Mushroom & Guac Toastie

Mushroom & Avocado Toast in under 10 minutes!

This toast is an amalgamation of two of my favourite toasts: Mushroom toast + Avocado toast= Mushroom Avocado Toast!! 

The toast is loaded with flavour and is great for any meal, especially breakfast. This is a fairly simple toast and can be easily made at home! Perfect for those mornings when you sleep in for those extra 5 minutes :P Made in wholemeal seeded bread, it also has many health benefits, which are listed after the recipe :)

I love this toast paired with my morning cappuccino. So if you are keen to try it, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 slices of wholemeal seeded bread / or whichever bread you preferred
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I use any mushrooms: shiitake, crimini, white button, portobello, oyster, enoki, chanterelle or porcini)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 avocado, freshly smashed
Fresh sprigs parsley
Fresh sprigs coriander
Sea salt to taste
1 pinch Black pepper
1 pinch Chilli flakes
Extra virgin olive oil
Butter to taste

Method:
1. Warm oil in a skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic. Fry the garlic for about a minute and then add the mushrooms. 
2. Cover the pan with a lid and let them cook for 3-4 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and slightly brown in colour.
3. Add salt, black pepper and chilli flakes to the pan and stir them well. The mushrooms should be greatly reduced in size by now, cover the skillet. Let's prep the toast now!
4. Toast the bread and apply butter on it. Spread the mashed avocado on the toast.
5. Top the mashed avocado toast with the warm mushrooms. Garnish with fresh coriander and parsley sprigs. 

Equipment:
Skillet

Voila! You are done! Isn't this the simplest thing in the world??

Now, moving on to the health benefits of this mouth-watering toast:

Mushrooms:

• Help fight cancer (especially breast cancer)
• Boost immunity (given that I'm writing this article in the times of COVID-19, start eating mushrooms already?)
• Lower cholesterol (for a generation that loves fries {or chips as we call them in the UK}, regulating our cholesterol is very important!)
• One of few food sources of the quintessential Vitamin D & Vitamin B (Vitamin D helps in calcium absorption & bone growth, Vitamin B helps convert the food to fuel)
• Anti-inflammatory properties (So if you have any soreness, go eat some mushrooms people!)

Also, it is highly recommended that you cook your mushrooms before eating them. The cells of mushrooms are tough and this makes it very difficult for our digestive system to absorb the nutrients inside their cells. Mushrooms very often contain such chemical compounds that may interfere with our digestive system and nutrition absorption. Cooking tends to break down those tough cell walls, inactivates the anti digestive elements and destroys many toxins (According to Andrew Weil MD, founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center.)

Avocado:

• Vitamins K, C, B5, B6 & E (Phew! Too good right? But there are more benefits :P)
• Folate (our bodies need folate to make DNA, folate deficiency leads to anaemia people)
• Potassium (more than bananas BTW!)
• They are loaded with healthy fats (yes, there are healthy fats & the mono-saturated fatty acids are super important for our bodies)
• Lowers cholesterol
• People who eat avocados regularly are healthier, they have much higher nutrient intake and less likely to have metabolic syndrome. Are you surprised?

I do hope you enjoyed cooking & eating this toast! Lemme know?