Recipe Weekend - Guacamole

Each week Carrie and I want to post a recipe of something we have been cooking while trying to lose the weight. We're going to try to include some of the nutritional info too but can't guarantee it's 100% accurate. Should be close though.

Avocados are pretty nutritious and produce a VERY heart-healthy oil. While a good guacamole dip has more calories than salsa, it is better in most ways than some sour-cream based dip. Besides, we're pretty fond of the taste.

In the past we always used a packet of seasoning. The sodium was way higher than we wanted and we weren't too keen on some of the other chemicals on the ingredient list.

Approx nutrition:
Servings/batch: 14 (2 Tbs)
Calories: 50
Fat: 4 g (6%)
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 90 mg (4%)

Ingredients:

• Flesh from 2 ripe avocados
• 1/2 tsp salt (I like Kosher)
• 1/2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbs salsa
• 1 Tbs taco sauce
• Fresh juice of 1/2 lime
  

For instructions on selecting ripe avocados and EASILY getting the innards out of them, watch this good eats episode.

(You can skip to about the 9:30 minute mark if you just want to see how to dissect it.) BTW, if it's hard to scoop out the flesh then it isn't ripe yet.

Actually making it is a snap:
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl. Mash and stir everything until well blended. Stash covered in the fridge for 10+ minutes for flavors to meld. Serve.

Notes:
The hint of lime flavor also makes a huge difference on how long the guacamole can last without browning. Even stuck in a sealed baggie, the stuff we made with a seasoning packet would be mostly browned by the next morning. Our last batch with lime was just barely browning on the surface after a couple of days.

When deciding how hot the salsa and taco sauce you use should be, keep in mind that you won't be using much and also the fats in the avocado will cool it down quite a bit. I use medium Newman's Own salsa and the result is a completely mild guacamole that even Carrie likes (she is a mild gal.)