Avocados and I go way back… they were the first solid food I started on as a baby and it’s been a delicious love affair ever since!
There are few more enjoyable flavours than ripe avocado, yet their mild creaminess is also incredibly versatile, and lends itself well to both sweet and savoury recipes. Indeed, chocolate avocado mousse is a favourite sweet treat in my household and tastes surprisingly similar to the real thing.
Avocado also happens to be one of the very best foods for maintaining healthy, supple and youthful skin. The abundant monounsaturated fats in avocado can have a powerful effect against ageing, particularly helping to build smooth skin and support healthy joints. They soften and lubricate your skin from the inside out, as your skin cells are forming, and help to strengthen your cell membranes.
The antioxidant vitamins A, C and E in avocados are essential for protecting and healing your complexion from everyday toxins and pollutants, and their iron and copper content helps to boost antioxidant enzyme levels in your body. They’re considered by many as one of nature’s most perfect foods.
While some dietary fat is essential, they are still rather rich in calories, which is why I aim to eat around half an avocado a day. But if you’re especially active, then a full avocado or more is ideal fuel for a busy lifestyle, and they make the perfect quick snack on the go.
Avocados are a good source of potassium for healthy blood pressure, amino acids to aid muscle repair, and they’re easy to digest. However, they’re best enjoyed raw to avail of their living enzymes, as our bodies run on living enzymes as the catalyst for every biochemical reaction.
Making healthier food choices everyday can also really help to lower stress levels. Have you heard of the mineral magnesium? Found in green leafy veggies, nuts and seeds, avocados and a range of other whole plant foods, magnesium is nature’s own sedative. It’s the perfect antidote to stress, even helping to improve sleep. The mineral is also an essential driving force behind over 300 different enzyme reactions in the body.
The standard Western diet tends to be higher in processed foods, which generally lack magnesium, and not enough whole plant foods, which are full of it!
This simple but tasty recipe for roast portobello mushrooms stuffed with chilli-lime avocado is packed with so much goodness, and makes a great snack or light meal.
I would love to know if you get a chance to make this recipe for Roast Portobello Mushrooms with Chilli-Lime Avocado! Simply tag #RosannaDavisonNutrition on Instagram or Twitter or come on over to my Facebook to say hello 🙂
- coconut oil, to grease
- 6 portobello mushrooms
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 ripe avocado
- the juice of half a fresh lime
- pinch of dried chilli flakes
- pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
- sprinkle of smoked paprika, to serve
- Preheat the oven to 190C and lightly grease a baking tray with coconut oil, or lay down a sheet of greaseproof paper.
- Gently rinse the mushrooms and remove their stalks. Lay them out on the tray and sprinkle with a little smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
- Roast the mushrooms at 190C for 15-20 minutes, until they begin to shrink slightly and release their juices.
- While the mushrooms are roasting, slice the avocado in half, remove the pit and use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a bowl.
- Squeeze in the fresh lime juice and add the chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Use a fork to mash the avocado until smooth.
- Remove the mushrooms from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes before spooning the mashed avocado into the centre of each one.
- Sprinkle with a little extra smoked paprika and serve warm or cold.
- Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days, but be aware that avocado can begin to oxidise and turn brown when left out in the air. So this is best eaten on day it’s made.