Avocado

Soft Shell Shrimp Tacos

Soft Shell Shrimp Tacos

Remember that Red Hot Relish from a couple days ago? Here is a fantastic use for it. I sauteed some shrimp, warmed some soft flour tortillas, and added fresh cilantro and avocado. (Of course, you could use this relish on a pork, chicken or beef taco, too!)

BOOM! A very simple dinner that is healthy and delicious!

(Nutritional data will vary with the tortillas, how much avocado is used and if you add anything else.)

Life is easier when you can combine simple, healthy and delicious. You are more likely to make good decisions when you don’t have to sacrifice one of those characteristics. Planning, prioritization and presentations are key topics in my podcast Make Your Someday Today, where I talk to successful people about how they achieved success and how you can do it, too!

Grown Up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Grown Up Grilled Cheese
Serves 1

This is the sort of “Comfort Food” that my guests on my Make Your Someday Today podcast will talk about in our interviews. Comfort foods do just that. They make us feel safe, secure and warm. They tell us that everything will be all right, that success will arrive, but only if we get moving toward.

2 slices of your preferred bread
2 slices of your preferred cheese
2-3 slices of tomato
1 jalapeno cut into strips
1/4 avocado, sliced
1 teaspoon Vegemite (optional)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

  1. Prepare your ingredients. Preheat non-stick griddle or skillet.
  2. Spread the Vegemite on one slice of cheese (optional).
  3. Spread the mayonnaise on one side of each slice of bread.
  4. Lay the bread mayo-side DOWN on griddle.
  5. Lay the Vegemite spread cheese on the bread, Vegemite down.
  6. Arrange the remaining ingredients on the cheese.
  7. Top with second piece of cheese and bread, mayo-side UP.
  8. Grilled until the edge gets brown (2-4 minutes, depending on the heat.)
  9. With a spatula, carefully flip and grill the second side.

Nutritional data:
Calories:       274
Fat:             16.8g
Sat fat:          5.7g
Chol:           25mg
Sodium:     354mg
Carbs:            25g
Fiber:            6.9g
Protein:          14g

Please be aware that those nutritional numbers are specific to my sandwich. Adding to deleting ingredients, using different cheese, or not using Vegemite will change all the numbers.

Served with Wisco Disco, a great American Amber Ale

Make Your Someday Today is a twice-weekly podcast, where we talk to successful people in all walks of life and around the world on Monday, and then on Thursday, I take a specific message from the previous guest and give my “Trevitorial”, where I help you apply that message to your life. The entire purpose of the show is to help all of us overcome our challenges and fears and become the person we want to be, the person we deserve to be.

Baked Avocado Fries

Bake Avocado Fries
Serves 2

1 ripe avocado, seeded and sliced into 8 wedges
1 egg white
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon corn meal (but you will only use about 1 teaspoon–the rest just makes it easier to work with.)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Your preferred spices and herbs

  1. Preheat oven to 450. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Mix corn meal with spices (I used garlic powder.)
  3. Mix herbs with panko crumbs (I used dried basil.)
  4. Coat avocado wedges in corn meal.
  5. Whisk egg white and water until lightly frothy. 
  6. Dip each wedge in egg white, one at a time. Roll in panko crumbs and set on prepared cookie sheet.
  7. Baked until browned (16-20 minutes, depending on your oven.)
Serve warm with a sauce or dip. This recipe went well with a ranch salad dressing. 
Development notes:
Special thanks go to Andrew Carpenter for sending me a picture of this recipe. 
Since I had never made this recipe before, I several versions. I also tried a version using a thin Greek yogurt wash (2 tablespoons yogurt with 2 tablespoons milk.) It had no better flavor than the egg wash version, but the egg wash created a better crunch. I also tmade a southwestern style, replacing the garlic powder with chili powder and dried cilantro for the basil. That tasted good with a spicy sauce (I like Sriracha.)
I considered not using the corn meal coating, but I opted to use it because the corn meal coating helps the egg wash stick to the avocado, creating a better crunch. It only adds about 5 calories and 1 gram of carbs to each serving.
Nutritional data:
Calories:     151
Fat:          10.7g
Sat fat:       1.5g
Chol:          0mg
Sodium:    56mg
Carbs:      11.7g
Fiber:         4.9g
Protein:         4g

Tuna BLT

Tuna BLT

I’m not going to give a specific recipe here. This is just a pictures to stimulate ideas. You can do this with any protein (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or fish. You could even use a piece of tofu or a black bean burger.)

For this sandwich, I used about 4 ounces of ahi tuna. I heated a heavy-bottomed pan until it was really hot then seared both side for about 30 seconds. That tuna is about 3/4 inch thick.

The last time I posted a BLT, I used Healthy Life’s Whole Wheat English muffins. This sandwich was built on two pieces of their 100% Whole Wheat High Fiber bread. Depending on your personal focus, per slice it has 35 calories, 5 net carbs, 3g fiber, and only 85mg sodium.

