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{38 Power Foods} Avocado Pear Smoothie

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Avocado Pear Smothie
Avocado Pear Smothie

Avocado Pear Smoothie

My exploration of power foods continues this week with this lovely pale green Avocado Pear Smoothie, a refreshing healthy way to start the day with just 4 Weight WatchersPointsPlus value.

A group of bloggers led by Mireya of My Healthy Eating Habits, is working their way through the healthy ingredients contained within Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients, from Martha Stewart and the editors Whole Living Magazine.

This week’s Power Foods ingredient is Avocado, a personal favorite, so I ended up making two recipes from the book: this avocado pear smoothie and a delicious quinoa and corn salad with toasted pumpkin seeds and avocado that I lightened up to make more Weight Watchers friendly.

If you haven’t seen the book, it’s worth checking out. The 38 Power Foods are categorized into 5 chapters: 1) Vegetables; 2) Fruits; 3) Grains and Legumes; 4) Nuts and Seeds; and 5) Eggs, Yogurt and Fish. Along with recipes for each ingredient, there’s interesting health information, as well as buying, storing, and preparation tips, making it a useful resource.

Avocado is number 3 of 15 power foods included in the vegetables chapter.

Can you believe that I was well into my 20s before ever tasting an avocado? It was love at first bite and now I feel like I’m trying to make up for lost time! Fortunately, I live in Arizona where they are reasonably priced and plentiful, especially at this time of year.

With their rich, creamy texture, it’s easy to guess that avocados are high in fat. Thankfully, it’s the good kind – monounsaturated – which may help lower your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and increase your HDL (“good”) cholesterol.

But I don’t think you’d ever guess just how rich in fiber avocados are (13 grams) or that gram for gram they have more potassium than bananas.  They also contain a healthy dose of beta carotene, as well as vitamins B6, C and E, folate, niacin and thiamin.

I use avocado all the time in salads, sandwiches, for garnishing soups, and of course, for guacamole, but I’d never used one in a smoothie until today.The original recipe called for silken tofu, but since I’m not a fan I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead. Light, creamy, refreshing, and slightly sweet, this lovely pale green smoothie is one I look forward to making again.

Enjoy!
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Filed Under: 4 PointsPlus, Breakfast & Brunch, Drinks, Easy Healthy, Snacks Tagged With: , ,

Lightened Up Quinoa and Corn Salad with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

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Lightened Up Quinoa & Corn Salad with toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Lightened Up Quinoa & Corn Salad with toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Lightened Up Quinoa & Corn Salad with toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Avocado and Lime

This yummy quinoa and corn salad with toasted pumpkin seeds is a lightened up version of one in the cookbook, Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients, from the editors of  Whole Living Magazine. It’s another recipe that’s helped me overcome my initial aversion to quinoa. (Camilla’s Lemony Lentil & Quinoa Salad was the first one.)

Studded with corn, pumpkin seeds, and diced red bell peppers, this Mexican-inspired salad is perfect as a side dish or on it’s own for a delicious light lunch.

It’s important to remember that just because a recipe is full of healthy ingredients, doesn’t guarantee it’s low calorie. This quinoa corn salad is a great example, weighing in with 504 calories and 14 Weight Watchers PointsPlus, mostly because of the overly generous amount of olive oil called for and enormous 2-cup portion size.

So, when I made this recipe last week to accompany the grilled salmon I was having for dinner when my sister and brother-in-law were in town, I did what any responsible food loving Weight Watchers Lifetime member would do :-) I slashed the olive oil in half and cut the portion down to a reasonable 1-cup size, turning this into a 190 calorie, 5 PointsPlus value Weight Watchers friendly salad or side dish.

Everyone  gave it two thumbs up so it’s going in my “make again” file.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: 5 PointsPlus, Mexican, Salads, Side Dishes Tagged With: , ,

{38 Power Foods} Chilled Asparagus Soup with Spinach and Avocado

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Making Chilled Asparagus Soup with Spinach and Avocado in the Vitamix
Chilled Asparagus Soup with Spinach & Avocado

Chilled Asparagus Soup with Spinach and Avocado

The temperatures have soared into the triple digits here in Phoenix, so when I was trying to decide on a recipe for this week’s 38 Power Foods Group, started by Mireya of My Healthy Eating Habits, this one for chilled asparagus soup with spinach and avocado immediately caught my eye.

