Saturday Selections: Fruity Guacamole

Sometimes, we like to do things a little differently in this house.

Sometimes we like to do things that may seem a little crazy at first, but if you are willing to be open to the idea, you might just find that you like it a lot.

Take this example brought to us by The Dude.

Now here she is playing in a toy that is clearly made for her sister’s enjoyment. A little strange and weird. But when you stop and think about it, it’s pretty darn cute and funny. When she first saw me watching her, she totally froze like she thought she would get in trouble. And I’ll be honest, my first instinct was to get mad at her and tell her to get out of there. But after I thought about it for a second, I thought she certainly isn’t hurting anything. Why not just let her stay? She is just a little kid trying to mix things up a little bit and have a good time.

When I get in the mood to mix things up, I don’t usually contort myself into Monkey’s toys…usually.  No, if I’m feeling funky I will shake things up in the kitchen.

Take this sweet and fruity guacamole for instance.

The avocado gets all sweetened up with a banana and a touch of honey and vanilla. Then you fold in some strawberries and mangoes. Serve it up with some cinnamon sugar tortilla chips, and bam. Delicious.

It took no time to put together, and the chips are a no brainer too. You remember back when we made Cuban Nachos? Well I used the exact same method to make the chips only I sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar before I popped them in the oven. I used a two to one sugar/cinnamon ratio and put in just a pinch of salt.

Fabulous.

So if you are in the mood to shake things up a little this Saturday, I suggest you try out this sweet and healthy dip… it’s only slightly more fun than playing in baby activity centers.

Fruity Guacamole

2 medium avocados

1 medium ripe banana

1 small lime

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped strawberries

1/4 cup chopped mango

Mash avocados and bananas together with fork or in a food processor until smooth.

Stir in lime, honey, vanilla, and salt.

Fold in strawberries and mangoes.

Serve chilled with cinnamon sugar tortilla chips.

Avocado Banana Bread

One of the things that I try to accomplish as a Mom, is to pack in as much healthy stuff into my kids (and on the happy, rare occasion, the Hubs) as I possibly can with any bite of food that goes into their mouths. Muffins and breads are a good resource for this purpose because you can sometimes hide things that would otherwise remain uneaten on plates.

Here is what I can tell you about the health benefits of avocado. (Because I am a Mama and I know these things…and because I know how to look up stuff on the internets. Be impressed.)

It contains a large amount of the healthy fats that you always hearing about. You know, the ones that are good for your heart, that can help reduce cholesterol, and can fight crime and such.

It contains more potassium than bananas.

It is high in fiber, and vitamins K, B, and C.

And you know what else? It tastes freaking awesome with bananas.

I started feeding mashed up avocados to the Monkey Mode about a month ago and on the days that I would mix it in with mashed bananas, I realized that I was having a hard time keeping myself from sticking my pinky finger in to sample another bite.

So naturally, my mind started wandering to the various ways I could add more avocado into what we are eating.

This is sooo yummy, ya’ll.

Moist, soft, sweet. You are going to want to lock yourself in a room away from screaming children, sit down with a cup of coffee, and savor each morsel.

And just in case avocados aren’t your bag, don’t worry. You definitely don’t take a bite and smack yourself in the forehead, screaming “AVOCADO!” It is really just more of a textural thing that happens here. It makes the banana bread even more moist and tender.

(And may I mention again, the lovely health benefits that the creamy, green fruit provides?)

You start off with basic quick bread ingredients: whole wheat flour (Oh yeah, that’s right. Whole wheat. And the bread is still delicious, and I bet if I hadn’t told you it was in there you wouldn’t have even noticed. So get over it!), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and sugar. You mix them up in a medium bowl and set aside.

Then pour your Little Dude a little snack because baking makes her hungry.

Now you get to do the fun part. Mash up the banana and avocado (or “appocado” if you want to be more like the Dude) together.

“Soylent Green is people!!!!”

…yeah…sometimes I wish I cooked with people who are old enough to get that joke.

As it is, I cook with people who are more interested in Dora toys, than Mommy’s amazing wit and tireless knowledge of popular culture. As evidence, I give you exhibit A:

Whatever.

Once the banana and avocado are well blended, add in the oil, vanilla, eggs, and honey. Mix until just blended, scraping the sides once.

Dump in the dry ingredients and gently mix together.

Pour this mixture in to a well greased loaf pan and bake for 65-70 minutes. I started watching mine around the one hour mark just to make sure I didn’t over bake it.

Wanna see a behind the scenes shot?

The steamy, fresh banana bread was understandably too much for the Dude to take so she begged me for a piece pretty much the entire time I was taking pictures. And once I felt satisfied with my images of the loaf I gave her a piece (don’t you feel bad that because of you, I made my child wait to eat??). Then, someone got jealous and tried to come snag a piece too….not yet my Monkey Mode…you have to wait a few more months.

But you, friend, you get to go bake this up and eat it today.

I’ll leave you it.

Avocado Banana Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (about 2 small to medium) mashed, ripe bananas

1/2 cup (about 1 medium) mashed avocado

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, bakind soda, cinnamon, and salt.

In mixer, beat together banana and avocado.

Blend in honey, oil, eggs, and vanilla, scraping the sides once.

Stir in the dry ingredients.

Pour in to well greased loaf pan.

Bake for 65-75 minutes, until toothpick or knife comes out clean.