[Super easy to prepare and delightfully tasty, these Avocado Boats are vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, nut-free, yeast-free, and low glycemic. Suitable for all stages on an anti-candida diet.]
One of the requests I hear all the time from readers and students in my programs is, “Can you provide recipes that are quick and easy?”
Now, don’t get me wrong: just because I love cooking and truly enjoy a complex, multi-faceted recipe that’s perfect for a holiday or dinner party, I know that there are many quick and easy recipes that fulfill this requirement, too.
Enter these avocado boats. While simple, they are definitely appetizer-worthy at your next shindig or as a buffet offering at the outdoor patio party. And despite all that, they’re also easy and quick enough to become a dinner staple on weeknights.
This recipe is one of more than 140 “affordable, healthy and delicious plant-based recipes” from my friend Heather Nicholds’s new book, College Vegan Cookbook.
Apart from Heather’s easy writing style, comprehensive information and no-nonsense recipes, what I love about the book is that it’s applicable to so many more people than vegans starting college. If you’re new to plant-based cooking, or if you’re looking for simple, affordable and healthy options, everything in this book applies to you, too.
As Heather aptly points out in the book’s opening chapter, these recipes and this cooking style is good for your health, your budget, the environment, social justice and the animals on our planet. And those are good for everyone, not just college students.
The book begins with a chapter on how to eat a balanced diet, followed by a list of necessary tools and pantry basics. It also includes a section called “Navigating the Grocery Store,” which is really a crash course in best practices while shopping.
Recipe chapters include “Breakfast,” “Soups and Stews,” “Sandwiches and Salads,” “Snacks and Sides,” “Main Courses,” “Desserts and Staples” and “Sauces and Dressings.”
Some of the recipes that intrigued me most were the Green Kickstart Smoothie, Chia Pudding Parfaits, Savory Chickpea Omelet Cups, Hot and Sour Tofu Soup, Pumpkin Pear Soup, Italian Wedding Soup, Tomato Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Meatball Subs, Greek Potato Salad, 5-Layer Dip, Sliding Scale Nachos, BBQ Cauliflower Wings, Pineapple Fried Rice, Sesame-Lime Tofu, Jambalaya, Chocolate-Coconut Bars and Freezer Blueberry Coconut Pie. And yes, they’re all a breeze to make!
While some of Heather’s ingredients aren’t candida-diet friendly, I could easily sub my own all-purpose gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour and find ACD-friendly alternatives for the sweeteners. Since most of the recipes are savory, this didn’t seem like a problem.
The book wraps up with a section on food prep techniques and a conversion chart so that you can cook the recipes whether your college is based in North America, Europe, or anywhere else.
The recipe I chose to make was the super-easy Avocado Boats. I mean, I already adore avocado, plus everything else in the recipe was already on hand. I thought they’d make a lovely appetizer for me and the HH one weeknight, but as it turned out, there was leftover salad (used to stuff the avocado halves), so we just polished that off with a piece of toast and called it a meal. Light and very satisfying!
If you know a university student who’s interested in cooking or someone starting out in the realm of home cooking, College Vegan is a perfect choice.
Avocado Boats
from College Vegan by Heather Nicholds
reprinted with permission from the publisher, Callisto Media
[From Heather: “These look fancy, but they are really easy to make. Serve them as an appetizer if you have friends over for dinner or just enjoy them on your own. Unless you have a really big avocado, there will probably be leftover salad, which you can enjoy on the side.”]
For the salad:
1 celery stalk, chopped, or 1/4 cup (60 ml) diced cucumber
1/2 apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup (120 ml) raw spinach, finely chopped
2 Tbsp (30 ml) Cilantro-Lime Dressing (I used a bit more)
1 ripe avocado, halved lengthwise and pitted
For the dressing:
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup (180 ml) canned coconut milk
1 Tbsp (15 ml) tahini or 1/4 cup (60 ml) plain nondairy yogurt [I used tahini]
3 Tbsp (45 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp (15 ml) sugar (I used stevia; you could also use xylitol or Lakanto)
Fine sea salt, to taste
Make the dressing: In a small blender or food processor, combine the cilantro, coconut milk, tahini, lime juice, sugar and salt. Blend for about one minute until smooth. Taste, and add more salt as needed. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Makes about one cup.
Make the salad: In a medium bowl, toss together the celery, apple and spinach. Drizzle with your dressing of choice and toss to coat.
Scoop out some of the avocado halves to make a large hollow area. Mix the avocado you scooped out with the apple mixture. Divide the mixture between the avocado halves, and eat directly from the shells with a spoon.
Makes 2 servings. Not suitable for freezing.
Suitable for: ACD All stages; sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, nut free, yeast-free, vegan, low glycemic.
Disclosure: Links in this post may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase using those links, at no cost to you, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.
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