Recipe testing for the Messina / Fields book is going strong! I’ve been editing many recipes before handing them over to my faithful testers and have noticed how much I use avocado oil – because I need to keep editing recipes to add “or olive oil”. But really, I’d love for more people to try avocado oil. (If you’re new to the blog and are scratching your head thinking “wait, vegans don’t eat oil” let me assure you, many of us do! I talk about my love of oil here and here.)

Why avocado oil?

Avocado oil has a high smoke point (particularly when refined) and is high in monounsaturated fat and vitamin D. That’s all fine and good but, listen, it tastes great! It has the richness and creaminess that you love in avocados and adds such a great texture and flavor to your cooking and baking.

I learned about the virtues of avocado oil last summer when I completed the Intensive Study Program at The Christina Pirello School of Natural Cooking and Integrative Health Studies. Christina uses Olivado Extra Virgin Avocado Oil. She loves it.

After studying with Christina I promptly ordered two bottles.

Olivado Extra Virgin Avocado Oil is quite simply, the juice of the first, cold pressing of New Zealand’s finest quality ripe avocados. We can call it Extra Virgin because its pressed at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and contains an acid content of 0.2%, far below the 1% required for the Extra Virgin designation…. …The oil has the rich, buttery, delicate taste profile of ripe avocados that Americans have grown to love over the years. And because many of us have been raised on a diet of dairy products it’s a taste that is very familiar to us. In turning the avocado into oil, Olivado has maintained all the health properties of this most nutritious wonder fruit, in a delicious, versatile, shelf stable oil that can be used as an alternative to olive oil in any recipe.

I am just now, over a year later, ready to reorder two bottles. I love that a little goes a long way.

Here are a few recipes I have created using avocado oil.

Note that I primarily use avocado oil in cooked and baked recipes. I tend to defer to the lighter olive oil for salads and other raw dishes – though there are a few exceptions, like this Shredded Apple and Veggie Salad with Goji Berry Dressing.

Avocado oil also happens to be great to use topically on your skin and hair. Truthfully? I accidentally bought this avocado oil

before deferring to Olivado for cooking. I saw that it was edible so I ordered it. But I just couldn’t get past the description:

100% Pure Avocado Oil is an natural, nutrient-rich vegetable oil that contains collagen-supporting amino acids and proteins, as well as vitamins A, D and E. Heavy in texture, Avocado Oil increases epidermal elasticity, while thoroughly moisturizing and softening stubborn, dry or cracked skin. When used as a massage oil, it’s soft, soothing and leaves no greasy residue.

So I use NOW avocado oil in my skin care routine; I massage it in my skin at the end of a shower. Delightful!

Do you use avocado oil?