Personally, my taste buds jest say no. I never like them as a child and never learned to like them as an adult. It was a sad day when the nutritionist told me, “You must eat an avocado a day. They are good for you.” There were other things that I was to eat and a huge list of things to avoid like the plague.
I’d withered away to almost non-existence. The mistreatment of my Crohn’s had caused my body to absorb little to nothing of what I ate. I was depleted of all essential vitamins, minerals and fats of any sort were like foreign objects. When one gets to this point, you pretty much do what they suggest. I would have to figure out a way to be able to partake in an avocado every day, without becoming nauseated or make horrible faces and cursing the stars in the process.
I tried various guacamole recipes. I’d drowned them in lemon juice, lime juice, I grilled them at the suggestion of a fellow Crohn’s sufferer. It didn’t seem to matter, to me they all still tasted like a rotten cucumber.
After several months of pretty much a new recipe every single day in an effort to consume that darned daily avocado, I ran across a recipe for using it in a smoothie. The person who wrote the article said “tastes like a Wendy’s Frosty”. I’m thinking that chocolate can cover up most anything, so I made one. After all, the reviews on it were fantastic.
It tasted like a pureed, although creamy chocolate covered rotten cucumber. This was not going to work. Then I got to thinking and tweaking. I wound up with an avocado/banana dark chocolate smoothie. It’s creamy, it’s filling and it doesn’t taste like an avocado at all.
Chocolate, Banana and Avocado Smoothie
1 frozen ripe banana (medium sized – frozen is important)
½ cup almond milk (I make my own, but reckon any milk or milk substitute would work)
1 Tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa powder (adjust to your taste, some like more chocolate, some less)
1 Tablespoon peanut butter (my daughter uses almond butter as she’s allergic to peanuts. if you can’t make your own, please be sure to buy all natural with no added sugar)
1 ½ Tablespoons raw honey (local is best, as it helps with allergies)
1/8 teaspoon of xantham gum (can use guar gum if you have difficulties with xantham gum)
1 Tablespoon MCT oil (if you are new to MCT oil, start off with a ¼ tsp and work your way to higher amounts. It’s a medium chain triglyercide fat derived from coconut oil, it’s one of the easiest fats for your body to digest and utilize)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract (preferably non-alcoholic, I make my own with food grade glycerin)
1 medium sized avocado
In a blender (I use a Vitamix, the daughter uses a Ninja with the same results), add the milk, MCT oil, vanilla extract, xantham gum, honey and cocoa powder. Add peanut butter. For the avocado, I just slice it in half, pop out the seed and squeeze the meat into the blender.
Blend on high for approximately 1 minute. It will be creamy like a mousse. At this point, add the frozen banana and blend for approximately another minute, until creamy.
Pour into a glass (makes approximately 2 ½ cups, depending on the size of the avocado/or banana), grab a straw and enjoy!
Avocados are wonderfully healthy. Loaded with “good fats”, low in sugars and lots of potassium. They’re an excellent source of vitamins K, B9, B5, B6, C and E. They are heart healthy.
So, do your body a favor and try to consume at least one avocado a day. If you’re like me, give that smoothie a try or any of the endless recipes that are online.