Skinny Sexy Food: Avocado, Fennel and Cucumber Salad

I love avocados and in California where I spend a lot of time they are plentiful and delicious and I'm practically addicted to them. Thankfully, they've got plenty of creamy, sexy and delicious fat that's really good for you and they are completely versatile. The ancient Aztecs called the Avocado "ahuacatl" or "The testicle tree" . The avocado is indeed reputed to be great for boosting both the male and female libido, probably because of the enormous amounts of folic acid, B6 and potassium that they contain and the thyroid balancing and hormone enhancing effect that they have on both sexes. If that wasn't enough you've really got to love a fruit that you can put into a blender with some natural sweetener, a dash or two of smoky chipotle and several cups of really great chopped chocolate that turns into a sensuous and decadent dessert! Go ahead and eat them even if you think that you shouldn't. I promise that as part of a heart healthy low fat diet you can't go wrong enjoying them every now and then!

Then there is guacamole. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to my guacamole and I love to make it fresh whenever I can. I think that one of the things that intimidates people about avocados is trying to figure out how to slice them.

Here's a simple trick:

Just take a sharp knife and carefully pierce the skin at the top and run the knife horizontally around the seed of the avocado from top to bottom. Then twist gently and the avocado will open exposing one half with the seed. Don't discard the seed if you plan to have a guacamole left. Putting the pit in the bowl with the leftovers does keep them from turning brown. I have absolutely no idea why....I just know that it works. Then take your knife and gently score the flesh from side to side and then reverse the fruit and do it the other way. You'll have avocado diamonds at that point! Take a spoon and separate the flesh from the skin. It should all just fall out at that point!

So last night I thought that I was making guacomole but what I was really wanting a refreshing salad, without a lot of lettuce. I had several ripe Haas (my favorites- less water and much richer flesh) avocados so I quickly sliced them into a bowl and added a diced baby cucumber, a cup of red onion, a cup of diced tomato (patted completely dry) and a cup of diced fennel. Then I added at least a cup of torn fresh cilantro and a 1/2 a cup of fresh dill. A dash of salt, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin and the juice of one orange later I was ready. Take two forks and mash it all gently or if you're not squeamish about playing with your food just toss it with your hands. It should be very chunky yet creamy when you're done.

You can play with this...substitute lime juice for the orange juice or use them both. I've put diced pineapple in this salad instead of fennel or used cubed ripe papaya. Play with chili's if you like more heat. It's completely up to you!

The healthiest way to serve this is with veggies on the side but a few whole wheat baked pita chips (not added salt) won't hurt! Served with a side of fresh salsa.....Bliss!

Here's another easy way to cut avocados if you want slices not cubes!

This chart is courtesy of : http://www.avocado.org/healthy-living/nutrition

Spread and Dip Nutritional Comparison
	Fresh Avocado	Butter, salted	Sour Cream, Cultured	Cheddar Cheese	Mayonnaise, with salt
Portion (1 ounce)	2 Tbsp. or 2-3 Thin Slices	2 Tbsp.	2 Tbsp.	1 Slice	2 Tbsp.
Calories	50	204	60	114	109
Total Fat (g)	4.5	23	6	9.4	9.4
Sat Fat (g)	0.5	14.6	3.7	6	1.4
Cholesterol (mg)	0	61	13	30	7
Sodium (mg)	0	164	15	176	199

Skinny Sexy Food

Skinny

A state of mind having nothing to do with size but everything to do with health!

Sexy

A juicily passionate and sensuously rich state of being that leaves you completely alive and ready for anything!

Food

Sustenance for your body, nurturing for your soul and a wonderful way to connect deeply with your family and friends!

Well, here it is, the ripe old age of 50! So far,it feels better than all of of my other years put together, somethings changed and I'm liking it! I'm feeling more comfortable in my skin than I ever have and somehow even the inevitable wrinkles and bumps and spots don't seem quite as bad as I thought that they would. That being said, I've also decided that this is the year for a creative lifestyle change, one that will propel me into the next 50 with alot of energy. Years of competitive horseback riding have taken their toll on my joints and I'm bound and determined to learn to surf again and I'm definitely going to wear a really sexy bathing suit again....because I want to.

