Healthy Snack: Gourmet Guacamole

Last weekend, a friend of mine and I went out to dinner for her birthday. We went to Barrio Queen in Scottsdale, AZ which is known for its small authentic gourmet tacos. The tacos were great, but what I really loved was their guacamole. It was fantastic!

Our server brought a cart filled with little boxes containing all types of ingredients from tomatoes to serrano chili peppers to our table. Then she created a fresh and delicious bowl of guacamole right in front of us. I remember thinking, "This isn't your average guacamole." The fact that it had cubed pieces of avocado and dried cranberries in it, really stood out. 

It didn't take long -- a couple bites, when I decided that I would make my own version of it at home. I love going to restaurants and finding something I really like and being inspired to make my own version.

The main difference in my version is the tortilla chips. The restaurant used yellow corn tortillas. In my version, I use organic blue corn tortilla chips. The starch content in blue corn is lower than that of yellow corn chips, which results in less of a blood sugar spike. Keeping your blood glucose levels as even as possible helps prevent weight gain. And I prefer organic corn because most corn products that are not labeled organic, are made from corn than has been genetically modified (GMOs), which I try to avoid when possible. 

Here is the recipe. Check it out! 

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

1 Roma tomato

2 tablespoons finely diced red onion

1/2 lime, juiced

3 tablespoons dried cranberries

3-4 shakes sea salt

3-4 shakes hot sauce*

Organic blue corn tortilla chips

Open the avocados and slice lengthwise and crosswise so that when you spoon it out, it comes out in small cubes. Add the tomatoes, onion, cranberries and salt. Mix well. Lastly add lime juice and hot sauce and toss lightly. Serve with tortilla chips. 

The guacamole makes about 4 servings. 

*Instead of hot sauce, you can use any type of fresh pepper. I didn't have any on hand when I put this together, so I used hot sauce instead. 

Enjoy!