An After School Snack, Parents can also Enjoy.

    Since my husband decided to skip the country again, I am left here to cook for myself. My little guy has a limited palate consisting mostly of PB & J or Macaroni and Cheese. But he won't turn down Guacamole when given to him. Because of this I try to keep avocados in the house so  I can whip up a batch when the occasion arises. So once school was over today and snack time rolled around, out came the Guacamole.
    The main ingredient in Guacamole is avocado. Some people love them and others hate them. I happen to love them. They are good for your skin and hair, help to lower cholesterol are higher in potassium than a banana etc. etc. But health benefit's aside, they're delicious. You can't go wrong with an avocado.
    My most favourite way to eat avocado is in Guacamole. You can eat it on a tortilla chip, with some crisp veggie sticks or simply on it's own. But it doesn't have a very long shelf life, so you want to make it shortly before serving. If you do need to store it for an extended period of time, do so in a tall, thin container. This way there will be limited surface area for any oxidation to take place. And once it does occur, you can just scrape off the top layer and the rest will have remained a beautiful green color. However, I don't recommend storing it any longer than 3 days. Any longer and the quality will quickly go down hill.
    There are about a thousand ways to make Guacamole. Most preparations have two things in common. First and most importantly is, well, Avocado. It is Guacamole after all. And second, lime juice. This is to slow down the oxidation and add flavor. But of all the different ways to prepare Guacamole, I prefer my recipe. Maybe one day I'll try switching it up, but for now I'm gonna stick to what works.

Guacamole:

Guacamole with tortilla chips and veggies
for dipping.

Ingredients:

2 avocados
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup red pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. jalapeno chopped, seeded and de-veined (more or less depending on how spicy you like your food)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions:

(1) Remove skin and pit from avocado.
(2) Mash avocado, leaving some lumps for texture.
(3) Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir to combine.
(4) Transfer to serving dish.

All the fixin's

Cut the avocado lengthwise in half
around the pit. Carefully and firmly,
strike the exposed pit with the sharp
edge of the knife. While grasping the
avocado, twist the knife to loosen
and remove the pit.

Do not over mash. Leave some body
to the avocado.

*This recipes yields 8 Tbsp. of Guacamole

Nutritional Value
(Per 2 Tbsp. Serving)

Calories 84              
Total Fat 7.4g                    Fiber 3.5 g
Saturated Fat 1.1g             Sugars 0.7 g
Cholestorol 0mg                Protein 1.1 g
Sodium 243.9 mg              Carbohydrates 5.3 g