Chef Gaby Dalkin fell in love with guacamole at age 5 and has been a fan ever since.
"I'm kind of known as the girl in the food blogging world who's obsessed with avocados," Dalkin said.
Her "What's Gaby Cooking" website and book "Absolutely Avocados" feature some innovative things you can do with the green fruit, like avocado chocolate chip cookies.
"It gives it this great consistency, and I like my cookies really chewy, and so it's perfect for that," Dalkin said.
You can substitute out all the butter for avocado, but Dalkin uses some butter as well to get the right consistency.
"Hot butter melts, and hot avocado just gets hot," Dalkin said.
But whether you're making a pasta sauce, veggie burger or a baked good, avocados smooth creamy consistency is not only delicious, it can help with weight watching. Using avocado in baking can be one of your smarter fat trades. For instance, two tablespoons of avocado are just 50 calories, and it's heart-healthy fat. Compare that to the same amount of butter: 200 calories.
"This is my go-to smoothie every morning. It's kind of weird because you put avocado in it instead of banana," Dalkin said.
Her combo includes avocado, fresh or frozen blueberries, a dollop of plain yogurt, orange juice, a dash of agave and a sprig of mint. The berries will disguise the fact you've got something green in there for finicky eaters.
No matter how you use avocado, you're getting heart-healthy fat, fabulous fiber, lots of vitamin C and a load of nutrients to make your taste buds and body happy.
"Absolutely Avocado" is about $17 and is found on Amazon.
