Better Make Extra of My Homemade Guacamole Recipe! It Goes Fast! By Diana Sproul

There’s nothing like the fresh creaminess of homemade guacamole. It’s delicious, simple to make, and packed with nutrition and enzymes.

Although most people eat it as a condiment, it makes a nice Paleo salad or vegetarian side dish. This is especially true for people with digestive issues like those on the GAPS and SCD diets.

You can make your own guacamole at home, with no sugar, no added starches, and no weird additives. (I cringe when I read guacamole labels at stores.) For nutrition info, see the end of this article.

Homemade Guacamole Recipe:

• 2-3 avocados – Ripe: feel slightly soft when pressed in on skin, not hard. Black skin variety called Haas is better than green skin ones from Florida (sorry, FL!)
• Lime juice- from 1-2 limes (cider vinegar if you’re out of limes)
• Garlic – 1 normal clove or little less, chopped fine
• Red onion – skinned and chopped fine (or green onion)
• Cilantro – 1/4 cup chopped fine
• Sea salt – 1/3-1 tsp to taste
• Tomato (Optional) – Cut 1 small one in half, discard gooey/seedy centers, remainder chopped fine (Omit for Autoimmune Paleo and food allergies to nightshades) (Roma tomatoes work best)
• Jalapeno or Serrano Chili (Optional) – cut open, remove seeds and stem, chop fine 1/2 to 1.5 TB  (Could replace with cayenne, dry ground ancho chile powder)
  (Omit all chilies for Autoimmune Paleo and food allergies to nightshades)
  If omit due to dietary restrictions, use some ground black pepper.
• Optional: olive oil 1-2 TB (This is not from CA, it might be a remnant from adding mayo to my guac (don’t remind me of those days!) or my own need for fat. Olive oil does provide some Omega 9 Essential Fatty Acids.

Cut open the avocados with a dinner knife. They should cut easily because they are ripe. Circle around the inside large pit. Pry open. Remove the pit like this: Hit the seed with a sharp knife edge on (left hand is behind back for this sketchy process!) It should stick in there. Now turn the knife and the seed will hopefully turn with it and pop out. Push the knife against a cutting board edge to pop the seed off (no hands in there, please! grease and sharp objects don’t mix!)

Using the dinner knife (not super sharp point), cut lines all across the avocado half. Cut lines in the opposite direction so you make cubes. Scoop out with a large dinner spoon into a bowl. Mash fine with fork or pastry butter blender. Add remaining ingredients. Add 1/2 lime’s juice at a time until you reach the right sourness. Lime juice also stops the guacamole from turning brown so quickly.

Eat immediately as salad or condiment. (A condiment – sure, if you can stop eating the goodness!!) Best the same day or next day.

Storage:
To store, move the remainder into a food storage container and push it down so it’s even. Any surface touching air will go brown (oxidize). Push wax paper down over surface or add more lime juice on top. Cover with a lid, and keep in fridge a few days.

But when you’re chowing down ‘guac’ at the next party, beware, avocados are supposed to be an aphrodisiac!! (cite 2)

Guacamole Nutrition (Yes, There Is Some!):
Avocados are a source of vitamins E and C, minerals like magnesium (often cited for sleep and cramp prevention), iron and manganese. They are rich in potassium, a “good source of vitamin A” and “fairly high in most of the B vitamins except B12”. They are “more like a nut than a fruit”; they contain 4-5 grams of protein per avocado. (cite 1)

They are also high in lysine, an amino acid that is associated with bone growth, collagen creation in skin, connective tissues and bone, and calcium absorption in the intestinal tract. Lysine can also help inhibit herpes virus outbreaks. (cite 1)

Raw avocados come with enzymes that help you unlock their nutrition. Cool, isn’t it? Garlic and onions help feed good bacteria in our digestive systems. (cite 3)

Apparently this is a fruit from a tree, not a vegetable, but all I know is that its delicious! Half an avocado provides about one quarter of a person’s daily needs of anti-aging and anti-oxidant vitamin E (but don’t feel limited to just half). They also provide fiber and magnesium.(cite 5) It’s monounsaturated fat, a good fat for heart health. Avocado also provides Omega 9’s, which are still great for us, but don’t figure in the Omega 3:6 ratio at all. They provide a little Omega-6 (1.7g per 100g.) (cite 4)

Eating avocados can help stop excess gas (called a carminative in the herb world). If used externally on unhappy skin, they have emollient (skin soothing) properties. But when you’re chowing down at the next party, beware, they are also supposed to be an aphrodisiac!! (cite 2).

I hope this recipe and nutrition info helps with your guacamole habit, and healthy one, to be sure!

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1. Staying Healthy with Nutrition, by Dr. Elson Haas MD, p. 44 & 308, copyright 2006.
2. Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, by Andrew Chevalier, p. 122.
3. Gut and Psychology Syndrome, by Dr. Natasha McBride, copyright 2010.
4. http://chriskresser.com/how-much-omega-3-is-enough-that-depends-on-omega-6/
5. Avocado Nutrition: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2157?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=avocado