Instead of mayo, I used mashed avocado as in the earlier sandwich. That drizzle in front is an excellent chipotle-infused olive oil from my friends at Olivada, in Sheboygan, WI. The smoky heat (but not too hot) of the oil nicely off-set the smoothness of the avocado and the meatiness of the tuna.

(No, I don’t get freebies, commissions or anything else. I just enjoy supporting small businesses that offer great products and great service. You can visit in person or shop online.)

No nutritional data today. The sandwich will vary based on your ingredients. I just hope that I gave you a new idea.

You have until 11:59pm on Tuesday to vote in the poll. I have a couple other polls that I will post after this one, to further refine my plans. Why am I polling you? It’s really for the same reason I do this blog. I want to create a product that you really want. I don’t want to spend a lot of time (and money) making a book that will only be of interest to my Mother. I want to satisfy your needs more than my needs.

An updated BLT

An Updated BLT
(The recipe below is for two sandwiches, but the nutritional data is for one sandwich.)
2 English muffins (I prefer Healthy Life 100% Whole Wheat, for their flavor and only 60mg of sodium per muffin.) 
1/4 ripe avocado, mashed
2 strips bacon (preferably low sodium)
2-4 slices of tomato 
Onions as desired
Fresh baby spinach
  1. Fry your  bacon, and drain on plate covered with paper plate and paper towels. (You can save any residual bacon grease for later cooking or throw it out. I save mine.) Note: I have been having issues with out home smoke detectors lately, so I fry my bacon on my gas grill outside, laying them on a cast iron griddle. Works great, and no loud alarms!)
  2. Toast your muffins, or I lightly butter them and lay them on the gas grill for few minutes.)
  3. Spread half the mashed avocado on each muffin and layer the other ingredients. One slice of bacon torn in half is all that is needed on each sandwich for great flavor.
That’s it. Simple as can be, and much healthier (in this case, especially in regards to the sodium content.) More importantly, this is a delicious sandwich and really quick to make.
Nutritional data (per sandwich):
Calories:     183
Fat:             6.7g
Sat fat:        1.6g
Chol:          7.5mg
Sodium:  161.3mg
Carbs:       22.5g
Fiber:             4g
Protein:       8.6g

To understand why this version is healthier, if you used Healthy Life 100% whole wheat bread, 2 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise, and 3 strips of regular bacon the numbers would be:
Nutritional data (per sandwich):
Calories:       237 (not bad)
Fat:               12.6g 
Sat fat:            3.3g
Chol:            26.4mg
Sodium:      1027mg  (Ouch!)
Carbs:          21.5g (the same)
Fiber:             5.7g  (better)
Protein:        13.3g  (more)
If you are not worried about sodium, the regular version is fine. But the updated version is 50 calories and 960 mg sodium less, and that can make a difference. 

Broiled Egg-Stuffed Avocado

I am always fascinated about the foods people prefer which is why I ask my final three questions of my interview guests on my podcast, Make Your Someday Today. Everyone has such interested preferences.

If I interviewed all of the readers of this blog, this would be a common favorite. This post is the most viewed food post on the entire blog. Amazing! (And this recipe is so simple and delicious!)

Broiled Egg-Stuffed Avocado
Serves two as a side dish, or one as a meal
1 avocado, cut in half and seeded
2 eggs, separated
Hot sauce (your preference)
1 ounce cheese

Place the top rack in your oven to the highest level. Turn broiler on “high”.

Choose a ripe avocado. (An avocado is ripe when the stem end yields under gentle pressure from your thumb. The skin will also be a dark brown, near-black.

Slice the avocado in half (through he poles and not around the equator) and remove the seed. The seed will be easily removed by chopping your knife partway into the seed and then giving it a twist.

Score the avocado through the meat but not through the skin, to allow the hot sauce to seep in.

Sprinkle the hot sauce on the avocado.

Fill the hole where the seed was with an egg yolk. If there is extra room, add some of the egg white.

Place on top rack under the broiler for 3 minutes.

Place cheese on top, and return to broiler until the cheese melts 1-2 minutes.

Serve.

It was so awesomely delicious! The yolk was perfect (almost like a soft boiled egg.)

Nutritional data (for one piece):
Calories:         219
Fat:                  19g
Sat fat:            5.3g
Chol:             222mg
Sodium:           46mg
Carbs:            7.2g
Fiber:             4.6g
Protein:             8g

Make Your Someday Today is a twice-weekly podcast, where we talk to successful people in all walks of life and around the world on Monday, and then on Thursday, I take a specific message from the previous guest and give my “Trevitorial”, where I help you apply that message to your life. The entire purpose of the show is to help all of us overcome our challenges and fears and become the person we want to be, the person we deserve to be.

