I love a fresh avocado, but sometimes those sneaky avocados decide to open their freshness window when I have other plans!

What do you do with your ripe avocados when you can immediately eat them?

Here are some tips on how to store ripe avocados to preserve their freshness, followed by a simple dip recipe. Enjoy!

• Did you know you can freeze avocado flesh? If you have avocados you can’t immediately use, scoop the flesh into a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze them until you have time to make this dip. You can also use your frozen avocado in your smoothies, a salad dressing, or to add a creamy texture to a soup.
• To store halved avocados in the refrigerator, I like to let my avocado sleep with an onion…Those two get along great and the onion keeps the avocado from browning. Speaking of browning, this is caused by exposure to oxygen, and it does not mean your avocado is spoiled. You can eat browned avocado.
• Another way to limit oxidation (browning) is to store your halved avocado submerged in water in an airtight container. The avocado may soften a bit from absorbing water, but you can still use it on salads, as a topping, or in recipes.
• As you can see, keeping your cut avocados fresh is all about keeping them from being exposed to oxygen, so whether you are storing diced, mashed, or halved avocados, keep the air off  the surface by sealing the cut surfaces with beeswax, silicone wrap, or plastic wrap (preferably a reusable product- remember my no single-use plastics mantra!)