Tomato-Stuffed Avocado

This avocado recipe is my favourite mainly because it simply tastes incredible AND looks really, really picturesque. Additionally, it’s a great from-scratch recipe that you can easily do with what you have in the fridge if your avocados are starting to sit around for too long and you need a fast way to get rid of them (without throwing them out of course). I prefer to use slightly over-ripe avocados for this just because it is way more flavoursome when combined with the juice of the tomato and lemon.

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

• 1 large avocado
• 1/2 a small onion, diced
• 1 small tomato, diced
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Peel and chop the avocado in half, and then de-pit it (remove the seed).
2. In a small bowl mix the diced tomato and onion, then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix them well, then taste if you want to add more salt according to your preference.
3. Fill the pits of the avocados with the tomato-onion mix, making sure to drizzle the tomato-lemon juice (it hits the spot!). 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, which is a “heart healthy” fatty acid, and 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 avocado salad with lemon-olive oil dressing recipe here.

Enjoy!