If you follow a vegan diet or are lactose intolerant, you are probably well aware that one of the biggest challenges one comes up against is the butter one. Butter is a cooking staple in almost every household. It is the perfect thing on warm, toasty bread, and lobster just isn’t the same without a big bowl of garlic butter for dunking. In general, butter does add a lot to the food conversation. But that doesn’t make it healthy for us; it’s not always a conversation our bodies want to have! So it pays to have options, and one such option is a dairy-free avocado garlic butter. You read that right! If you’re going the healthy way, why not go all the way?
Avocados Are Great For You
A fine choice as a sub for butter, avocados share some important physical characteristics with butter. Namely that smooth, spreadable texture and, well, buttery taste that compliments a multitude of other flavors. But avocados are also incredibly good for you, offering a wide array of benefits. They contain more than 20 essential nutrients, including:
- Vitamin K: 26% of the daily value (DV)
- Folate: 20% of the DV
- Vitamin C: 17% of the DV
- Potassium: 14% of the DV
- Vitamin B5: 14% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 13% of the DV
- Vitamin E: 10% of the DV
- Small amounts of magnesium, copper, manganese, iron, zinc, phosphorous plus vitamins A, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin).
This is all in a single 3.5 ounce (100 gram) serving! (1)
Garlic Is Great For You, Too
In the nutrition department, garlic is nothing to sneeze at either! In fact, one of the most important benefits it offers is a major immunity boost.
In 12-week study concluded that a daily garlic supplement, when compared with a placebo, reduced the number of colds by a whopping 63%. It also reduced the average length of time that sufferers experienced cold symptoms, from 5 days in the placebo group to a mere 1.5 days in those taking the garlic supplement. (2)
Garlic can also reduce blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels, both of which are major drivers of heart disease and strokes. Loaded with antioxidants, garlic may even help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The antioxidant effect in conjunction with garlic’s potency against cholesterol shows promise where the study of these debilitating brain diseases are concerned. (2)
Ready to upgrade to a whole new kind of buttery deliciousness? The recipe is easy.
Avocado Garlic Butter
You’ll need –
- 2 ripe avocados, pit & skin removed
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Small bunch of cilantro, chopped
- Sea salt, to taste
Method –
- Combine all the ingredients very well with a hand mixer or food processor until velvety and smooth. Season to taste with sea salt.
- Put down a large piece of aluminum foil on the counter, and a piece of plastic wrap of the same size on top. Scoop the mixture onto the plastic wrap and begin working it lengthwise, rolling it up. For more structure, roll the aluminum foil and form the butter into a small log.
- Refrigerate for at least three hours to let the flavors come together and the mixture to set. (3)