Easy Guacamole

Easy Guacamole
Makes about 2 cups

2 ripe avocados
The juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, mashed and minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced onion (or 1 teaspoon dried minced onion)
Cumin and black pepper to taste

  1. Avocados are ripe when the stem end is soft when gently pressed with your thumb.
  2. Slice avocados with a sharp knife. Use the knife to pop out the seed. Use a spoon to scoop the meat out of the shell.
  3. Add remaining ingredients.
  4. Mash together. Cover in airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve. Use within 1-2 days. Air will cause it to turn brown, but that does not change the nutritional values (just the color.)

Nutritional data (for approximately 4 tablespoon):
Calories:        57
Fat:              5.2g
Sat fat:         0.7g
Chol:              0mg
Sodium:       2.7mg
Carbs:          2.9g
Fiber:           2.3g
Protein:        0.7g

Pita, with Egg and Avocado

Warm Pita, with Eggs and Avocado
Serves 1

1 pita
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 eggs
1/4 mashed avocado
5 cherry tomatoes, halved

1.  Heat non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil.
2.  Place pita into a 6 or 7 inch skillet and warm it (about 1 minute).  Remove and keep warm.
3.  Crack eggs into skillet.  Cook to your preference.
4.  Place eggs on pita. Top with avocado and tomatoes.

Nutritional data
Calories:        468
Fat:              26.2g
Sat fat:           5.2g
Chol:             423mg
Sodium:         178mg
Carbs:          41.7g
Fiber:             5.5g
Protein:        21.1g

Grilled Tomatoes and Eggs

Grilled Tomato and Eggs
Serves 1 (well, maybe two, if you don’t eat a lot at breakfast)

1 ripe tomato
2 eggs
1/4 cup hummus (homemade or store bought)
1/2 mashed avocado
1 teaspoon olive oil
Herbs/spices (Your choice. I used Penzy’s Sunny Paris, my favorite on eggs)

1.  Preheat nonstick griddle over medium-high heat. Spread the teaspoon olive oil.
2.  Slice the tomato into 4 slices. Lay on the griddle. Cook, flipping once, for a total of 2-3 minutes. (If you cook them longer, they will just get softer, which is okay, too.)
3.  Carefully crack your eggs on to the griddle (if large enough) or in another non-stick skillet. Cook them to your preference.
4.  Warm the hummus in the microwave until hot.  Scoop onto your plate.
5.  Layer tomatoes and eggs next to (or on) the hummus.  Add avocado.

Nutritional data:
Calories:        380
Fat:              28.9g
Sat fat:           5.7g
Chol:            423mg
Sodium:        215mg
Carbs:         17.6g
Fiber:            8.7g
Protein:       16.9g

I woke up hungry, but not knowing what I wanted to eat. I looked in the fridge and pantry and found these items. I was lucky because yesterday I scored some delicious tomatoes, sweet and ripe, at the local farmer’s market.

When I cook I don’t really use a recipe, I just put things that I like together. But it also pays to keep certain staples on hand at all times. I always keep eggs, avocados, and hummus on hand, and so I know I am always only a few moments away from a hearty breakfast, high in protein and fat to get my day started. I find that when I have a high protein/ high fat breakfast, I am not as hungry the rest of the day. (And it helps me hit my macronutrient goals of 40-50% of my calories from fat, 25% of my calories from protein and 30-35% of my calories from carbs.)

Rosemary Chicken with Tomato-Avocado Salsa

Rosemary Chicken with Tomato-Avocado Salsa
Serve 6

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 ounces each)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
Black pepper

1.  Place chicken breasts inside a Ziploc freezer bag. With a rubber mallet or similar tool, pound the breast to 1/4 inch thickness. Season the breasts with black pepper.
2.  Combine oil, vinegar, rosemary and garlic in another Ziploc bag. Place chicken in bag and toss to coat. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3.  While the chicken rests in the refrigerator, prepare the salsa (below.)
4.  Preheat a non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Place each breast in skillet and cook until done (about 3 minutes per side.)
5.  Serve with salsa.

Nutritional data (1 chicken breast):
Calories:         308
Fat:               16.6g
Sat fat:            3.8g
Chol:               98mg
Sodium:           62mg
Carbs:             1.2g
Fiber:              0.2g
Protein:         37.7g

Tomato-Avocado Salsa
Serves 6

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed and minced
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped

1.  In a 1 quart or larger bowl, combine first four ingredients with a whisk.
2.  Add tomatoes, cheese and avocado.
3.  Serve immediately.

Nutritional data (1/2 cup portion):
Calories:         126
Fat:               10.9g
Sat fat:            2.6g
Chol:              8.3mg
Sodium:          112mg
Carbs:             6.3g
Fiber:              3.1g
Protein:           2.6g