Each week we’re blogging about one of the ingredients in Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients, from Martha Stewart and the editors Whole Living Magazine.

This week’s Power Foods ingredient is Asparagus and I chose to make one of the recipes featured in the book: Chilled Asparagus Soup with Spinach and Avocado.

The book’s introduction includes “10 Golden Rules” for eating healthy along with a brief glossary of common terms. The 38 Power Foods are broken down into 1 of 5 categories: 1) Vegetables; 2) Fruits; 3) Grains and Legumes; 4) Nuts and Seeds; and 5) Eggs, Yogurt and Fish.

There are 15 ingredients included in the Vegetables chapter, the second of which is asparagus. Information regarding the health benefits, along with buying, storing and preparation tips, and several recipes are included for each ingredient.

Asparagus comes into season in early spring, so this soup would be at it’s best then, when you can make it from young tender skinny stalks.

As for the health benefits of asparagus, it can fight a wide range of diseases and may help boost libido, contains more folate than any other vegetable, and is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, and selenium. It also has high doses of glutathione, that can help promote healthy cell replication, protect/repair your DNA, and minimize skin damage from sun exposure!

This is a simple no-cook soup that you can serve right from the blender, or chilled, which is what I opted to do. It took just a few minutes to prep the vegetables and blend them together in my Vitamix, until velvety smooth. The bright emerald green color of this soup was stunning.

Making Chilled Asparagus Soup with Spinach and Avocado in the Vitamix

Making Chilled Asparagus Soup with Spinach and Avocado

This chilled asparagus soup with spinach and avocado tasted bright and fresh and a bit “healthy” kinda like a green smoothie in a bowl. This is definitely a dish you know is good for you. We enjoyed it as part of a cold supper served with tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad and shrimp cocktail.

If you’re not a fan of green vegetables and/or green smoothies, it’s probably best to skip this one. But if you are, I’d definitely give it a go. I don’t think it’s the kind of dish I’d ever crave. But’s definitely one that’s as good for you as it is good. The perfect antidote to days or weeks of overindulging when you want something light and refreshing.

Enjoy!
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Filed Under: 3 PointsPlus, Easy Healthy, Soups, Stews & Chilis Tagged With: , , ,

Ina Garten’s Avocado and Grapefruit Salad Makeover

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Lighter Healthier Avocado Grapefruit Salad
Lighter Healthier Avocado Grapefruit Salad

Lighter Healthier Avocado Grapefruit Salad

I can’t seem to get enough of this deliciously easy avocado and grapefruit salad lately.

Full Disclosure: It’s actually Ina Garten’s Avocado & Grapefruit Salad Recipe from her Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home - made lighter and healthier.

I love Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks. Everything I make from them turns out perfectly. While her dishes are delicious, most of them are anything but light. That’s where I have fun lightening them up to make them more Weight Watchers friendly.

This avocado and grapefruit salad is a great example. In her headnote she explains that she first had this salad at a very elegant restaurant in Paris and that she “loved both it’s simplicity and the synergy between the avocados and the grapefruit.”

I totally agree, now that I’ve tasted it. Before that, I was suspicious. While I love both avocados and grapefruits, I wasn’t at all sure I would like them together. It turns out I LOVE them together!

When I ran the recipe through my nutrition software and the Weight Watchers recipe builder, I was shocked to discover that the recipe as written has 493 calories, 47.2 g fat, 20.5 g carbs, 10.1 g fiber, 3.4 g protein and 14 Weight Watchers PointsPlus value. (That’s almost half my daily allotment of PointsPlus values and I’m on maintenance)

Granted it’s all healthy stuff: avocados, grapefruit, and olive oil. But too much healthy food will pack on the pounds too. The excessive fat and calories are mostly due to 1) the amount of avocado used and 2) an excessive amount of dressing used to dip the avocado halves so they don’t get brown.

