Avocado Snack

My sister has just discovered how wonderful Costco can be. I can't believe it took her 29 years to figure this out... I normally do her Costco shopping for her and she pays me back but this time she went on her own. I warned her that her $100 in cash was not going to be sufficient... an hour later I get a text that she doesn't have enough money for all of the things she wants even though there were only 4 things on her list. She has now discovered how she will be able to afford to feed her boyfriend. :) Some things I have discovered at Costco that are WAY cheaper: avocado oil, coconut oil, nitrate-free bacon, free-range organic meat, almond milk, nuts in general, ghee, coconut water, and AVOCADOS!

I eat an avocado a day. I have to have some with my breakfast because I seem to get really hungry if I haven't had enough fat and calories in the morning. I know they are high in calories, but I don't watch my calories. Eat in moderation (except veggies and water) and make sure you are making healthy choices. I tried the calorie counting apps (myFitnessPal) on my phone and know friends that have done weight watchers and that's fine... it works for them. But I felt way more restricted eating that way than I ever have eating paleo.

Why I love avocado... you might have hear that avocados are a "healthy fat"- what does that mean? It means that they contain monounsaturated fats, pretty much the only fruit that does (yes, they are a fruit). On a molecular level that means they have one double-bond in the fatty acid tail- for what you probably care about studies have shown that increasing monounsaturated fats and reducing saturated fats is associated with increased physical activity and energy and less anger and irritability. They also contain a lot of vitamins and minerals including lutein (eye health), potassium, and folic acid.

Anyway back to Mara... she bought a bag of avocados because they are super cheap on Costco. (They don't need to be purchased organic but wash them because you don't want to "push" pesticides into the flesh when you are cutting them.) She ate the whole bag in three days... like 3 a day! This was her favorite preparation... and I have to say I made half this way and went immediately back for the second half. I credit my sister with this recipe if you want to call it a recipe. :)

Avocado Snack

- 1 avocado

- 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar (if you have really good vinegar- I buy the cheap stuff :)- then you don't need the sugar or the reducing)

- 3 Tbsp. Coconut Sugar

- Sea Salt

1. In a sauce pan over medium-high heat whisk the vinegar and sugar. Keep whisking occasionally until it has reduced to a syrup. 5-10min.

2. Slice your avocado and top it with the salt and vinegar... glorious!