An avocado a day keeps the doctor away

I know that's not how the old adage goes but apples don't agree with me (a crying shame since I live in the heart of apple country!) so I've substituted my favourite food, avocado, and am dedicating an entire blog entry to this deliciously, wonderful power-food!
If you're as passionate about avocados as I am or even have a vague understanding of their superpowers then you already know that avocados do a body good. Packed with omegas, they're part of the healthy-fats family and can do wonders for your skin (you can apply it directly to your face like a mask!), hair, cholesterol, blood pressure, digestion and more. AND it tastes good? Better than any over the counter product I can think of.

My passion for avocados was first discovered in 2004 while on a trip to Costa Rica. Native to the country and a big contributor to the success of their agricultural economy, they are in abundance throughout the land. I had no choice but to embrace avocados while traveling and soon discovered I actually enjoyed them! It became a staple of my daily diet and is to this day. Although, it doesn't get much more fresh than the ones you find in CR.

Since then, I've dabbled with the fruit (a ha! it's a fruit, not a veg!) in many ways and can't think of a meal it doesn't enhance. My fave recipes are:
-Mango salsa (Mangos, tomatoes, red onion, peppers, lime juice, garlic and avo)
-Chilled avocado soup (like a gazpacho! delish in the summertime)
-Guacamole of course (I've been told I make a mean guac)
-Egg salad (use a ripe avocado in place of mayo. mmmm!)

Of course, chopping it up and throwing it onto a salad, pasta or pizza is never a bad idea. This fruit knows no boundaries and does not discriminate. Avocado maki is a must-order at any Japanese restaurant. The options are endless.

Throughout my travels I've discovered a difference in avocados depending on where they're grown. I even met a food scientist once whose job it was to perform quality control on avocados! (aka my dream job). We both agreed that avocados grown in Central America were the best because of their buttery texture, size and consistency.
I've also learned that there are legions of Avocado fans around the world. Avocado has its own Facebook fan page with over 60,000 fans! Take that cucumber, tomato and steak.
This essential food is here to stay. Now if only I could get my avocado tree to blossom, I'd be booming. Or I'd weigh a thousand pounds...

The only constant is change

I secretly envy people who have grown up in one house and return to that same house to visit their parents now that they're grown up and on their own. There's something comforting about the notion of one home and being able to take a trip down memory lane just by walking down the hallway to your childhood bedroom. The interior of the house may have changed (let's hope at the very least the shag area rug has been relegated to the basement!) but the structure, smells and overall feeling remains the same.
I hope to one day have that for our child(ren?!).
As we pack the last few boxes at 111 Seventh, living with the bare essentials until we move into our rental apartment; TV, futon, mattress on the ground - it's like we're in college/uni again! - I'm optimistic that this will be our last move for a LONG time. I want a place to settle into, make my own and watch it evolve over the years, taking shape from the people that inhabit it.
Change seems to be a running theme in my life right now and I'm doing my best to embrace it. The way you react to change can predict the success of said change. "The key to change is to let go of fear." is a quote by Rosanne Cash that resonates with me. I'm currently reading (on an ongoing basis) a book by Deepak Chopra called "Why is God Laughing?". The constant themes are fear and change and while I started reading it about a year ago - long before these changes were on my radar at all - I think it has prepared me for this time of change. I won't go into detail about the book as it's better read for yourself. After all, I'm no Deepak Chopra!
Any change can be perceived as positive or negative and you hope in the long run the positives far outweigh any down sides.
How do you know if change is right for you? You don't but you roll with it anyway, making the best of the bumps along the way and hopefully learning something from it as well. While one of the changes in my life was expected (the move), the other was not (the job). Both have forced me to let go of the wheel and just enjoy the adventure. I've chosen to view these changes as "adventures" rather than "challenges" and I'm ready for the ride they will take me on....
Goodbye 111 Seventh!

What's left of the living room

One of my favourite rooms in the house.