Avocado as a condiment, omelette garnish & soup

[Daniel E.]

Avocado as a healthy addition to any sandwich, dip, or salad:

Avocados share many of the same features as many creamy condiments. They're soft and spreadable, rich and creamy, and they have a mild, appealing flavor.

In many of the ways you'd notice - flavor, texture, and uses - avocados are often interchangeable with cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise.

That's where the comparisons end, though.

That's because avocados have one big advantage over their artery-clogging, dairy-based competition. Avocados are good for you...

Avocados are a rich source of monounsaturated - healthy - fats. They're also high in potassium, B vitamins, vitamin E and fiber...

Read more: Turn avocado into your condiment
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An avocado dip recipe:

Avocado "whipped cream." This is about the best sauce or dip for fish and vegetables, even though there is no cream of any sort in the recipe. When avocado is pureed (fast, with an immersion blender) with onion, garlic, lime juice, cumin and oil, its innate luxuriousness is heightened and it becomes a softly whipped, gently mounded "cream." A big dollop is perfect on top of that chilled crab-meat salad.

Read more: The Adaptable Avocado: You might be surprised at its many uses
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As a garnish for omelettes:


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As a soup:

YouTube - Cool Avocado Soup With Shrimp

 

[Daniel E.]

Salsa + Avocado

The benefit: Your idea of health food is about to become tastier.

The science: Bright and vividly colored vegetables—such as the ones used in salads and salsas—are rich in carotenoids, powerful plant pigments that reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, and cataracts. But here's a little-known secret: To fully benefit from these disease-fighting compounds, you need to eat them with fat. In fact, Ohio State University researchers found that people who ate a salad topped with half an avocado absorbed five to 10 times more beta-carotene and lutein—carotenoids found in carrots and spinach, respectively—than those who had salads sans the fatty fruit. And eating avocado with salsa boosted the absorption of lycopene—a carotenoid in tomatoes—by almost five times.

"Fatty acids are needed to help carotenoids dissolve in the intestines," says lead study author Steve Schwartz, Ph.D. "These lipids are also an essential part of creating lipoproteins, which transport the carotenoids in the bloodstream."

The take-home message: Any time you eat colorful vegetables—whether raw or cooked—have some fat, too. And it doesn't have to be an avocado: One ounce of cheese, two pats of butter, or two tablespoons of full-fat ranch dressing will have the same effect, says Schwartz.

Read more: Men's Health Lists : MensHealth.com

[Salsa also goes well with omelettes.]
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[Daniel E.]

Tex-Mex Breakfast Sandwich from Unbeatable Breakfast Recipes: