Holy Guacamole!

Lunchtime. I'm hungry. I'm looking through my fridge. I open the fruit drawer and there is that avocado I bought awhile back. I touch it...it feels a liiiiiiittle bit too soft. What's a girl to do when life hands her an almost overripe avocado? She makes guacamole for lunch.

Avocado and guacamole get a bit of a bum rap because they are fatty. But dudes and dudettes, they are SOOO worth it, and besides it's almost all unsaturated fat, which is actually good for you (in moderation, natch). These things are loaded with fiber, have pretty great levels of vitamin C (no colds for you when you eat an avocado), and a better-than-nothing amount of protein (esp. good for those, like me, who eat limited amounts of meat). And they are freaktastically delicious. You can eat them plain on sandwiches or with eggs or what have you, but my true love is guacamole, which you can spike with healthy vegetables to get in the servings you need everyday. Here's how I make it.

One small, sliced up hass avocado (I don't enjoy leftover guac as much as fresh, so I'd rather buy a small one for one serving than a big one for two...but you do whatever you want), about 1/3 of a green bell pepper (my go-to vegetable), a couple slices of onion (both onion and pepper chopped up, of course), a jalepeño (sometimes I get a little too carried away here) or some hot sauce of your choosing, a clove of garlic, and a splash (I dunno...a tablespoon or two) of lime juice.  All of that sits in the bowl, and then I take a fork and the sharp knife I used to chop the veg and mix mix mix. The knife helps to further mash up the avocado until it all takes on a relatively creamy consistency. You can also add tomatoes, but I'm only now learning to like those, so I haven't made that addition yet. You could also add salt, but I figure I don't want to add it unless I think taste demands it, and guac just doesn't demand it, IMO.

And that's it! Why buy it in a container when it's that easy to make at home? It's like five minutes work. That's it.

Then I heat up a whole-wheat tortilla in the microwave for two minutes, then let it cool a bit. Finally, break and dip. I'm just now thinking if I made it the night before I could easily take it for lunch. Like I said, I prefer it fresh, but it's not that I don't like it at all the next day. Hm. Might have to try that.

When I end up having some leftover for whatever reason, I eat it the next day in a breakfast burrito. Whole-wheat tortilla, either fried or scrambled egg(s), and the guac. Rolled up into full-on deliciousness.

I find guacamole to be really really filling as well as tasty and good for you. So there's another idea to make you healthy and skinnay.

P.S. Make sure you wash those hands *really* well after the jalepeño slicing. I just itched my eye and realized I didn't wash enough. Frickity frick!!! The pain!