I created a lighter healthier version by changing the ratios of grapefruit and avocado and skipping the step of dipping each avocado half in dressing. If you are concerned that your avocado slices will turn brown on you, simply dip them in lemon juice instead.

These little changes resulted in a salad with 237 calories and  7 fewer PointsPlus values. Now it’s a Grapefruit and Avocado salad I can indulge in regularly without guilt.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: 7 PointsPlus, Easy Healthy, Salads Tagged With: , ,

Guacamole Recipes

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Guacamole
Guacamole

Guacamole

I’m a huge fan of avocados and love collecting guacamole recipes.I think I’m making up for lost time since I grew up without this nutritious, delicious dish.

Guacamole, a mashed avocado dip, is originally from Mexico, dating back to the Aztecs, where it was revered for its high vitamin and fat content. (I often wonder how ancient civilizations had a better appreciation of how to nourish themselves than we do today.)

Avocados, which were originally mashed with a type of mortar and pestle called a molcajete, are a good source of healthy ingredients including fiber, vitamin K, E, B6, potassium, folic acid and heart healthy mono-unsaturated fats, so there’s no reason to feel guilty when eating them. (For more on avocado nutrition.)

Guacamole

Guacamole

Guacamole is delicious as a dip for tortilla chips, as a filling for fresh tortillas, and as a topping for tacos, burritos, and tostadas. It’s even delicious spread on a turkey sandwich.

And it’s so easy to make, there’s no reason not to enjoy it often. I’ve gathered a couple of my favorite guacamole recipes here for you to enjoy.

The key to these guacamole recipes, is using perfectly ripe avocados. You’ll want to use Hass avocados, the dark greenish brown kind with the rough, bumpy skin.

Check for ripeness by gently pressing the avocado with your thumb. If there is no give, the avocado is not ripe enough. If there is a little give, the avocado is ripe and perfect for your guacamole.

If there is a lot of give and it squished beneath your thumb, the avocado is probably past ripe and already turning brown inside, so leave it where you found it!

Remember to use these recipes only as a guide, and to season it to suit your tastes and preferences. Feel free to adjust the amounts and add or delete ingredients as you see fit.

However, the one ingredient that shouldn’t be left out is the fresh citrus juice, since in addition to providing bright flavor, it helps prevent the guacamole from turning brown.

And don’t over mash the avocados – the best guacamole is slightly chunky.

Guacamole Recipes
 
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One of my favorite dips and spreads that is as easy to make as it is healthy and delicious
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer
Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • 2 large or 3 medium ripe avocados
  • ¼ cup minced onion or shallot
  • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 jalapeno or serrano chile (optional), stemmed, seeded, and finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, or to taste
  • Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Instructions
  1. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh into a medium size mixing bowl. Mash the avocados with a fork until chunky. Add the remaining ingredients (except cilantro) and stir well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
  2. Garnish and serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap placed against the guacamole’s surface and refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 4 hours).

Notes
Nutritional Estimates Per Serving (1/4 cup): 125 calories, 11 g fat, 7 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 2 g protein and 3 WW Points+.
Variations
Add ½ cup seeded and diced tomatoes
Add 1 cup corn

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Source

How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition)

Super Easy Guacamole Recipe

You might call this cheater’s guacamole, but it’s wonderful in a pinch, especially if you have fresh salsa in the fridge. Mash together the flesh of 2-3 ripe avocados and 1/2 cup well drained salsa until well combined and still a little chunky.

More guacamole recipes from around the web…

A Twist on Traditional Guacamole – with Indian spices from 101 Coobooks
Guacamole, My Way – with beautiful pictures and detailed instructions from Homesick Texan
Roasted Tomatillo Guacamole – Easy to make and full of flavor from the Inspired RD

You might also like…

Simple Mango Salsa
Fresh Tomato Salsa
Skinny Strawberry Fresh Fruit Salsa
Diana Kennedy’s Fresh Salsa from Jerez

Filed Under: 3 PointsPlus, Appetizers, Easy Healthy Tagged With: