Throughout the last few years, the avocado has become the star food of many breakfasts, as nutrition experts have repeatedly praised its nutritional properties. It is important to start the day with an adequate intake of food, leaving aside pastries and looking for healthy foods to eat.
In the United States, avocado consumption has grown significantly in recent decades, tripling in the last 15 years and exceeding 3,000 million pounds annually.
This increase is partly due to the growing awareness of the nutritional benefits of avocado and its versatility in cooking. California stands out especially, not only for being a large consumer of avocado, but also for being one of the main producers at the national level.
One of the most recommended options is to prepare some whole wheat toast with tomato or avocado, but to avoid falling into monotony, it is possible to opt for other alternatives. In fact, there is a perfect vegetable for breakfast toast that is highly recommended by nutritionists.
This is the pumpkin, an ideal vegetable for autumn, and although it may seem somewhat surprising, it can be prepared on toast. To do this, it will be necessary to roast it and turn it into a spreadable cream. As they affirm, it is an excellent alternative to jam, since it is ten times less sweet, and to avocado itself, as it contains 15 times less fat.
To make a pumpkin cream for breakfast toast, it should be peeled and cut into small cubes, and then cooked in the oven until it softens. Next, it must be mixed with a tablespoon of olive oil and the spices you like the most.
In case you prefer to opt for a sweet version of this preparation, it is as simple as replacing the spices with powdered vanilla, cinnamon, some raisins, or a bit of almond extract, as recalled from the French website Journal des femmes, which has suggested to choose this vegetable for breakfast.
A vegetable with many health benefits
The Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN) highlights the excellent vitamin C content of pumpkin, as with one serving, 31% of the recommended daily intake of this vitamin is covered, although it is true that during the cooking process a significant part of it can be lost.
As if this were not enough, we must mention its content of carotenoids, being able to find zeaxanthin, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and lutein, which transform into vitamin A in the body. Its combination of minerals and vitamins makes pumpkin a food that should not be missing in any healthy diet.
In any case, we are faced with a great alternative to avocado, since when we consume pumpkin, we are enjoying numerous benefits for the body. Among the main ones we can highlight the following:
- Helps strengthen the immune system: pumpkin is a great ally in strengthening the immune system, allowing us to be in better conditions to face possible health problems and diseases. In this way, it can help deal with colds and the flu, but also to fight other infections, including its contribution to healing wounds.
- Improves eye health: the powerful antioxidants found in this vegetable allow for better eye health, as they have been linked to improved visual capacity. Its lutein content contributes to preventing macular degeneration, while protecting the eyes from damage caused by sunlight's ultraviolet rays.
- Protects the heart: pumpkin is a good source of potassium and fiber, which has a positive effect on heart health, protecting it by reducing blood pressure and lowering cholesterol levels. In this way, it reduces the chances of suffering cardiovascular diseases.
- Helps fight aging: the beta-carotenes provided by this vegetable offer certain protection against sunlight, allowing for combating the appearance of wrinkles, sunspots, and skin cancer, as well as promoting the production of collagen that helps fight aging, enjoying younger and more flexible skin.
Other alternatives to avocado
Beyond preparing a pumpkin cream to spread on breakfast toast, we can find other interesting alternatives to avocado, one of them being cherimoya, a somewhat unknown fruit, but with a very good taste. Although it has many seeds, you have to extract the flesh and use it to spread on toast, being creamy and allowing you to add pieces of fruit or nuts on top.
Another option is vegetable pâtés, a healthy alternative to conventional pâté and full of flavor. They can be prepared in different types and can be spread on toast to start the day in a healthy and energizing way. You can also opt for the very popular hummus, on which there is also room to make versions with carrot, beet, and even chocolate.
Among the main alternatives to avocado, we also find the preparation of cottage cheese with homemade jam. If homemade jam is mixed with fresh cheese, it will provide more texture and a very rich flavor. It is as simple as stirring with a fork and spreading the mixture on the toast.
Finally, we cannot fail to mention a classic like scrambled eggs, an option that always works, especially today when many of the myths regarding its consumption have been debunked. If little oil is used, you can have a couple of scrambled eggs on toast to enjoy a good breakfast.
*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence