Toddler Friendly Smoothies Using Avocado

I recently discovered how amazing it is to add an avocado to smoothies. My household has a certain love affair with avocados, so I decided to give this a shot after a friend recommended it to me. Not going to lie, this was an amazing discovery. I think avocado needs to find its way into every corner of my cooking. Into my cereal, into my coffee.. yea, that part I was kidding about.

Avocados are considered the perfect food by many, it's been said that an avocado contains many of the nutrients we need to survive. It's a great first food for babies as well - Penny was chowing down on slices by the fistful when we introduced her to foods via baby-led weaning. Hanna from Endless Simmer hilariously recants the etymology behind the word: "...avocado is a derivative of ahuacatl, which happens to be the Aztec word for testicle.  The avocado grows in pairs, dangling from the tree so suggestively that even the Aztecs noticed, pausing long enough from their daily blood sacrifice to chuckle to themselves and bestow the avocado with its legacy."  Will you ever look at avocados the same again? ;)


But isn't the hardest part first selecting the perfect avocado? Avocado Central has a great interactive widget to help you determine the stage of your avocado's ripeness.

The Freckled Avocado
mmm, our favorite!

• 1 ripe avocado 
• 5 medium to large frozen organic strawberries 
• 1 cup of plain or vanilla flavored Greek yogurt 
• 2 Tablespoons of local honey

The Tropical Avocado

• 1 ripe avocado 
• 1 peeled and frozen banana 
• 1 cup of plain or vanilla flavored Greek yogurt 
• 1 cup of fresh orange juice 
• 2 tablespoons of local honey

The Chocolate Avocado

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cup of plain or vanilla flavored Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

The Red Avocado

• 1 ripe avocado 
• 1 cup fresh orange juice 
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries

A few that we'd like to try:

Beet- Avocado: from We are Not Martha

• 2 small beets
• 1 C vanilla soy milk (I used Silk Light)
• 3/4 C frozen berries
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 C baby spinach
• 1 scoop (10 grams) chia seeds

Avocado Apple: from Cooking Classy

• 1 medium ripe California avocado
• 1 large granny smith apple, chilled, cored and sliced
• 1 ripe banana, peeled and frozen
• 1 Navel orange, chilled and peeled
• 2 cups packed spinach
• 1 cup almond milk, chilled
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tsp agave nectar or honey, or to taste (optional)
• 8 ice cubes (about 1 1/3 cups)

Avocado Mango: from Reboot with Joe

• 1 cup mango (fresh or frozen) 
• 3 handfuls spinach
• 1/4 avocado 
• 1 cup almond milk- add a little water if you like your smoothie thinner 

Do you like to add avocado to your smoothies? What is your favorite combination?