Here's what you're going to do with Avocados, besides spooning it (not snuggling it).

But let's start off with my pointing out that I think Spring in NY is awesome.

It brings about a fresh perspective, juice cleanses galore, smiling faces, and florescent crazy 80's colors to our cute yoga/workout outfits. Love me some florescent.

We also desire getting ourselves outside and away from florescent "lighting." That is some harsh lighting for more reasons then one.

Anyhoo.

Just this past weekend Dimitrios (aka: husband) and I bought a new soccer ball to get outside more.

He chucked the ball at my head a few times (not in a dodge ball kind of way, in a,"hey babe, practice stopping the ball" kind of way) and it was definitely "entertaining" to watch me as tried to stop the ball with my butt cheeks at least once or twice then caught it with my hands a few times. Ummm, penalty?! Where did my "fearlessness" and mad skills go?

I thought I was pretty good in high school, or at least I was (ummm, am) competitive and fast. I think it was the coolness of strutting around the school in a soccer uniform and shin guards that sold me on the sport. Kidding, sort of.

So, Dimitrios actually is/was a very talented soccer player, so, after a warm up (quickie 1 mile jog) I decided to try grasping onto the whole "juggle the ball on your knee, foot and head" thing. This might take several weekends. And wow I'm impressed with my former teenage stamina...I was pretty tired after this workout. WIN!

Now, back to the food. I always get asked,"what should I eat before or after a workout, actually I get asked,"what should I eat?" Well, not a twinkie, Entenmann's anything or ice cream sundae. Duh.

But for real, depending on your workout will of course depend on what to eat. In general, recreational workouts (i.e. a 30 minute cardio workout, jog, 1 hour walk, yoga class, pilates class, water aerobics, hula hoop dance off-well that one might require more food) does not allow one to consume 5000 calories like an olympic athlete, however, a healthy blend real foods will do the trick.

So, I made this pudding.

Now listen, I know it kinda resembles poop (as one of my friends so eagerly shared with me)...but some foods aren't pretty until you make them pretty. Brown rice definitely isn't pretty and frankly cucumbers aren't pretty either (unless you slice them up and make this Greek Quinoa Salad). Just sayin.

Ingredient Highlights:

AVOCADO: it sells itself, avocados need no introduction, we all know it's amazing. Smear it in your hair, (no seriously), eat it, smear it on your face, bathe in it (you know you'd do this). It's awesome. Nuff said.

Found some cool avocado tidbits around the web, thought I'd share (sharing is caring).

HOW TO GROW AN AVOCADO (I'm totally experimenting with this one!)
BEAUTY REMEDIES USING AVOCADOS (hair mask!)
HOW TO CHOOSE AN AVOCADO (there's also the finger test, press on the avocado, if your finger makes a bit of an indent it's "ripe" if your finger won't even budge the fruit, it's "not ripe."
HOW TO STORE, RIPEN AND FREEZE THE FRUIT (freeze em, they make your smoothies outta this world)
DELICIOUSLY UNEXPECTED AVOCADO RECIPES (eggs & an avocado please!)

CACAO NIBS: You may recall the nibs making an appearance on my butternut squash smoothie. They are definitely on my grocery list (oh did you miss that? I have a FREE 9 page Healthy Kitchen Starter Kit now on my site!) Download NOW.

What exactly is a nib you ask? They're these raw roasted crunchy little delights, actually pea-sized (or smaller) chunks of husked cocoa beans free of any odd ingredients. It's just pure chocolate bitterness. Chocolate that hasn't been processed and has 70% cacao or more is the best bet. Dr. weil said 1 ounce a day will keep your lipids at bay . Lipids are circulating fats in your blood in case you were wondering, you obviously don't want these to be high. Dark chocolate might keep your cholesterol (the bad stuff) in check, but this doesn't mean go eat a pound of chocolate. (I know some of you just got excited). Moderation in moderation. Remember?

What the heck do I do with a nib? Use them to top things with, roll a banana up in almond butter then roll that banana boat up into nibs and you have a crunchy, creamy delight of a snack. Top yogurt with them, oatmeal, smoothies, add to trail mixes or just eat on them out of your hand (though I just did that...they really have that bitterness factor going for them....hmmm).

Medicinal benefits:

Chocolate itself is a diuretic, and a stimulant (quoted from : Rebecca Wood "The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia). It gives energy and is an aphrodisiac. It's flavonoids help reduce free radicals (free radicals as in artery-clogging buggers that create plaque and high blood pressure).

Ayurvedically speaking: It's Vata pacifying (win for me!).

Storage: Cool, dry place.

So here ya go.

RECIPE

AVOCADO PUDDIN (no 'G' on purpose)

(eat the pudding alone or make a parfait).

By: Jennifer Vagios (the sloppy chef holding plank pose in this yogic kitchen).

Serves: 1 (but you can make the parfait and then have at least 2 servings)

Time: 10 mins (if you eat immediately, otherwise refrigerate if you want it chilly for 20 minutes)

Equipment:

Food processor or blender/nutribullet (I love that flippin nutribullet)

Ingredients:

*1 avocado (de-pitted and scooped out-avoid licking the spoon before you make the pudding, or not). *2 tablespoons cacao powder (unsweetened-you might want more) *1 tablespoon sweetener or more (honey, maple syrup, rice syrup) *2 dates (medjool-I had pre-soaked dates already in the fridge, but they don't need soaking) *1 tablespoon toasted coconut (optional) *1 banana (sliced, optional for parfait) *1 cup greek style yogurt (I'm LOVING SMARI) *1/4 cup almond milk (to start, add more pending on desired consistency and whether your food processor/nutribullet is arguing with you and you've jammed it up). cacao nibs (I like blending them for the crunch factor, but also drizzle some of those bad boys on top to make it look less like poop I guess.)

Procedure (minor surgery of course):

First, place all ingredients in whatever you're going to pulverize it with. Blend. If your electronic gadget stops whizzing/whirling ingredients, open it up and check consistency, pudding should be thick. I added a bit more almond milk then gave it another few pulses to ensure creaminess.

Now, serve as is and top with good stuff (not the cookies, caramel sauce and captain crunch you find at frozen yogurt stores, top with cocao nibs, fresh fruit, nuts, chia seeds. (option to chill first, but who can wait?)

Make it more awesome: (I know, you didn't think it was possible)

Make a parfait.

Simply layer the avocado poop (I mean pudding) with icelandic or other style yogurt (try to avoid sugary ones with added fruits on bottom or other crap you can't pronounce) Plain, no flavor yogurt folks. Then layer with fresh fruit, I just happened to have bananas. Another layer of granola or nuts would be nice here (papitas?). Toasted coconut?

Tada!

So there you have it, a protein, healthy fat, healthy carb (via bananas if you decide) snack, mini meal, brekkie, whatever for before or after a workout.

NOTE: you can make the pudding as chocolat-ey as you want. Add melted morsels (dark chocolate or vegan chips) and cacao powder. Try different milks (i.e. coconut milk).

[quote style="boxed"]Do you have a favorite use for avocados? Do share in the intelligent people comment section below. Then make sure you find (or stalk) me on facebook for daily jokes, inspiration, hippie zen-ness, and updates on my workshops! etc.[/quote]