In the past few years, avocados have appeared on every food blogger's feed and on every trendy restaurant's menu. But what do you do when you slice open your avocado and see that it's completely underripe? Or when you realize that you've been eating it on toast every morning for three weeks straight? (Yes, I'm speaking from personal experience.) Fortunately, there are so many different ways to use your avocados that you'll never get tired of them. Keep reading below for seven avocado hacks, including recipes and fresh ideas for every millennial's favorite food.
1. Turn Them Into Pasta Sauce
While Alfredo sauce is a favorite in my house, it's always a bummer when lactose-intolerant or dieting family members have to miss out. Instead, try this creamy avocado spinach sauce. It gives the same creamy taste while also providing healthy fats and a good source of protein.
2. Ripen Them in a Paper Bag
Accidentally buy an underripe avocado without realizing it? It happens to the best of us. Now all you need is a paper bag, a chip clip, and a few days worth of patience before your avocados are perfectly ripe.
3. Keep Them From Going Bad
The opposite (and equally unfortunate) situation of an underripe avocado is an overripe or expired avocado. No one likes cutting into an avocado to find that it's super stringy, or to leave it out and watch it turn from green to brown. Keeping your avocados fresh and Instagram-worthy is simple, and there are many different ways to do it, like saving the pit or adding some lemon juice.
4. Make Chicken Salad
For a recipe with less mayo, you add some avocado to this chicken salad recipe to keep the same creamy taste for this classic crowd pleaser. With lots of add-ins like cilantro, lime juice, and garlic powder, this recipe is super easy to tailor to different flavor preferences.
5. Blend Them Into Ice Cream
This recipe combines two crazy popular foods into the ultimate summertime treat: avocado-based ice cream. With only three ingredients, this "ice cream" just requires an ice cream maker and the patience to wait for the mixture to freeze overnight.
6. Try a Face Mask
It sounds weird, I know. But this face mask's simple and all-natural ingredients are great for moisturizing dry skin without investing in expensive lotions, especially in the winter. (Disclaimer: Because everyone's skin is so different, I would still be careful using this on sensitive skin.)
7. Add Them to Your Grilled Cheese
Seriously, it doesn't get better than this. Imagine avocado toast, only with a major upgrade (read: cheese and tomatoes). I would say more, but doesn't the picture really say it all?
The avocado has earned its rightful spot on the list of millennials' favorite foods. With so many different ways to use them, it makes sense that people want as much avocado as they can get. There are infinite ways to use your avocados, but these seven are definitely some of my favorites.