Sweet Potato & Avocado Cream Breakfast Toast

Chelsea Cameron-Fikis
Jun 29, 2018
5 min read

Today I'm talking about my thoughts on carbs and sharing a delicious carb-filled breakfast recipe (don't worry, it's the good carbs).

Carb Obsession

We are a society obsessed with carbs (myself included). I can’t count the number of times I’ve asked Google, “Are carbs good or bad for you?” The voice at the back of my head has always said to me, “Carbs are your brain’s best friend Chelsea. Eat them!” I’m not sure if that’s been my pasta obsession talking, but carbs being beneficial to our brain and overall health is a fact that has been reconfirmed by various articles and research that I’ve read. And yet, I’m always thrown into a bit of a frenzy when new diets or trends boast all of the amazing things that apparently happen when you cut the carbs, i.e. a flatter tummy, more energy, decreased risk of Diabetes and feeling less hungry to name a few.

It feels like every decade there’s a new diet that promotes the insecure relationship many of us have with carbs. For example, the recent ever-popular Keto diet stands firm on the powers of eliminating or reducing carbs, while the well-known Atkins diet and Paleo diet also claim health benefits through a reduction or omission of carbs. Are carbs good or bad? It becomes easy to get swept away in the tides of diet information that are out there; however I think the main issue that lies at the heart of this carb kerfuffle is this simple fact: not all carbs are the same within the carb family!

Simple Carbs & Complex Carbs

Is it fair to say that simple refined carbs (like those in white cakes or sugary breakfast cereals) are the twin sisters of complex, healthy, whole grain carbs (like those in quinoa, oatmeal or sweet potatoes)? The answer is no! Definitely not. These simple carbs and complex carbs are more like 2nd cousins twice removed – they barely know each other, and they don't really resemble one another. I’m not here to declare a war on any particular diet, because we’ve all gotta eat for our own health and wellbeing, but, I am a strong proponent for healthy complex carbs - I eat them all the time!

Without getting too scientific and detailed here, carbs can either be “simple” or “complex” based on their chemical makeup and how long our bodies take to break them down (read all about carbs here). Complex carbs are the ones that take longer for our bodies to break down, help us feel full for longer, give us more energy and are better for our metabolism. Complex carbs also typically have more vitamins, fiber and minerals, making them a perfect accomplice to committing the crime of a healthy, balanced diet.

Simple refined carbs on the other hand are what I'd call bad carbs (Keto, Atkins and Paleo dieters would all agree with me here). Simple refined carbs are in the foods that have been processed, refined and robbed of their natural fibre and nutrients, like white bread, rice or pasta, sugary cereals, donuts, cookies and so on. Simple refined carbs take little time for our bodies to digest and are generally void of nutrients. In fact, many studies tell us that simple refined carbohydrate consumption is linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

How to Identify a "Good Carb"

The Pritikin Center website has a great checklist for what makes a good carb:

low to moderate calorie density
high in a variety of nutrients
devoid of refined sugars or refined grains
high in naturally occurring fibre
low in sodium
low in saturated and no trans fats
low cholesterol

It's a great list to keep in mind, because it makes it easy to spot "bad carbs" too, and it reminds me of why I love complex, healthy carbs! Some of my favourite complex carbs are sweet potato (obviously), oatmeal, quinoa, beets, peppers, air-popped popcorn (yasss!), brown rice, butternut squash, sourdough or rye bread, bananas, black beans (all beans actually), all kinds of leafy green vegetables and whole fruits to name a few!

Which finally brings me around to my new amazing breakfast toast recipe, (tons of carbs ahead, so carb avoiders, back out now). At a local bakery near my apartment I found some whole wheat OLIVE bread (yes you read that right, it has olive bits baked right in... arguably the tastiest and healthiest bread on the planet). Once I had this bread, the inspiration for some interesting breakfast toast hit me. So, I toasted a slice, scooped on loads of leftover baked sweet potato (another delicious complex carb... yum!), topped it with some homemade avocado cream and VOILA, the best breakfast toast I’ve had to date. If you try this recipe, I hope you love it as much as I do! Be sure to tag me (@just__chelsea) and hashtag our friend #complexcarbs.

P.S. What are your thoughts on the carb debate? Are you currently on a 'no-carb' or 'low-carb' diet? I’m always interested to hear different opinions and perspectives, because at the end of the day we all need to do what is best for our own body and health.