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If you’re a mom and you’ve let your children watch kid videos on YouTube, the chances are that you’ve encountered clips of Sesame Street character Elmo talking about avocados: “Avocados fill you up!” Elmo says as his other Sesame Street pals Cookie Monster and Rosita also gleefully tell viewers that avocados are healthy and tasty. Simple Avocado Recipes

Hopefully, the video piqued your kids’ curiosity about this super food. After all, this pear-shaped fruit—yes, it is a fruit—has so many health benefits, and it wouldn’t hurt that your kids’ diets to get a boost in nutrients and healthy fats. But while avocados are tasty, they are not the first food of choice for many children. You’re more likely to be greeted with a grimace than a grin if you serve a plate of cut-up avocados on toasted bread. Broaden the food palate of your children to appreciate the nutty flavor of avocado with these simple recipes.

Simple Avocado Recipes

Homemade Baby Food

As soon as your baby can start eating solid food, you can introduce avocado in your little one’s solid food diet. No need for a blender—all you need to do is mash up the avocado with a fork, and it’s ready to serve. Avocados are not only easy to prepare but are also loaded with healthy fats that your baby needs. To introduce avocados to your baby, serve a mashed-up avocado mixed with a banana or cream cheese. As your baby gets teeth, you can cut avocado into cubes and mix them with various fruits like apples and pears. However, make sure to soften fruits that have hard flesh like apples and pears by slightly boiling them, which makes it easier for your baby to eat.

Avocado Toast

Here’s a simple way to get your kids used to the taste of avocado: spread it on toast. It makes for a simple breakfast or a delicious snack. Pretty much any type of bread pretty works well for avocado toast. The best part is that you can dress it up if your taste buds are craving for more flavor. So you can stick with a simple avocado toast to serve to the kids, but for you, dress up your avocado toast with a sunny-side up egg, pesto, or smoked salmon.

Avocado Fries

Are you kids fans of French fries? Get them to try a healthier version of the popular deep-fried snack and avocado by combining both—make avocado fries. They are pretty easy to make: while there are many different types of recipes, they all involve coating the slices of avocado in egg wash and breadcrumbs, and then baking them in the oven. Here’s a recipe to help you get started: a cornmeal-crusted avocado fries paired with a side of hampton creek Just Mayo in the Sriracha flavor.

Smoothies and Baked Goods

If your kid still squirms at the sight of avocado, try hiding the appearance in smoothies or baked goods. Avocado adds creaminess to a smoothie, which helps if you’re making one without dairy. Avocados can be used to substitute half the amount of butter in a baked goods recipe. This helps to lower the calories in the baked good—compared to butter, avocados have 300 fewer calories—and yet maintain the pastry’s moisture and soft texture. Avocados can be hidden—ahem, used as a butter substitute or as an added ingredient—in muffins, brownies, cakes, and more.

Tips to Select the Perfect Avocado

Selecting an avocado is harder than it looks. The green-colored rind makes the avocado appear ripe, but the rind isn’t the indicator of its ripeness. A perfect avocado has a bumpy texture and feels firm yet soft. You will feel a slight softness when you gently push on the rind. If your local grocery store only has avocados that feel hard without much give, you can still buy them and ripen them at home in 10 minutes using this oven technique.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, and likewise, the same goes for judging avocados. To a kid, the tough texture and dark green-colored rind doesn’t look as pleasing as other fruits like strawberries or oranges. But when avocados are prepared as a spread for a sandwich or hidden in a baked good like a muffin, you can expand the food palate of your children as well as boost the nutrients and healthy fats in their diet.

Simple Avocado Reci