If you aren’t including avocados in your diet, are you even living? Nine out of 10 doctors recommend consuming healthy fats in your diet for optimal health and wellness, and the one doctor who does not support this is a vegetarian. While that is not actually true, it is very true that avocados 100% fit into a heart-healthy diet. It is really hard to believe something so good tasting can be that good for you, but they are! That’s why I wanted to share some of my absolute favorite avocado recipes.

But before we get to that: One question I always have is how can you select a “good” avocado when you can’t see what’s under the skin until you get it home and slice that bad boy open? There are a few tricks I have learned over the years that have successfully sent me home with perfectly ripe avocados at least most of the time.

Folks from California will tell you if you are not getting your avocados from California, then you aren’t getting the best. I tend to agree with this, just as I believe the best oranges come from Florida, and the best potatoes are from Idaho. There is something about the soil and the temperature that just make for the right growing conditions for these particular harvests in these regions.

When selecting an avocado in your grocery store, first and foremost, avoid any avocados with dark blemishes. Since color alone may not tell the whole story, squeeze the fruit in the palm of your hand. A ripe, ready-to-eat avocado will be firm but will yield to gentle pressure. That being said, a Hass avocado will turn dark green or black as it ripens, but some other avocado varieties retain their light-green skin even when ripe.

Next, look at the skin—it should be pebbled yet without obvious indentations which can mean the fruit is bruised. Finally, take a look at the stem. If you peel back the stem or cap, and the area beneath is green, you’ve got a good one. If it’s brown, it’s likely over ripe. If it’s black or dark brown, it’s likely gone bad and may even be moldy. Eww…

Coach Cristina’s Tips: Ripe avocados can be stored in the refrigerator uncut for two or three days.

To store once cut, sprinkle with lemon juice, lime juice, or white vinegar, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container, and then refrigerate. This will prevent it from turning brown, as avocados can do rather quickly.

While many of us already have some favorite ways to eat avocado (on toast perhaps?), here are a few more fun avocado recipes to add to your rotation of this delicious fruit.

3 Delicious Avocado Recipes

Afternoon Delight Smoothie

Ingredients:

• ¼ ripe avocado
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• ½ cup frozen mango cubes
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup ice cubes
• Cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Toss all ingredients into your blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Enjoy!

Chef Note: The only thing that would make this avocado recipe better would be to add 2 scoops of your favorite BioTrust protein blend. 😉

Nutrition Facts:
Yields: 1 serving

• Calories: 176
• Total Fat: 8.7 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 18.25 g
• Fiber: 4.2 g
• Sugar: 5.9 g
• Protein: 8.4 g

Avocado Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce, reduced sodium
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 ten-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 scallions, chopped

Directions:

1. Place avocados, yogurt, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Add spinach and pulse just until incorporated.
3. Fold in scallions, or add on top before serving.
4. Enjoy!

Chef Notes: This is great with pita wedges, cucumber slices, or any veggie for that matter.

Nutrition Facts:
Yields: 4 servings

• Calories: 218
• Total Fat: 17 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 14 g
• Fiber: 9 g
• Sugar: 1.6 g
• Protein: 7 g

Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber, diced
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• ½ red onion, diced
• 3 ripe avocados, diced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place diced cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and avocado to a bowl.
2. Add cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
3. Gently toss until everything is incorporated.
4. Enjoy!

Chef Notes: I am an admitted cheese addict; therefore, I like sprinkling cheese on my salad, and this is no different. With this one, I am partial to feta cheese. You could also get away with some additional healthy fats and crunch like walnuts or cashews.

Chef Notes: I am partial to roma tomatoes, but when I can find the multi-colored cherry tomatoes in bulk in Costco, I will absolutely use those in this dish, as that’s an automatic guarantee my kids will eat it!

Nutrition Facts:
Yields: 6 serving

• Calories: 193
• Total Fat: 17 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 11 g
• Fiber: 8 g
• Sugar: 2 g
• Protein: 3 g

And while we are at it…there is no reason we can’t start making avocados the new zucchini. We use these as a vehicle for so many delicious avocado recipes—tacos and bruschetta to name a few. It’s time for zucchini to take a back seat and let avocado take a few rides. Chicken salad boats anyone?