Superfood of the Week: Avocado

Sarah-Jane Bedwell, SELF magazine

Loaded with heart-healthy fats, vitamins and fiber, avocados are quite the tasty way to dish up your daily dose of superfoods. We know they're great on their own--say, served straight up with a dash of sea salt and a spoon--but when you feel like mixing it up, try these creative ways to enjoy avocados. Seriously #NomNom.

Grill it. I mean, look at that picture--how delicious does that look? To make, simply peel, core, add a splash of olive oil and lemon juice, and grill on medium heat for three minute on each side. How easy was that?

Make pesto. Replacing the traditional oil and nuts with avocado adds a unique nutritional burst of flavor in this unique pesto recipe that's chock-full of fresh basil, a bit of parmesan and garlic. Enjoy it over pasta, on whole-grain crackers or drizzled over shrimp.

See more: 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

Add to your smoothie. Your smoothie is about to get a serious texture boost without an epic amount of extra calories. To make, blend together 1 cup skim milk, 2 large handfuls of fresh spinach, 1/2 an avocado, 1 large frozen and sliced banana, 1 tbsp almond butter and a pinch of cinnamon.

Use it as a mayo substitute. Loads of mayonnaise can sabotage an otherwise-healthy protein-packed egg salad. Keep it rich and creamy by using only half the yolks and adding some healthy fat with an avocado instead.

Try it in frosting. Who needs all that heavy butter when you can substitute thick and creamy avocado instead? A scrumptious four-ingredient frosting from Alton Brown of Food Network will blow you away. The bright green color is a perfect natural alternative to green food coloring, too. Well, we can wait till St. Patty's Day!


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