California Avocado Toast

Mornings are usually a blur in my life. Let's face it, for most people who work traditional jobs (9-5, or rather 8-6 if you add commute times), mornings are a blur. 

However, the above is the result of a weekday morning where I took 10 extra minutes, slowed myself down and actually ate breakfast! Was it worth it? You mean was it worth not giving a damn about traffic, people at work watching the clock or my own brain not shutting up about being late? Abso-freakin-lutely! Here's why: the traffic was as usual, the drive took no longer, no one at work really pays attention, and my brain was so much more relaxed and focused after a happy stomach happened. 

So what exactly is that? That, my friends, is the result of having moved to southern California almost 3 years ago. That is an Avocado Toast. Doesn't sound very glamorous, but believe me, my mouth was throwing a party as I ate! And as I mentioned, Mrs. Stomach was a happy camper. 

Within 5-10 minutes I created this concoction: starting with a nutty multigrain slice of bread from Trader Joe's (toasted, of course), slices of half a hass avocado, generous sprinkling of lemon pepper, a thin layer of low fat cottage cheese, and finally a gentle sprinkling of this amazing Mexican spice I discovered recently: Tajín. It's one of those "umami" flavors - really hard to describe, but I'm pretty sure extremely hard to resist. It's a little sour, a little salty, a little spicy - I'm smacking my lips just thinking about it! The first time I ate it was outside a museum in downtown LA - it was being sold from a fruit cart - they cut up sweet mangoes and topped it with this spice, and boy was it a treat on that hot, summer day!

My 250-calorie breakfast was delicious, filling, quick, and the best part? It helped my morning off to a great start. I took a little while for myself - self-care - and it was beautiful. Self-care doesn't really have to be elaborate, you know - a few minutes here, a few minutes there, just a little bit of time and space just for you doing exactly that which brings you joy and happiness. Because really, true health comes from our heart and soul!