Chocolate smoothie with half an avocado

This is a short-list chocolate smoothie where avocado240 kcal does the work cream would normally do. Half a ripe one blends into whole milk149 kcal, cocoa12 kcal, honey64 kcal and vanilla until the glass is thick enough to need a long straw, and the flavor that comes through is plainly chocolate. The whole thing takes a couple of minutes and lands around 590 calories.

If you have hesitated over avocado in a sweet drink, the cocoa settles the question. You taste chocolate first, and the avocado registers only as texture, the smooth, dense kind that a banana105 kcal smoothie never quite reaches.

Why it works

Avocado is mostly fat, which is why half of one adds real calories without adding much volume. For anyone working on weight gain with a small appetite, a glass you can comfortably finish beats a bigger one you abandon halfway.

Press the avocado near the stem before you blend. If it gives slightly it is ready; if it is firm, the smoothie will come out grainy.

Make it your own

• Make it a meal by adding a scoop of oats150 kcal or hemp seeds.
• Great as a post-workout recovery drink.