Friday, March 20, 2015

Thinking Outside the Guac: New Uses for Avocados


Don’t get us wrong — we love guacamole as much as the next person. But if that’s all you do with avocados, you’re missing out on a host of other healthy possibilities. This versatile fruit (yes, it is technically a fruit, not a vegetable) can be whipped into soups, pureed in a smoothie, blended into salad dressing, spread on a sandwich — or even slathered onto your skin for beautifying benefits. Avocados get a bad rap for being high in fat. While it’s true that 80 percent of their calories come from fat, over 75 percent of the fat is from the healthy unsaturated kind. Plus, that fat helps the body absorb more fat-soluble vitamins, like A, D, E and K.


So don’t limit your avocado experience to something you can dip a chip in. Try some of these avocado-based products and recipes to expand your repertoire.


Primal Kitchen Avocado Mayo : How to turn mayonnaise into a healthy condiment? Make it with avocado oil, of course. It not only adds more flavor, but also tweaks the nutritional profile to provide more healthy fats, phytosterols, and vitamins C and E.


Spectrum Avocado Oil : The unique composition of avocado oil makes it the ideal partner for high-heat cooking. Use it to make salad dressing and you’ll absorb more of the nutrients in your lettuce and other veggies. You can even use your avocado oil outside of the kitchen — it’s perfect for massage and moisturizing your skin.


Peter Lamas Avocado & Olive Ultra Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner : Turns out what’s good for your insides is good for your outside too. Numerous beauty products harness the nutrients in avocados to nourish skin and hair. Blended into shampoo and conditioner, avocado also moisturizes hair and tames frizz.


Crabtree & Evelyn Avocado, Olive & Basil Nourishing Body Butter : Avocado is naturally moisturizing, plus it’s rich in antioxidants that help protect and repair skin.



Ultra-Creamy Avocado Smoothie


Snow Pea and Avocado Slaw



Broccoli and Cheddar-Stuffed Potato Skins with Avocado Cream



Crab and Avocado Salad



Avocado Feta Dip


Sally Wadyka is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist who writes about nutrition, health and wellness.






from Healthy Eats – Food Network Healthy Living Blog http://ift.tt/1FK9d57

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