I am a huge fan of avocados, and until recently, had only been using them in salads and salsas. Avocados do contain high levels of fat, yes, but it’s monounsaturated fat — the “good fat.” It’s also packed with protein and low in sugar (the main culprit of weight gain). And we can’t forget about all that potassium, vitamin K, vitamin B9, vitamin B6, vitamin B5, vitamin C, vitamin E2 and fiber packed into the fruit (I always forget it’s technically a fruit). But most importantly, I love avocados because of the creamy, buttery, satisfying green taste. Avocados are wonderful substitute for meat or butter in recipes. Here are two avocado recipes below that, despite the strange-sounding combination, are really good!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 ripe avocado, seeded and peeled
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Greek yogurt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12-15 paper liners.

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate mixer, add avocado and beat until smooth. Add sugar and beat until well blended. Add the egg and continue beating until completely mixed. Add vanilla and yogurt, beating until just combined. Gradually add in the flour mixture into the batter. Gently fold in blueberries by hand (or they’ll burst!). (The batter is very green. It’s fun to look at!)

Using a large cookie scoop, spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake for 25-ish minutes, testing with a toothpick until it comes out clean. Cool muffins for five minutes, then removed from tin.

The final muffins have a slightly green tint to them. They are extremely moist. I really like this recipe and will definitely make it again!

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1 medium-large avocado, seeded and peeled
• 1 cup sweet yogurt (I used Stonyfield Organic Smooth and Creamy Low Fat French Vanilla)
• 2 Tablespoons honey

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Mix until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes. This is an extremely easy version of a mousse, and it is delicious! For added texture to the mousse, sprinkle crushed nuts on top.