Avocado has some good nutrition, but it is not a magic food. Plus its expensive, tends to rot quickly and we don't get really good ones in Virginia.

I personally love avocado, but if you don't, there is no requirement for eating one. In other words, you can be plenty paleo and healthy without eating a single one.

If you can find a way to like it, kudos to you! But if paleo required me to eat foods that I don't like... I would be a total faileo! This is not to discourage all the great avocado ideas in this thread - I just thought you shouldn't feel like you HAVE to eat avocado, if you don't like it.

Eggs are fantastic nutrition, but some people just don't like them (like my older daughter). Fortunately, no single food is required on paleo - not even liver!

There's always guacamole! I love to have just the plain avocado with some hot sauce, it's awesome.

Mostly I see it as a compliment to other dishes. It's great in salads!

To me, the key to avocado tasting good is salt. I'm slowly getting used to it plain, but it always tastes "like it needs salt". My favorite recipe is a type of guacamole made at a local mexican restaurant. Mash up 2 avocados, add chopped onion, chopped tomato, cilantro, lime juice, chopped jalapeno and sea salt. So good. Play with the ratios until you get it the way you like it. You can also mix salsa into avocado for quick guac. My mom prefers to smush up her avocado with some lime juice, mayo and salt to make a type of guacamole salad dressing. Usually when I make guacamole, I spread it over grilled chicken, or just eat it plain. Of course, if you have a cheat meal it's always good with sour cream and tortillas; and a margarita :)

I like to make a fresh guacamole and pair it with fresh veggie dippers: red bell pepper, cucumber, carrots, etc. I like to garnish my eggs with it. I like it in a smoothie; I'll use it instead of banana.

We grill chicken with cumin, garlic salt and pepper on it and then slice up avocado and salsa (Green Gringo Mountain is paleo).

We also make homemade guac...it's easy to make:

2 avocados half of a small to medium onion jalapeno pepper(s) with as little or as much membrane left for heat, but de-seeded cilantro, about a third of a cup salt to taste

mix it all up with a pressing spatula to incorporate it all together

Was at a party the other night and somebody had made avocado ice cream with a coconut milk base. I didn't get the recipe, but it was great. I was able to glean that it doesn't require an ice cream maker to get the proper texture. Definitely worth tracking down.

You can make soup out of almost anything, even celery. There are recipes out there for avocado velvet, which is basically whipped avocado with cream. (smoothie) The difference is you warm it slightly and serve it in a bowl. Great summer soup.

Its amazing how just the texture or change of temperature can trick us with food and turn the same old into something new.

I also use stuffers... celery or cucumber boats or cherry tomatoes.

I've seen recipes for things like chocolate pudding, using avocados to make it creamy instead of milk:

http://www.foodwhine.com/2011/03/avocado-chocolate-pudding.html

It's certainly paleo.

Paleo avocado ice cream - http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/avocado-banana-ice-cream-paleo/

The recipes at the bottom look good too, all paleo.

Before you decide you don't like them, sprinkle a fresh, ripe avocado with some salt and pepper and a little squeeze of lime juice before adding it to your meal. I don't like avocado without at least a little bit of salt on it. It's just too weird and flavorless without it.

Here are a couple of my family's favorites - enjoy! :)

Salmon Stuffed Avocados

Hollandaise Sauce:
3 egg yolks
2 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of white pepper
1 stick (4 oz?) butter, melted until bubbling hot

2 salmon filets (or tilapia, etc.)
1 large avocado

Prepare hollandaise sauce by combining egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and pepper in blender. Blend at high speed for 30 seconds. Continue blending at a slower speed, while incorporating the hot butter very slowly. (Allow time for the butter to absorb and emulsify with eggs adding it gradually.) Set aside.

Pan fry salmon in butter or coconut oil over medium-high heat, 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set aside.

Bisect large avocado. Grill or pan sear avocado halves face down in leftover butter.

Mix with hollindaise sauce with flaked salmon, and stuff into open pit of each avocado half (like a deviled egg).

Avocado Slaw

4 avocados, peeled and seeded
3 T fresh lime juice (about 1 1/2 half limes)
8 oz sour cream
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp red chile pepper
1 1/2 c chopped scallions
1 small orange bell pepper, finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste
bag of cole slaw mix

Comine sauce ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and toss with cole slaw mix.

Try this one:

http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/05/06/stuffed-avocados/

i love advocado with chicken...

Coconut & miso guacamole

Mash 3 small or 2 large avocados by hand.

Dilute 1 tsp unpasteurized miso in same amount of water until makes a thin paste. Should be more on the watery side.

Process diluted miso w/juice of 1 lime, ¼ cup flesh from 1 young Thai coconut, ¼ cup coconut meat, ¼ diced onion, handful of cilantro, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp cumin powder, pinch of Himalayan rock salt. Top w/shaved raw, super-aged gouda cheese.

Option: for a smoky flavor, add a pinch of dried chipotle pepper (the seeds vs. the actual whole peppers) Option: Add 5-6 diced heirloom cherry tomatoes or 1 small heirloom tomato after processing for texture & added flavor.

Get the recipe.

Avocados are an awesome source of Fiber! about 14 grams! :)
I love to dice it and mix it in my Tuna Salad.

fresh avo in salad is delish but if you're not sure how keen you are on avocado try gaucamole spread lavishly over a pan seared salmon fillet (seasoned with salt, pepper and a little lemon juice).

i thought i hated salmon until i tried it like this and now i cant get enough salamon or gaucamole. i even make extra gaucamole so i can have some on my lunch time salad @ work with smoked salmon. and now i'm into salmon/sweet potato patties.

tweak the gaucamole flavours till it's right for you but a smashed avocado seasoned with salt, pepper, lemon/lime juice, chilli, a little olive oil is a great basic recipe, jazz it up with some herbs (cilantro/corriander)

avocado is surprisingly delicious with fresh basil.

I make a version of a 'guacamole' with some diced avocado (just score the flesh with a knife while its still in the skin and scoop out with a spoon.), some lemon juice, some salt (very much agree with Andrea who said avocado just kind of "wants" salt), some pepper, some chopped/torn basil leaves and maybe some cumin. I don't like to mash the avocado so much.

Another thing is avocados have to be ripe. Both unripe and overripened (brown) avocados blow.

Fat Bomb
1 avocado (mashed)
1-2 tablespoons of butter
Grated coconut
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil

Add everything in the blender, and blend. Put in the freezer/fridge so it can cool down.

Additions
For sweetness:
Bananas
Dates
Honey

Difficulty in blending? You can add a little of the following:
Coconut Milk
Raw milk
Water

For extra awesomeness:
Cocoa powder
Cinnamon
Long fingers to scrape the remains from the blender.

No proportions really needed, add whatever you like more of.