Beyond Guacamole: 5 Ways to Use an Awesome Avocado

Forget the apple; an avocado a day will really keep the doctor away. Nutritionally speaking, avocados are rife with monounsaturated fat – the kind of fat that helps lower LDL (bad) and helps increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Prevention Magazine’s Flat Belly Diet names the avocado as one of the five all-star fats you should incorporate into your diet (yes, for a flat stomach!), providing nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. They also help the body absorb nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in foods that are eaten in tandem. So, yes, go for the guac, but perhaps it’s time to put the avocado on the pedestal it deserves and incorporate into your daily life in a myriad of ways (as I wouldn’t eat guac every day…). Here are five ways to use an awesome avocado.

• Avo Butter: Use avocado exactly as you would normally use butter, smearing it over a baked potato, a piece of whole grain toast, steamed veggies, or a piece of freshly shucked corn (try your corn raw, and you will never go back!).
• Avo Cream: mash up and rub in, the natural oils will work their wonders.
• Eco Avo: the avocado can take a lot of credit for helping many a carnivore transition to a vegetarian, vegan or even raw diet. It is so satisfying and healthful, its avid eaters hardly can miss meat and dairy. Also, avocados yield more food than any other tree crop. The Little Avocado Book says, “Imagine the ecological implications – a perfectly healthful “meaty” food which requires 1/200th or less of the acreage needed by the cattle industry for a comparable yield in pounds, posing no pollution problems – and no carnage!”
• Avo the Aphrodisiac: The original named bestowed by the Aztecs of this deliciously fatty fruit was ahuacacuahatl meaning testicle tree, both for its appearance and ability to arouse sexuality.
• Avo Conditioner: Puree an avocado with a tablespoon of lemon juice and pure aloe, adding a teaspoon of sea salt, and comb through your hair. Leave it on for 20-30 minutes while it soaks into every follicle bringing life back into your lustrous locks.

So, guacamole is great, there’s no doubting that. But consider the avocado a wealth or goodness, with a world of possibilities. Start out with Alice Water’s Green Goddess Dressing; it will mark your most memorable salad, and get the avocado wheels rolling.