Healthy Recipe Day! - Avocados in ways you've not experienced!

Dr. Jolley loves all of his food made from scratch as much as possible and is an amazing chef when it comes to making his own.

For Father’s Day I decide to make him homemade Fajitas. Lately I’ve been on a health kick myself. As I contemplated buying the guacamole from the store (to save time) I looked at the ingredient list. The prominent ingredient was ‘canola oil.’ Yuck! I knew I could do better, so I determined to buy the avocados fresh and make my own. Finding a good recipe was hard, so I ended up combining two and ad-libbing for this amazing result!

Guacamole to die for Recipe – and yes it is healthy!

2 medium very ripe avocados (soft to touch, but not blackened inside)

½ of a small onion, cut up

1 clove of garlic minced

¼ cup fresh cilantro

1 Tblsp Fresh lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

1 medium tomato diced

(optional) ½ cup sour cream 

Cut avocados in half and remove pits. Scoop out the flesh and place in blender. Place all ingredients into the container. Secure the lid select variable slow speed and then increase to medium. Run for 15-30 sec. Leave slightly chunky but mostly smooth.

Makes about 2 cups

Keeping reading to the end of this post for the Health Benefits!

Enjoy!

Avocado Shake Recipe

This is popular in Brazil and other warm climate countries.

As avocados are a fruit and not a vegetable, this combination makes perfect sense. The flavor is subtle and very addictive! The recipe is lightened up for less calories. It is so good! Give it a try and see what you think. (Definitely not a guacamole taste.)

Yields: 2 servings
Prep time: 5 min

Ingredients:

1 rip avocado, peeled and pitted*
2 cups ice (16 to 20 ice cubes)
1/2 cup< fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1/2 to 1 cup cold non-fat milk**

* The best avocados to use are those that gently yield to pressure and are free from dark blotches inside the fruit.

** Depending on how large the avocado is and how thick you want your shake.

Preparation:

Scoop the avocado flesh into a blender. Add the ice cubes, condensed milk, the least amount of non-fat milk; puree until completely smooth. Taste and add additional milk if a thinner consistency is desired. NOTE: I like to use the maximum amount of milk.

Pour into two (2) tall glasses and enjoy!

Makes 2 servings.

I  Love the ice cream version: 

1/2 large Avocado (take off outer shell and pit)

1 ½ Cups Low fat Ice Cream

1/2 cup of sugar

½ cup milk 

Blend together on high until smooth

Makes 2 servings

Recipe source: Whatscooking America.net

About Avocados

Many people dismiss the health benefits of avocado simply due to its high calorie count. With 322 calories per avocado it is quite high in calories, but that’s not the entire story. Avocados have 54% of your recommended daily value of fiber, which gives this fruit much of its fat burning abilities.

Sometimes called the alphabet fruit because just one avocado provides your body with vitamins A, C, E, K and B6 so you can be sure you’re getting plenty of body nourishments with each bite. Other vitamins found in relatively large quantities in an avocado include riboflavin, niacin, foliate and pantothenic acid.

When you’re looking for avocado nutrition facts, pay close attention to potassium because one avocado has 975 mg.

It’s important to note that the outer dark green skin of the avocado is inedible, as is the huge pit in the center. Halve an avocado and remove the seed prior to eating. Slice & scoop or simply scoop out the yummy green center!

Health Benefits of Avocados

The foliate contained in avocados is mostly responsible for reducing the risk of heart disease, especially compared to people who have a diet low in foliate. The vitamin E in an avocado has also been linked to a healthy heart, something needed to keep you successfully burning fat all day long.

Another health benefit of avocado is that it is extremely helpful in preventing both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. The many different antioxidants found in avocados help reduce inflammation, a major concern for sufferers of either type of arthritis. Avocado nutrients responsible for this health benefit include vitamins C & E as well as manganese.

Perhaps the biggest health benefit of avocados is that by adding avocado to certain foods, you can improve your absorption of nutrients. This means that when you combine other fat burning foods with avocado, you can improve your nutrient absorption up to 400%!

Avocados provide many general health benefits, in addition to its fat burning benefits due to its vitamin E and glutathione, which protects you against tons of diseases including several forms of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and cholesterol.

Avocados also help reduce the signs of aging, regulate blood sugar and promote eye health.

Health Benefits Source: http://www.fatburningfurnace.com/blog/avocado-nutrition-facts