Avocado with Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing

This recipe is one my father taught me, and is a salad that would make a frequent appearance on our dinner table growing up. Chopped/sliced fresh avocado dressed in lemon juice and olive oil dressing with just a pinch of salt and sometimes, garlic. As a kid I honestly hated eating raw avocado so this dressing gave it the perfect sour tang to make everyone at the dinner table fight for the last piece! I prefer to use slightly over-ripe avocados for this just because I like my avocados just a little mushy – but that is your own personal preference!

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

• 1 large avocado
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• OPTIONAL: 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Directions

1. Peel and chop the avocado as you wish, I personally like to chop them into medium-sized cubes as shown below.

2. For the dressing: mix the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and add to the avocado – mix it in well, but make sure you don’t squish the avocado pieces/slices!

3. OPTIONAL: I like to add the garlic to give in a tinge of garlicky taste, however that’s up to you! Serve chilled.

What are the health benefits of avocados?

Believe it or not, avocados are considered one of the few “good fats”! What does this mean? Although it is a very high-fat food (it is in fact one of the fattiest plant food), a majority of the fat in avocados are in the form of oleic acid. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid that is also a major component in olive oil so this recipe is a double dose of benefit! The monounsaturated oleic acid, which is a “heart healthy” fatty acid, has been linked to reduced inflammation, reduced cholesterol levels and contributes to the resistance to heat-induced oxidation.

For all athletes out there, or anyone hitting the gym and trying to choose their diet carefully, avocados are not only a “good fat” but also, surprisingly contains up to 30% more potassium than the average banana. Why is this important for muscle growth and repair? Potassium helps build muscle by directly assisting in the breaking down of carbohydrates in our body, as well as the synthesis of amino acids from our protein intake. So this is actually a really great post-workout snack too, especially if you couple it with a balanced complex carbohydrates and dose of natural protein (boiled egg does the trick!).

Check out my tomato-stuffed avocado recipe here.

Enjoy!