A Different Kind of Smoothie

Always striving to get more veggies, I've been experimenting with smoothies.  I love incorporating healthy fats like almond butter, avocado or coconut milk (to offset a potential glycemic spike) but this morning my appetite took its time waking up, so I opted for something less chewy. I grabbed a couple of purple carrots, a celery heart, a broccoli stem and a few red grapes.  Because of the grapes, fat was important, so I used a tablespoon of very good extra virgin olive oil.  The smoothie was mild and lovely, light and easy to drink.  It wasn't bulky enough to coat the stomach for all my pills, so I took them a little later after my second breakfast (I'm sounding like a hobbit).  This was a nice way to ease slowly into the day.

Avocado Aioli For Cinco De Mayo

Alright, kids, here it is! It's so lazy and easy. You may want to double the recipe because this goes away very fast.

Avocado Aioli
1 ripe avocado
3 Tbsp. Veganaise
juice of 1/4 lime
3-4 shakes of Chipotle powder plus more on top to make it pretty

Just mash and stir it all together! 

You can play with the amount of the Chipotle powder, which is very different in flavor from Cayenne or other chili powders. Chipotle is smoky and rich, not hot and biting. Avocado aioli is a nice departure from the predictable guacamole, which I also love. These are healthy fats at their finest. Here's how we ate the aioli:

We had tacos the first night: black eyed peas, cabbage and cilantro with lime, tomatoes and salsa, and of course, the aioli. You can see I am generous with my healthy fats!

Then for lunch the next day I had a taco salad. Here, the vehicle for all that yum is a bowl of spinach instead of a tortilla. The chips are brown rice. Ole!