Creamy Dreamy Avocado Pasta

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients
3 avocados - To choose a perfectly ripe avocado, simply give the top a gentle press. If it gives slightly, it is ready to eat
3 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp lemon, juice
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup baby spinach leaves
500g wholegrain pasta
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup pine nuts

Method
Cook pasta according to packet instructions.
Meanwhile, add avocado, garlic, lemon juice, parmesan, baby spinach and basil to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Once pasta is cooked, drain the water, reserving a bit for the sauce. Add avocado sauce and tomatoes to pasta and stir through to warm. Add a splash of reserved pasta water to thin sauce if desired.
Serve topped with pine nuts and fresh basil.

Notes
The healthy good fats found in avocados help promote healthy skin, reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, help maintain heart health and are great for the waistline.
You can use gluten-free pasta to make this recipe gluten-free.
Swap the parmesan for ¼ cup of cashews to make this recipe vegan and dairy-free.

Don't have pine nuts? Swap for pumpkin seeds or chopped cashews.

What Is The One Food All Diets Agree On?

While the health world is constantly obsessing over the latest food trend, a leading dietitian has called out the one food that we can all agree on - avocados.

Dietitian and nutritionist Lyndi Cohen called on Australians to keep up their healthy obsession with avocados when presenting at the country's first wellness pop up event for the avocado obsessed, Avotherapy.

"Whether it's vegan, paleo, keto, low-carb, gluten-free, vegetarian, Mediterranean or the DASH diet, all these ways of eating share one thing in common – avocados," said Ms Cohen. "While I don't promote diets or any restrictive ways of eating, avocados have a health halo that make them one food on which we can all agree."

"The unique combination of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats found in avocados can help keep your immune system fighting fit, boost energy, enhance brain power, build bone, aid gut health, support healthy skin and even put you in a better mood.

"In short, avocados are a naturally delicious, versatile fruit that – quite frankly – make everything better," added Ms Cohen.

Why Avocados Tick The Box For Every Diet, According To Lyndi Cohen

Good mood food– Avocados contain a bundle of nutrients that help put you in a good mood, boost your energy levels and fight fatigue when eaten as part of a healthy varied diet. Avocados contain energy boosting nutrients niacin, pantothenic acid, folate and vitamin C.

Great for the gut – More and more research is showing how vital gut health is to our mood. In fact, around 90% of our serotonin (feel good hormone) is produced in the gut,1 which means a healthy gut can help keep our moods in balance. Research suggests that avocados help keep the gut happy by feeding the good gut bacteria with important dietary fibre.

Boost nutrients of other foods – This amazing fruit can also boost your ability to absorb nutrients from other healthy foods. Research shows adding avocado to a salad can increase your ability to absorb nutrients from other colourful ingredients five-fold (e.g. lycopene from red tomatoes and beta carotene from orange carrots). 2

Glowing skin – Avocado looks after your skin from within thanks to its healthy fats, niacin and vitamins C & E when eaten as part of a healthy, varied diet. As a source of vitamin E avocados can also contribute to cell protection from free radical damage.

Australian Avocados is funded by the grower-owned Research and Development Corporation, Hort Innovation.
For more information on how avocados make everything better, please visit www.australianavocados.com.au