Avocado and Slimming World

Have you been avoiding avocado since starting Slimming World believing it to be too high in syns? It's actually not as bad as you thought.

I felt this poor little avocado really needed a post all of its own. It gets such a poor reputation on Slimming World with an average syn value or 14 syns per avocado, it's not surprising many are scared away from this delicious and healthy food.

But remember that is an average syn calculation. Avocado varies greatly in size and weight, so no two avocados are going to weigh the same and no two avocados are going to equal 14 syns.

For a whole avocado to be 14 syns, it would need to be pretty big avocado. Instead go by the weight, that way you are not synning something you don't need to syn.

30g (1oz) of avocado is just 2 syns and I've discovered that most small avocado, when cut in half, are around the 45g (1.5oz) mark. Which is 3.5 syns and not that hefty amount of syns you thought it to be?  You should be weighing just the flesh, as you are not eating the stone or the skin.

"But what do I do with the other half of avocado?", I hear you say. Leave the stone in the half you are not using, tightly wrap in cling film and place in the fridge. Keeping the stone in the other half prevents it from browning quickly, so it should keep for a couple of days.

So if you love avocado and have been avoiding them all this time, it really is time to reconsider and start adding them back to your plate.

They are a delicious food that can be used in a variety of different ways. I often mash half an avocado with a little sea salt on toast, 41g for 3.5 syns (which is what half an avocado weighed in the picture above) is a lot more than a measly tablespoon of butter that barely covers your bread.

Here are some of my favourite ways to enjoy avocado in case you are stuck for some ideas. Most are breakfast dishes, as it goes amazingly well with eggs - yum!!

REMEMBER: Weigh the avocado, so you are getting the right amount for your syns. 

Boiled Dippy Eggs with a whole wheat English muffin (US and Canada only) or can have a Healthy Extra B choice of whole wheat bread, topped with half a small mashed avocado (little sea salt) and slices of tomatoes. One of my favourite breakfasts.

Whole Wheat English muffin (US and Canada only) or can have a Healthy Extra B choice of whole wheat bread, topped with scrambled egg, slice of tomato and slices of avocado.

Baby spinach on whole wheat toast (HEb) topped with half a mashed small avocado (little sea salt), perfect scrambled eggs, sliced cherry tomatoes and black pepper.

Whole Wheat toast (Healthy Extra B), topped with mashed avocado, slice of a beefsteak tomato and a perfect sunny side up fried egg (cooked in spray oil)

This would be perfect for breakfast or lunch - 2 sunnyside up fried eggs (cooked in spray oil), some of my delicious Paprika Roasted Butternut Squash (or can sub with sweet potato), little salsa (most are around 0.5 syns for 2 tbs), topped with some slices of avocado.

Another great meal perfect for breakfast or lunch - 2 sunnyside up eggs (cooked in spray oil), baby greens with cherry tomatoes and a little balsamic vinegar. Then a wholewheat English Muffin (HEb in US/Canada only), you can use wholewheat bread too, topped with mashed avocado.

Now this kind of sandwich I can eat any time of day - whole wheat bread (HEb), fried egg (cooked in spray oil), ham, tomato, spinach and some mashed avocado. Who needs butter? Not me!!

Another amazing sandwich, pretty much the same as the one above, but with some bacon instead of ham - yum!!

Forget chilli with rice or chips, You need to try my Beef and 6 Bean Chilli, topped with a little fat free plain yoghurt and some chopped avocado. Delicious!!

Pulled Pork Salad Bowl. Firstly let me just add, this Slow Cooked Pulled Pork is just the bomb!! and to take it that one step further, I like to put it under the broil for a few minutes once cooked, just to give it some crispy charred edges - soooo good. Serve it on a bed of crisp lettuce with some tomatoes, cucumber, corn and of course chopped avocado for the best meal you will taste this week.

Whether you are doing an SP day or just want to cut the carbs for a meal, these burger sliders are perfect. Homemade burgers (I literally just mix some mince with sea salt, it's all they need) form into patties and grill. Serve on crisp lettuce leaves like (romaine), top with some tomatoes and mashed avocado. I am actually drooling right now, looking at this picture.

I don't need to explain this one, as here is the recipe for this Waffle Omelette.

Another pretty simple dish here, gotta love meals that are ready in minutes, right? This is just a plain 2 egg omelette with a salad of baby spinach, chopped avocado and some tropical salsa.

Another yummy burger stack, 2 homemade syn free patties, sandwich together with melted cheddar, slices of tomatoes, mashed avocado and grilled onions with a nice green salad on the side.

That's a whole lot of avocado ideas and if you want to see more amazing daily meals like this, be sure to come and follow me  @slimmingeats on Instagram or Tiktok.

Don't forget my FULL RECIPE INDEX too, with over 500+ delicious Slimming World recipes which can be searched by meal type, syn value, ingredients and a whole load of other categories, including dairy free, gluten free and vegetarian.