Avocado Soup and Avocado Milkshake Recipes
Avocados are a nutrient-dense fruit belonging to the drupe family, which are one-seeded fruits with a firm exterior, often resembling berries. Avocados provide more than 20 vitamins and minerals, and are a rich source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats; so consider if it’s time for you to start getting the health benefits of avocado by regularly enjoying this delicious fruit.
When choosing an avocado, color is not an indicator of ripeness. Choose avocados that are free of bruises and heavy for their size. If the avocado is hard to the touch, it is unripe. To ripen, place them in a brown paper bag at room temperature until they are slightly soft; this usually takes from 2 to 4 days. Once the avocados are ripe, place them in the refrigerator and enjoy them within a couple of days.
Avocados can be used in a myriad of recipes ranging frombreakfast (like an avocado smoothie) to lunch recipes (such as an avocado stuffed with chicken salad). You can even enjoy sandwiches with avocado, such as the BLAT sandwich found in trendy delis. In case you didn’t know, that is a bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich. Some great avocado recipes for dinner might include an avocado dressing on your salad or a delicious avocado pasta recipe.
To remove the seed in the avocado, simply slice the avocado lengthwise right around the seed. Then twist the two halves and pull apart. Take a sharp knife and stab the seed in the remaining half, twist it back and forth a bit, and pull it out. Then you can either scoop out the insides of the avocado, or take a paring knife and carefully slice off the skin. Avocados turn brown fast, so prepare just before using in a recipe.
For a quick avocado recipe that is baked for breakfast, try this egg-stuffed avocado; simply take an unpeeled, deseeded avocado half and scoop out just a small amount of the flesh to make room for the avocado stuffing. Then lay each half into a baking dish with sides. Crack an egg into the center of each half, season with salt and pepper, and bake at 400°F for about 15 minutes, or until the egg is done to your liking. You can make it fancier by sprinkling bacon, cheese and chives on top, or even adding some smoked salmon and dill.
For a good vegetarian recipe with avocado try this chilled avocado soup.
Chilled Avocado Soup
- 2 ripe avocadoes, peeled and deseeded
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies
- ½ cup whole milk, or milk substitute
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- ¾ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Cut avocado into chunks and place into a blender. Add remaining ingredients, except garnish, and puree until smooth. Chill if desired, then enjoy with garnish
Many avocados are grown right in California and CaliforniaAvocado.com is a great resource to learn more about the health benefits of avocados and find some unique avocado recipes such as this delicious avocado milkshake.
California Avocado Milkshake
- 1 ripe, fresh California avocado, deseeded and peeled
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk*
- 3/4 cup whole milk*
- 1 Tbsp. lime juice
- 2 cups ice cubes
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve in chilled glasses topped with your favorite toppings.
*You can successfully use milk substitutes such as almond milk, coconut milk and soymilk in this recipe
It’s easy to incorporate avocado into recipes that are sweet, by replacing some of the fat called for in the recipe with pureed avocado, such as in a brownie recipe. You can also whip pureed avocado into chocolate pudding for another great avocado dessert recipe.
So go ahead and grab some avocados next time your at the market and start enjoying these delicious recipes!
