Keep things healthy with bread-less smashed eggs and avocado

It was a long summer of over-indulging and now it’s time to reign things in. But that doesn’t have to mean a diet of cucumbers and cabbage. There are much easier ways and our first option is to drop the unnecessary carbohydrates when you can.

A great example is delicious smashed avo. Whether a hearty breakfast or light lunch, lose the bread and instead drop a perfectly poached egg directly on top of slices of avocado. If we're honest, we all know the bread is simply the vehicle that gets us to the good stuff anyway. Enjoying avocado toast, sans toast, may seem uninteresting, but if you’re gluten-free, or trying to be healthy, it's a great way to mix things up and it's easier than you might first think.

Here are three different ways you can make avocado toast without the toast.

Rice cakes

They are a fabulous, go-to bread substitute. If your diet means no bread, or if the bread bin is empty, just throw your avocado mash on top of a rice cake or two. The calories are far less, there's no gluten and you'll still get that crunchy texture under all the avo goodness. We love these Bunalun Organic Rice Cakes and suggest losing the egg as it can make the rice cake sticky and mushy.

Sweet potato

This has to be one of the best alternatives out there. Thick slices of delicious sweet potato topped with creamy avocado and a medium-runny egg on top. Whip out the chilli flakes and cracked black pepper and you've got yourself a gourmet brekkie without the bread. Easy. Slice sweet potato lengthwise into 6mm thick slices.

Place slices in the toaster on high for about five minutes, or until cooked through. The other way to do this is to thrown them into the microwave, wrapped in kitchen roll, for 4-6 minutes. While the sweet potato is cooking, mash the avocado in a bowl and cook an egg the way you prefer. Top your sweet potato toasts with the mashed avocado mixture and garnish with turkey bacon and crumbled feta.

Zucchini and tomato

No obscure ingredients, just sliced zucchini, a tin of chopped tomatoes — we love Tesco Italian Chopped Tomatoes — and a sprinkle of sea salt. All you have to do is slice your zucchini, drizzle a little coconut oil on top, sprinkle with sea salt, and toss in the oven at 210°C for around 15 minutes. Throw in some chopped onion if you'd like a different kick. Let everything cool a little and dump generous amounts of avocado on top.