We all love a perfectly ripe avocado–whether it’s smashed on a slice of toast with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon or wrapped in rice and part of our sushi. Some of us may even have tried smearing an avo on our faces as a natural face mask. Here are six more ways for you to enjoy an avocado.
Avocados are our favourite fruit. These soft, creamy pear-shaped berries serve a multitude of purposes, taste delicious and are good for us. We’ve found six creative recipes for you to try because the avo is a powerhouse of nutritional value (they’re ideal for those of us following a low carb meal plan).
What makes the avocado a super-fruit?
The modest, unassuming avocado is high in monounsaturated fats (MUFA), which help lower your cholesterol and they’ve been known to improve your insulin levels. In half an avo there are 10g of MUFA. The MUFAs in avocados are integral for maintaining your blood sugar levels and lowering your risk of heart disease. Avocados are also high in fibre. There are 7g of fibre per 100g of avo–which helps improve your gut health. They’re also high in folate, there is at least 81mcg folate per 100g (or half of a medium) of avocado. Folate plays an important role in the formation of our red blood cells, DNA and RNA.
Last, but not least, they contain 100mg more potassium than bananas do–officially making them (in our opinion at least) our number one fruit on the menu.
You say avocado, we say avocado!
If you’re like us, we’re sure you also want to eat avocados for breakfast, lunch and supper, all day and every day. So here are some creative ways to weave avos into every meal.
Breakfast–Avocado cups
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day–so, why not start your day off in such a way that it sets the tone for greatness. You guessed it, avocado for breakfast! These delicious avo cups have 314Kcal and are a great energy boost for your day.
Nutritional information (serves 1)
- Kcal = 314
- CHO = 10g
- Fat = 25g
- Prot = 14g
- Fibre = 7g
Ingredients:
- ½ medium avocado
- 1 egg
- 30g mozzarella cheese, grated
- Black pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F).
- Pour the egg into the avocado half.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella and black pepper.
- Place on a small baking tray and bake for 15 minutes (the yolk should still be soft).
- Remove from the other and serve either warm or cold.
An avocado cup is the perfect breakfast treat to start your day off on the right foot. All you need is an egg, some avocados and salt and pepper to taste! And, if you’re feeling cheeky, 30g of mozzarella cheese. These little beauties are baked in the oven for 15 minutes–so you can get ready while they do their thing. They can also be enjoyed hot or cold, so you could make a batch the night before.
Lunch–Cold avocado soup
We’re so grateful that summer is on the way, especially because we’ve found this gem of a soup recipe. We think it’ll go perfectly as a starter for Sunday lunch! 😉
Nutritional information (serves 2-3)
- Kcal = 224 (per serving)
- CHO = 21g (per serving)
- Fat = 15g (per serving)
- Prot = 7g (per serving)
- Fibre = 8g (per serving)
Ingredients:
- 1 medium avocado
- ¼ cup plain and natural yoghurt
- ¾ cup of water
- 2 large cucumbers, sliced
- 1 small green onion
- Black pepper
Method:
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Add the black pepper to taste–does it get any easier than this?
This really is the perfect summer recipe as you won’t have to stand over a hot stove and the ingredients are easy to find. In fact, they should all be in your store cupboard and fridge already. Just imagine sitting down to a chilled bowl of avocado soup as you enjoy a great British Summer.
Dinner–Avocado stuffed sweet potatoes
There’s nothing more comforting after a long day than a home-cooked meal. Dinner with your family around the table can make us feel all warm and cosy on the best of days. But, if you add avocado stuffed sweet potatoes to the mix–well then it’s like your birthday, Christmas and graduation all rolled into one delicious meal.
Nutritional information (serves 2)
- Kcal = 223 (per serving)
- CHO = 33g (per serving)
- Fat = 10g (per serving)
- Prot = 3g (per serving)
- Fibre = 8g (per serving)
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato
- ½ medium avocado
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- Black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Place the sweet potato on a small baking sheet and allow to bake until done. Remove and allow to cool enough to handle.
- Slice the sweet potato lengthwise. Scoop out the content and place into a bowl. Be careful to keep the skin in tact.
