Vegetable of the Week: Olives

If you love olives, you'll be happy to know that you can enjoy them on your diet. You can use them to add flavor to salads or fish or chicken dishes or add them to whole-wheat pasta dishes.

Olives contain healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, which may help to lower “bad” LDL cholesterol. Because they are high in calories, however, try to limit yourself to 15 small olives or 6 large olives per serving.

Olives come in many varieties and from numerous regions of the world. The color spectrum of olives varies depending on how long they are left on the tree to mature, or ripen, as well as the curing method used. Green olives are picked early in the season, whereas black olives are fully ripe.

All olives, no matter the color, contain the same good fats.