Meatless Monday: DIY Mayo without the Eggs

Last week I floated the idea of working towards making Meatless Monday a dairy and egg -free day. For those who missed the post, the idea stemmed from a desire to become a more ethical eater.

I proposed starting with small steps, like the ones I am taking. Last week I baked a vegan cake. This week, for my 500th blog post, I went on a quest to find more uses for the heart-healthy avocado, now in-season in California and quite reasonably priced in East Coast supermarkets. [Yes, it travels quite a distance to get from the West to the East, but then so does much of the produce this time of year.] 

After a bit of googling, I ended up at Brit + Co, an online media and e-commerce platform where I found the article “Ditch the Mayo, These 12 Recipes Use Avocado Instead.” Included in the dozen recipes was one for a simple mayonnaise, via the blog Choosing Raw. 

A recipe doesn’t get much easier than this:

Simple Raw, Vegan Avocado Mayonnaise

Ingredients

• 1 medium Hass avocado, cut in half, pit removed, and flesh scooped out
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

• Add the avocado, lemon, mustard, and salt to a food processor or high speed blender and process until well blended. Stop a few times to scrape the bowl down.
• With the motor running, drizzle in your olive oil. Continue blending till the mixture is creamy.

Remember me for next year's St. Patrick's Day!

You won’t miss the eggs one bit! With its creamy texture and delicious taste, this would pass for premium mayo were it not for its bright green color.

The recipe calls for a Hass Avocado, currently the most popular variety of avocado, but this was not always the case. You can read more about the Hass Avocado here. 

Come back next week when I explain how to make a delicious, one pot vegan meal!

Happy Meatless Monday!  Have a great week.

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Meatless Monday: Avocado Toast

Over the weekend we were pretty much stuck indoors again. There was a mad dash on Saturday morning to get the requisite errands done before the latest Blizzard Warning went into effect. In the end we were spared the predicted dump of snow, but we did not escape the wind and bitter cold. It was decidedly not the weather for venturing out.

The grocery list is still stuck on the fridge, and over the last few days we’ve played “Chopped,” trying to create the best possible meals from what we could find in the freezer, fridge, and cupboard.

We were lucky enough to have a couple of ripe avocados on hand. One was turned into guacamole, but the second became a version of Avocado Toast, the perfect accompaniment to our two remaining cups of homemade chowder.

Here is my version of this (still) trending treat.

Elaine’s Avocado Toast

(serves two as a side)

Ingredients

• 1 ripe (but still firm) avocado
• 2 eggs
• 2 thick slices of whole grain bread
• Butter (for greasing the egg poacher)
• Cayenne pepper flakes

Directions

• Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and carefully scoop the flesh from the skin.
• Slice the avocado lengthwise.
• Poach the eggs to the desired doneness.
• While the eggs are cooking, toast the bread.
• Put the toast on two plates.
• Arrange half the avocado slices on top of each piece.
• Turn the poached egg out on top of the avocado.
• Sprinkle with cayenne pepper flakes to taste. 

One of my two vintage egg poachers. They do the job.

While my recipe features an egg, there are scores of variations on this theme, with and without eggs, to satisfy everyone from a vegan to a carnivore. Check out these 5 recipes from Bon Appétit or these 10 from Self for inspiration. These are some of the easiest small plates that you could possibly whip up in your kitchen. 

Why is Avocado Toast enjoying such popularity? Avocados are considered by many to be a “super food.”  Don’t let the 250 calories in a medium (5 oz.) avocado keep you from enjoying this heart-healthy fruit, rich in both polyunsaturated fats and mono-saturated fats which help to lower cholesterol. Avocados are an excellent source of vitamins B6, C, E, and K, as well as folate, lutein, magnesium, and potassium. They are high in fiber and have been shown to boost the absorbency of fat-soluble nutrients in foods with which they are eaten.

Happy Meatless Monday! Once again, bundle up and watch out for any icy patches!

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Meatless Monday: The Mighty Avocado

The avocado appears on many Superfood Lists, for good reason. A heart-healthy fruit, it is rich in both polyunsaturated fats and mono-saturated fats, which help to lower cholesterol. Avocados are an excellent source of vitamins B6, C, E, and K, as well as folate, lutein, magnesium, and potassium. They are high in fiber and have been shown to boost the absorbency of fat-soluble nutrients in foods with which they are eaten.  

Check out these healthy facts about avocados (and a salad recipe) at WebMD. 

Thanks to a Member Appreciation Day at the Elm City Market a while back, when the giveaway was an avocado, a lime, and a head of garlic, I discovered that making your own guacamole is a snap. With a ripe avocado or two on hand, and a lime in the refrigerator, you can whip up a batch in no time.

When you make your own, the color is a lovely bright green, the taste is incredibly fresh, and you can make it is garlicky or as salty as you wish.

Make Your Own Guacamole 

INGREDIENTS

2 large avocados, slightly soft when squeezed

1 large lime

3 large cloves of garlic crushed (more or less to taste)

a pinch of salt

In a large bowl, mash the avocados with a fork (or a potato masher if you have one).

Add the juice from the lime. 

(An old-fashioned two-part glass juicer works really well.)

Add the crushed garlic.

Add a tiny bit of salt to taste.

This recipe couldn’t be much easier. I think you will agree that DIY fresh guacamole is the best you’ve ever tasted. Give it a try!

Guacamole is great on chips, but is also delicious in a bean/rice bowl, on a salad, or as a sandwich or burger topping. You can even enjoy it on its own, right out of the bowl. 

Enjoy!

Have a great week.

I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”