Healthy Snack Ideas:
Quick Avocado Boats

Avocados are filling and nutritious. Here is an easy way to eat them. These boats

• are fast to make
• are good for you
• can be eaten right out of your hand, in their own skin. That means no dishes to wash!
  
  

  

  
  
  

  Health Benefits of Avocados

  Avocados have been called the world's most nutritious fruit. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein. I don't have room here to list all of the amazing benefits of eating avocados. Here are just a few:

  • Avocados contain even more potassium than bananas do! One of potassium's benefits is in regulating blood pressure.

  • Avocados contain vitamin B6. This might help with morning sickness in pregnant women!

  • Avocados contain lots of antioxidants, which are all the rage these days because of their role in slowing the aging process.

  • Avocados are rich in vitamin E, which protects the health of our skin.

  • Avocados contain carotenoid lutein, which may protect our eyes against macular degeneration.

  • Avocados contain nutrients that may prevent prostate cancer.

  Clearly, we should all be eating lots of avocados! Fortunately, that's easy to do because there are lots of healthy snack ideas that use avocados. (Another of my favorites is Guacamole.)
  
  You'll want a perfectly ripe avocado for this snack. The best way to tell if an avocado is ripe is to put it in the palm of your hand and squeeze gently. If it is hard as a stone, it's not yet ripe. If it feels soft and mushy, it's too ripe. You want an avocado that feels firm, but yields to gentle pressure. If you're still in doubt, gently peel off the stem (assuming that it is still there.) If the skin under the stem is green, the avocado is ready to eat.

  I prefer to buy my avocados a bit hard and firm, and let them ripen on the counter at home. Once they are perfectly ripe, I put them in the fridge - but I make sure to use them within a day or two. Buying several avocados, at varying stages of ripeness, means that I'll always have one ready when I want one.
  
  

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  Check that you have these staples at home
  • in the cupboard
    • salt
    • pepper

  • in the fridge or freezer
    • bottled lime juice

  Buy these fresh ingredients

  • avocados

  Get out your equipment

  • a paring knife
  • a spoon
  • a fork
  
  
  

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  The recipe

  1 avocado

  1 tsp/5 mL lime juice

  salt

  pepper

  Cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed.
  Rotate the halves in opposite directions, and gently pull them apart.

  Use a small spoon to remove the pit.
  Discard it.

  Use a fork to gently mash the avocado flesh, right in its skin.

  Sprinkle each half of the avocado with lime juice, salt and pepper.
  
  

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  Substitutions
  • Use freshly squeezed lime juice instead of bottled.

  • Use lemon juice instead of lime juice.

  Ideas for making this recipe your own

  • Add a spoonful of salsa to the avocado half and stir to mix. Or how about a dash of hot sauce, a sprinkling of cilantro or some finely minced onion?

  • Add a spoonful of cottage cheese.

  Tips

  • Bought too many avocados? Need to use them up? Add some avocado to a Smoothie, or spread some avocado on a piece of toast. Add some diced avocado to an omelet, or to Scrambled Eggs.
    
    
  • To store half an avocado, sprinkle it with lemon or lime juice, place it in an airtight container, and refrigerate. The citrus juice should keep it from discoloring. If it does discolor, scrape off the dark bits and eat the rest.
  
  
  

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  If you enjoy this healthy snack ideas recipe, you may also like these other healthy snack ideas:
  • Kale Chips
  • Roasted Soy Beans
    
    

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