My adorable husband Jim and I have embarked on a quest to grow very old , gray and wise together. God love the man, he loves me just the way that I am , 25 extra pounds and all. Truth be told, neither of us are worried about the extra weight so much, but we'd love to feel spectacular at 50 and way beyond what we did at 20. Shooting hoops in California last week with our 22 year old son brought the truth home....we've both been taking our good health for granted. Our son yelled at us about our lack of commitment to ourselves and our not yet even a "twinkle in the eye" grandchildren. I understand how he feels...he watched his grandmother die last year of a stroke caused by her heart issues, diabetes and all of the complications that go along with that. I took that as a huge sign of love from my kid and decided to listen. So Jim and I have decided to embark on this creative journey together and we've enlisted the toughest coach we could find.

Cassie is our son's adorably tiny yet totally curvy, vegan , yoga instructress girlfriend who's getting her masters in nutrition. She's pretty tough with with us, but she's helping us to design a lifestyle around food and health that we love. We don't have to give up meat, although that's a choice that's easy for me to make. I have to drink a ton of water (ugh) but even that's getting easier. Cass knows me well enough to understand that the food has to be incredible and the exercise sensual, otherwise we'll never stick with the program. I've done the vegetarian thing on and off for awhile but without much success in terms of my weight loss and my congestion. Eliminating animal flesh and fat plus dairy and eggs from my diet is finally doing the trick! My belly fat is leaving me yet my curves are not abandoning ship! The best news...I'm not hungry!

In return for her undying devotion and doggedness, I'm teaching Cass how to cook and create delicious vegetarian/Vegan food that is satisfying and gorgeous with minimal fat. She's cracking the whip and holding me accountable to myself and my unborn grandkids:)

The two of us are creating a tasty project around the whole thing that I'm calling "Skinny Sexy Food!" which is my quest to bring to you some damn good recipes and ideas for creating a lifestyle change that's really healthy as well as seductively wonderful.

I use the term "seductively" because I want to entice you into trying something new, no matter what that looks like for you. For example, I truly never felt that I would love Yoga. I wasn't sure that I could be still enough, let alone not worry about looking like a fool or completely fat in my clothes when I did the poses. What I've discovered is that Yoga challenges and relaxes me on all levels (body , mind and spirit) in the same way that riding my horse does and that a treadmill never has. As cliche as it sounds ,when I'm in the middle of a Hot Yoga class sweating myself silly I fall quickly into my "zone". The first few times I did the class in baggy sport pants and a t shirt. After a couple of classes I ventured out and bought myself some really cute yoga clothes in my size. They're tight yet fluid and very body conscious, but I love them because I can really notice my body in them and that feels very good! I'm not on a quest to be "skinny", I'm on a mission to be healthy and fit for the rest of my life. If I can be a toned and healthy size 10/12 for the rest of my life that will be fine with me!

Food and our relationship with it is a very tricky thing. We adore it and there's no getting around that. There's nothing that I love more than cooking for my family and friends. I love eating almost as much as I love sex and I've always had large appetites for life and that spills right over into my eating habits. So I figure that if I can keep my appetites and use that emotional passion to create fabulous food that's going to keep me happy and healthy that I owe it to myself and my future grandkids to do so!

I'm not saying that this is easy......actually transforming these years of built in eating habits is pretty tough for a foodie like me. I allow myself to enjoy one day a week where I can eat reasonable portions of what I like so I don't feel too deprived. Trust me though, there are days when I want to chuck the whole thing into the nearest saute' pan full of filet. But the benefits are seeming to far outweigh the upsets. Eliminating cheese from my diet has my joints feeling fluid and my sinuses clear. My sleep apnea is GONE! Pain and Inflammation...fading fast! My husband is experiencing the same things as well as incredibly renewed energy without Starbucks and all of the added sugar that he relies on to stay awake! We've eliminated most processed sugar products and are experimenting with wonderful substitutes like Maple and Agave, however I've recently been given some research that suggests that refined Agave Nectar may not be as safe as once thought. I'm sad about that, but really committed to finding safe and delicious alternatives for the foods that I love. Thankfully, I've fallen back in love with white raw honey which I've discovered is a incredible substitute for marshmallow cream during a weak moment! The world of fabulous food is a far sexier place than Kraft and co. would have us believing and I'm going to enjoy all of it!

Please feel free to write and share recipes and thoughts! This journey wouldn't be nearly as much fun without some good companions and yes, that is a glorious pink FROSTING in the picture! I said MOST processed sugar products, but an occasional fingerful of homemade frosting? Who could possibly resist?