Holiday Entertaining e@ Easy And Edible Holiday Centerpi eces Start With Avocados (NAPSA)—No worries about packing these holiday decorations i be = Z Pa te \y A SLE da away when the season’s over— they’re gone by the end of the party. The basis of the easy-to-do wreath and tree is Chilean Hass avocados, in season now because it’s summer down in Chile, where they grow top-quality fruit (yes, the avocadois a fruit). Avocados add great flavor and color to these centerpieces and also provide nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients (beneficial plant compounds). Avocados do have fat, but theirs is monoun- a . saturated and polyunsaturated and thus a good replacement for saturated fat. wreathed in smiles when they try this easy avocado dip wreath. cado spread, as in the Wreath chunks. With scissors, snip just For another party, try the avo- recipe, to pipe on toasted pita quarters, baguette slices or crackers. Kids love to help with the mashing and the squeezing. Easy Avocado Wreath (Makes about 24 appetizer servings) Chilean Hass avocados % cup lime or lemon juice Salt and pepperto taste Chopped sweet red pepper for garnish Assorted crackers Rinse avocados. Cut each avocado in half. Spoon outpits. Spoon out flesh into a large ziptop plastic bag. Add lime juice and salt. Squeeze to press air out. Seal bag. Mash bag with hands until avocados are smooth but still with a few Holiday guests should be the corner off of one end of the bag. Pipe avocado mixture into wreath shape on large serving plate. Garnish with chopped red pepper. Serve with crackers. Nutritional Information per serving—calories 53, fat 4.7g, saturated fat 0.5g, % calories from fat 71%, protein 1g, carbohydrates 3.3g, cholesterol Omg, sodium 48.5mg,fiber 1g. Avocado Holiday Tree Makes 4 to 6 servings 2 large Chilean Hass avocados 2 tablespoons lemon juice % cup crumbled feta cheese % diced orange or yellow sweet pepper Grapeor small cherry tomats A holiday tree that’s a treat can be easy to create with avocado slices and tiny tomats. Pomegranate seeds 1 bag (5 ounces) mixed baby salad greens Rinse avocados.Cutin half. Spoon outpits. Carefully remove peel. Cut each avocado half lengthwise into 4 to 5 slices. Sprinkle slices with lemonjuice. On large plate or platter, arrange largest avocado slices to form the branchesof the tree. Scatter with cheese, pepper dices, tomats and pomegranate seeds.In salad bowl, toss smaller slices with baby greensanda citrus-based vinaigrette. Nutritional Information per serving—calories 326, fat 18.5g, saturated fat 3g, % calories from fat 51%, protein 4g, carbohydrates 14g, cholesterol 14mg, sodium 337mg,fiber 3g.
