Avocado Love and Summer Entertaining

This post was sponsored by the Hass Avocado Board as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I love the warmer months here on Cape Cod because it means lots of summer entertaining with family and friends. Having younger children (and friends with lots of young children!) means we don’t often go out to dinner. It’s much easier to entertain at our house and allow all of the kids to run around in the backyard while the adults sit down and enjoy a meal and a cocktail.

Attempting to eat out with 3 families and 8 children combined would and paying for the privilege would make me question my sanity! 🙂 For that reason we do quite a few backyard BBQs during the summer months. We provide the bulk of the food and other families bring drinks and desserts, and we run the kids ragged until bedtime!

We recently had a few families over to hang out and share some new avocado recipes from the Hass Avocado Board. Everyone loved the Vegan Avocado Ceviche (including the kids!) and the Chipotle Avocado Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes. They were easy to make, and thanks to the lime juice in each recipe, I could prep them ahead of time which made hosting much less stressful.

I am a HUGE fan of recipes that I can make ahead when entertaining because I want to be hanging out with my friends, not in the kitchen! I will generally make all side dishes and salads ahead of time and marinate any meats in the morning, so all that’s left is throwing things on the grill and making sure everyone has a drink in hand.

Fresh Avocados – Love One Today®

Avocados are very popular in our family, and they were all 3 of the boys’ first solid foods when they were babies. Thankfully they still love them, because I enjoy incorporating them into our meal plan regularly! My favorite way to enjoy avocados is sliced over a salad or sandwich and in guacamole (I can never get enough!).

Avocados contain naturally good monounsaturated fat and are cholesterol free. Naturally good fats are an important part of a healthy diet. So versatile, fresh avocados can be used in any meal or dish. They can be used as a recipe substitute for bad fats, a way to add naturally good fats, a nutrient-dense fruit to add nutrient value, and as a vegan or vegetarian possible alternative to dairy products. If you’re vegan, you’ll definitely want to check out the Vegan Avocado Ceviche!

According to a survey by Fresh Avocados – Love One Today®, over 75% of the fat in avocados is unsaturated (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats), making them a great substitute for foods high in saturated fat.

You can find more great avocado recipes on the Hass Avocado Board website. What recipe are you most excited to try?!