner in Fallbrook (San Diego County). Click HERE for details.

Another festival will occur in La Habra Heights (Orange County) on May 17th.

There is one in Carpinteria (Ventura County) in October. Click HERE for details.

Hopefully there will be enough avocados to go around. The fires that we experienced here in Southern California last October damaged many avocado orchards. According to the California Avocado Commission, California produces 90% of the nations avocado crop. We may see an increase in price as the months and years go by. Click HERE to read a news story concerning the plight of avocados during our last fire event.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Raising ovcado prices??? REALLY??? Funny you say that because pricing on Avocados are just like gasoline, any excuse to charge even MORE for this delicious fruit. I know the fires are a good reason for prices to go up but man, I tell ya, at times it's a buck per Avocado! I would buy so many more Avocados if they were cheaper. All I gotta say is that I STICK IT TO THE MAN when I go to Altadena and raid my uncles tree!! Thats a F.U to the high Avocado prices!!!!

L.A. Mama said...

Yeah...and I buy organic avocados for the little guy. I think they are something like $1.28 a piece!

I want a tree!

Unknown said...

They are SOOO hard to plant! Ive tried seedlings from my uncles tree in pots, they last about 2 months on the ground then they die. I also tried a grown tree with buds from a nursery, also died. I just don't have a green thumb. :(

L.A. Mama said...

The California Avocado Commission has information on how to grow them...I would post the link for you but it is against their terms unless I get permission (which I am still waiting for)!

TZT said...

My son loves avocados too! From the time that he was just a smushy nine-month-old (until he became my shopping assistant), I couldn't let him hold them in the grocery store, or he would gnaw right into them.

L.A. Mama said...

Yep, that is what California does...as soon as he picks one up, it goes directly in his mouth. I am so glad that he likes them at an early age. I didn't discover my love for them unitl a few years ago!