AVOCADO TOAST. It's all the rage right now - at least where I live in California! You can easily order it at restaurants and coffee shops, and people I know are making it all the time at home.
It must not just be here either, because hardly a day goes by that I don’t scroll through Instagram and see someone’s perfectly charred, expertly seasoned and inventively topped piece of avocado toast.
And damn, it looks good.
I can’t even count the times I’ve seen big, thick slices of toasted artisan bread slathered with a heavy layer of avocado, topped with everything from poached eggs to crisped bacon, pumpkin seeds to tomato slices, pomegranate arils to arugula leaves. The options are pretty much endless, and you can put your own spin on it to make it your own which is always fun :)
It can have health benefits, too - avocado itself is full of the kind of healthy we all need, and by adding additional veggies and protein on top you can make a balanced meal out of this treat!
Even if you’re watching calories for the purpose of weight loss, it can be a pretty good option as long as you’re mindful about your portion sizes and make it the foundation of a meal, rather than relying on it as “just a snack” because its ingredients, by nature, are calorie dense. And by calorie dense, I mean that these foods are fairly low in volume for how many calories they contain.
One avocado has 322 calories and 29 grams of (albeit healthy) fat, which is a lot for something so small - and it’s super easy to get excited and spread on more than you intended!
Also, although it is obviously delicious to carve off a huge slice of bread (or two) from a big, fluffy loaf, having that many carbohydrates in one meal can put a big dent in your macros for the day…
Even a reasonably-sized dinner roll can pack up to 40g of carbs - so a big slice of bread can have even more - just something to be mindful about!
I always keep a loaf of low-calorie, lower-carbohydrate bread in my fridge for the sole purpose of toast. Since I usually don’t gravitate toward bread for my carbs and prefer other sources instead (veggies, sweet potatoes, rice, etc. - as unprocessed as possible), I like to have an option available when the feeling calls that I can go for without blowing a huge hole in my daily macros.
And if I have bread on hand that’s lower in carbs per slice, I can often justify having two pieces - and two is always better than one, to me! :)
Another technique I like to use is picking up the mini cups of pre-smashed avocado… They’re usually called “guacamole,” but they’re so lightly flavored that it doesn’t influence the overall flavor profile of your dish - you can still add whatever you want and it will be delicious!
They’re pre-portioned, so you can use the whole thing and still stay within striking distance of a reasonable portion size. They also last a long time since they’re sealed up in small containers, so you don’t have to freak out about using up your precious avocado in time or having the leftovers go all brown and yucky in the fridge.
If you are blessed with access to fresh avocados and want to go for the real thing, keep your portion size to half a small/medium avocado at the most - that will give you about 120 calories and around 15g of fat, similar to what one of the single serving cups provide.
And if you make some extra to share with someone you love, you’ll use up that other half of the avocado and make someone else super happy - a win-win! :)
Let’s talk EXECUTION.
Char your bread, take my word for it. None of this lightly golden, still super chewy, half-hearted toasting. A little black around the edges adds a smoky flavor that’s just right! Plus, the avocado adds moisture that you’ll need a good, crusty toast to stand up to.
Skip the butter on your bread, since you won’t need it (or miss it) - your avocado will provide all the tasty, fatty flavor and texture your butter usually would. Save calories where you can!
If you’re mashing up your own avocado, my favorite add-ins are sea salt and cracked pepper (absolutely crucial!), and a small squeeze of lemon :) The saltiness here will also help you to forget you didn’t butter your toast beforehand!
Now, let’s talk TOPPINGS.
I absolutely LOVE the everything- bagel-inspired seasoning blends that are now becoming available, and oftentimes just a sprinkling of that on top is enough for me! The one I like has white and black sesame seeds, toasted garlic, sea salt flakes, dried onion bits, and poppy seeds. It’s AMAZING. I almost always layer that on first, regardless of what I’m adding on top - tons of flavor for very few calories!
My next suggestion is to pick a veggie (or two) to pile high over the whole thing. Making this into a knife-and-fork endeavor really drives it home as a being whole meal, and it effectively slows you down - helping to fight the urge to just slam the whole thing down in ten seconds, which you’ll probably want to do!
I personally like very lightly dressed arugula or mixed greens, sautéed asparagus with garlic, roasted broccolini with lemon zest and chili flakes, or slices of heirloom tomatoes with a drizzle of balsamic. Don’t forget to season your veggies as you go, because it makes a huge difference!
You can go a sweet-and-savory direction too, adding pomegranate (as I mentioned before), slices of crisp green apple, or chunks of juicy mango… Even if I add a little bit of fruit, I almost always balance it with spicy greens like arugula and something sharp like a little minced red onion to give it more dimension and extra nutrients wherever possible!
Finally, what about protein? You can really complete this dish by adding some deli turkey slices, grilled chicken breast, lean steak, or even some tender shrimp… That way, you can get a big hit of low-fat protein to go hand in hand with your carbs (bread), healthy fats (avocado), and veggies to make a balanced, filling meal.
So guys, get your buns (ha! get it?) out there and make this toast! Be mindful of your ingredients and portions, and fit as many nutrients in there as possible.
Before you know it, you’ll be sitting down to a hell of a meal and you will not be disappointed!
What do you like on your avocado toast?
Please feel free to comment, upvote, or resteem if this was your jam!