Guacamole is amazing for so many
reasons. Here are a few of my personal favorites: It’s DELICIOUS, it’s easy to
make so also-- hard to screw up. You can dip things into it, you can plop it on
top of things, or you can just grab a fork/spoon/finger and eat it all by
itself.
Guacamole is also magical. When I
make a meal for my kids I often put sliced avocado on their plates. Half of the
time they just eat it without comment and the other half I get a “I don’t like
avocados, REMEMBER?” That’s when I
feel like reminding them they happily ate avocados two days ago for lunch, but,
you know, pick your battles. I take their plates, scrape the avocado into a
bowl and mash it with a fork. Here’s where the magic happens… I sometimes honestly don’t add one thing, I
just mash them, put it back on their plates and then my kitchen blows up with
all kinds of “Oh, GUACAMOLE! I love this. It’s the best EVER.” So there’s
something we can all agree on.
Making guacamole is pretty fool
proof and almost every recipe you see will offer a measurement and then say “or
to taste” because it’s really about what you like. When you have a recipe like
that it is always a good one to plan ahead and get your kids involved. The only
special tool I would recommend is a potato masher for young kids. It tends to
be easier than a fork for them to handle and mash with.
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| Step 1: mash |
First things first: Find some
medium sized non-breakable bowls that your kids can go to town on with a fork
or a masher. Next set out a big selection of things they can add and let them get
busy. That’s what my kids love to do. Some ideas for things you can experiment
with when you make your own guac: kosher
salt, fresh cracked pepper, red onion, white onion, green onion, onion powder,
tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, lemon juice, minced garlic, garlic
powder, cumin, cayenne or your favorite hot sauce.
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| Step 2: sprinkle, switch to fork |
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| Step 3 : SQUEEEEEEZE |
Even though I have a recipe, in
real life I never follow the same recipe twice. I see what I have in the
fridge, throw in a pinch of this or that until it tastes just right. Make sure
and keep some extra veggies on hand, because (another magical quality) guacamole
is a vegetable (and also technically a fruit) that you can dip other vegetables
in. Pure genius. We like to put out sweet peppers, carrots, celery, tomato
slices, hollowed out cherry tomatoes, raw and roasted cauliflower, and the list
goes on. If you have these out while the kids are busy mashing, they
automatically have something to dip and try out their creations.
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| Step 4: Dump |
Here are two of my favorite
guacamole combos. The one I make most often for the kids is quick and easy. The
other one is great when you have a group and all of the ingredients on hand. I cut
the quick recipe down to 1 avocado portion so you can multiply by the number of
avocados you use. The other needs a few more to back up the fresh garlic and
jalapeno. Both recipes use large hass avocados that will be close to the size of
your hand from wrist to mid fingers.
Quick and Easy Guacamole
1 large haas avocado
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp maldon flaked salt or ¼ tsp of regular kosher salt
a few cranks of fresh pepper
1 to 2 tsp of lime juice
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp maldon flaked salt or ¼ tsp of regular kosher salt
a few cranks of fresh pepper
1 to 2 tsp of lime juice
Throw it all in a bowl and mash. Taste and adjust flavors as
needed.
Party Guacamole
3 large haas avocados
1 clove of garlic, minced
¼ of a red onion, finely chopped
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2-3 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3 tsp maldon flaked salt or 1 ½ tsp regular kosher salt
1 lime, juiced (should be 2 tablespoons of juice)
1 clove of garlic, minced
¼ of a red onion, finely chopped
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2-3 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3 tsp maldon flaked salt or 1 ½ tsp regular kosher salt
1 lime, juiced (should be 2 tablespoons of juice)
Throw it all in a bowl and mash. Taste and adjust flavors as
needed.
If you ever find yourself with
fresh pico de gallo, you can make the easiest guacamole in the world by
throwing it on top of fresh avocados and mashing away.
My last bit of guacamole
love is reserved for how much it helps me introduce new foods to my kids,
making it a perfect tool when you VegOut with your family. Certain foods that
seem a little different are much friendlier when you can dip them in guacamole.
It helps us get past that initial new appearance or strong flavor
hurdle. Get creative with your guacamole and have fun with your kids in the kitchen.