- Mix the sweet potato content, avocado, sour cream and black pepper (to taste) together.
- Spoon this mixture back into the sweet potato skin.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove and serve warm.
We know that life has the potential to be extremely chaotic–so we’ve made sure this part of your day is simple and hassle-free. Our stuffed sweet potatoes only need four ingredients. Our recipe calls for one sweet potato, but you might want to make sure there’s enough for everyone simply because it’s so good you won’t want to share. We suggest that you use one large sweet potato per two people sharing.
Snacks and treats
Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too? Just because you’ve chosen to live a healthier lifestyle doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to live a little. We believe in balance so we’ve found some delicious snacks and sweet treats for you enjoy whenever you feel the need to treat yourself.
We’ve managed to find a way for you to enjoy some sweet and tasty snacks without compromising your progress.
Avocado chocolate mousse
Our first sweet treat is a bit like a unicorn or the Yeti, it’s something we’ve all heard about but have never really seen it in reality. Avocado is a real thing, you aren’t reading this incorrectly. Our mousse promises to be just a creamy, soft and satisfying as the ‘real’ thing. With only 197 Kcal per serving, you can enjoy this dessert with a guilt-free conscious.
Nutritional information (serves 2)
- Kcal = 197 (per serving)
- CHO = 18g (per serving)
- Fat = 16g (per serving)
- Prot = 4g (per serving)
- Fibre = 11g (per serving)
Ingredients:
- 1 medium avocado
- 1 tsp xylitol
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 25g sugar-free cocoa powder
Method:
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Place in the fridge and allow to cool.
Just imagine your friends and family’s faces when they find out they’re enjoying a bowl of chocolate mousse that’s made with avocados! We’re sure they’ll come back for more.
Avocado ice-cream
Jane Austen once wrote that to sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment. She obviously hadn’t tried our avocado ice-cream. Sitting in the shade on a fine day, enjoying some ice-cream, now that, is the most perfect refreshment!
Nutritional information (serves 8)
- Kcal = 211 (per cup)
- CHO = 16g (per cup)
- Fat = 17g (per cup)
- Prot = 5g (per cup)
- Fibre = 5g (per cup)
Ingredients
- 3 medium avocados
- ⅓ cup xylitol
- 1 cup plain natural yoghurt
- ½ cup cream
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp lemon juice
Method
- Place all the ingredients in a blender
- Place in a home ice cream machine and allow it to turn for 20 minutes. Remove and either serve immediately or freeze and serve later.
- Makes eight 250ml servings.
Avocado ice-cream is also a pretty sneaky way to get kids to enjoy our favourite fruit. After all who can say no to ice-cream? Certainly none of the kids we know.
Avocado hummus
Last but certainly not least, we’ve found a savoury snack that can make use of any extra avocados you have lying around. Joking, there’s never any ‘spare’ avocados lying around. They’re too delicious not to eat as soon as they’re ripe.
Nutritional information
- Kcal = 71 (per 1 Tbsp)
- CHO = 7g (per 1 Tbsp)
- Fat = 4g (per 1 Tbsp)
- Prot = 2 (per 1 Tbsp)
- Fibre = 2g (per 1 Tbsp)
Ingredients
- 1 medium avocado
- 225g chickpeas, canned, drained and rinsed
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp tahini
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Black pepper
- 1 Tbsp Basil
Method
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, add the black pepper to taste.
- Makes 1.5 - 2 cups.
- Can be used with vegetable sticks, on crackers, pitas and bread.
Hummus is a delicious addition to any snack table–and it goes perfectly with crudites, especially crispy, crunchy carrots and celery sticks.
Each of these recipes has been formulated to give you the best of both worlds–keeping you on the straight and narrow as it were and also making sure you can enjoy flavourful meals with friends and family.
So there you have it, six other uses for avocados that will spice up your meals and keep your stomach satisfied!
Stay up to date with the latest tips, trends and advice from the DNAfit wellness team. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, and we’ll send you more helpful content straight to your inbox! Just fill in the form below. 👇
