Think about using avocado instead of cheese, mayo or butter. A portion of avocado has half the fat and calories of an equivalent portion of mayonnaise or cheddar cheese and ¼ that of butter. They have no cholesterol and their skins are so convenient for holding single portions of salads – what more could you ask?
Avocado and Crab Salad
zest of ½ lemon1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 rounded Tbsp good real mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced through press
1 Tbsp minced chive
1 6-oz can crabmeat, drained
2 ripe avocados
Place zest and juice of lemon in a bowl. Add olive oil, mayonnaise, garlic, chive and crab and mix well. Cut avocados in half lengthwise, and remove the pit. Carefully run a sharp knife through the avocado at ½-inch intervals, in a criss-cross pattern, without cutting the skin. Carefully scoop out the avocado dice and fold into the crab mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Return the crab salad to the empty avocado skins and sprinkle with chili powder.
Tortilla Soup with Avocados
½ fresh jalapeno pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 quart clear chicken stock
1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, halved
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
corn tortillas
2 green onions, sliced
1 lime, quartered
In a soup pot, sauté the jalapeno, garlic and cumin in a bit of olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add the stock and the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for about 5-8 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the pot from the heat and remove the chicken to a plate. Allow chicken to cool enough to shred by hand and return shredded chicken to the soup.
Distribute avocado into four soup bowls. Add a handful of corn tortillas to each bowl and ladle in a generous portion of broth and chicken. Top with green onions. Serve with lime wedges.
Avocado and Dill Omelet
3 eggs1 Tbsp. milk
¼ tsp. dill
salt and pepper to taste
shaved Parmesan cheese
½ avocado, sliced
Whisk the eggs, milk, dill salt and pepper together. Spray a non-stick skillet with a bit of canola oil and heat almost to smoking. Tip in the eggs and let a layer set as the eggs bubble vigorously. Pull in the cooked layer towards the center with a spatula as you lift and roll the pan to allow runny eggs to fill the empty space. Do this several times until there isn’t enough runny egg left to fill the void. You should be making delicate folds throughout. Pull the pan off the heat – omelets will continue to cook off the heat, so they are like scrambled eggs and should be taken off the heat just undercooked.
Place avocados and shaved Parmesan onto half the omelet and carefully fold the other half over. Carefully slide omelet onto plate.
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I like guacamole, period. I like it creamy and I like it chunky. This creamy version is great not only as a dip, but as a topping for fish or as a spread for sandwiches or panini.
Creamy Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, finely diced
juice of half a lime
1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp powdered cumin
dash Cayenne pepper
dash salt
1 Tbsp good real mayonnaise (or sour cream)
Mix all guacamole ingredients together, mixing well to achieve a creamy consistency.
Tilapia with Avocado and Curry Cream
4 Tilapia fillets1 ripe avocado
1 lemon
Curry Cream:
½ cup yogurt
¼ cup light sour cream
¼ cup real mayonnaise
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp. cumin powder
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp. minced cilantro leaves (or parsley)
Mix together the curry cream ingredients and let them meld as you cook the fish.
Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick skillet (ideally a ridged grill pan), sprayed with Canola oil, just until smoking. Turn heat to medium and sauté the fish on one side for about 3-4 minutes. Flip carefully, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 3-4 minutes, just until cooked through.
Seed, peel, and thinly slice the avocado. Plate each fillet topped with 2-3 slices avocado and a dollop of curry cream. Serve with lemons.
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