Toast, Four Ways with Little Northern Bakehouse

This post is sponsored by Little Northern Bakehouse

“You can’t help but love someone who makes you toast.” A quote from the movie Toast and really some of the truest words ever spoken.

Toast is one of the simplest things to make, but it’s so unbelievably satisfying. The versatility of toast often gets overlooked. I have often found myself in a rut of reaching for the same peanut butter or classic avocado toast combination. To force myself out fo that rut I attempted to create some funkier plant-based combos that will keep mine (and your) taste buds intrigued.

To create these insanely delicious combos I turned to my favorite gluten-free bread, Little Northern Bakehouse, to form the foundation. Their products consistently deliver an experience that I thought I had to forgo permanently when I had to give up conventional bread. Not only do they not contain gluten, but they don’t contain any animal products either — 100% vegan! Their bread will not disappoint and neither will these unique combinations.

TOAST, Four Ways

Rawcotta + Blueberries Toast

• 1 Little Northern Bakehouse slice

• 3 tablespoons of homemade rawcotta, or this store bought version

• 1/4 cup blueberries

Plant Based Butter + Radish Toast

• 1 Little Northern Bakehouse slice

• 1 tablespoon Miyokos Plant Based butter

• 2 radishes, sliced thinly

• sea salt for topping

Tahini + Banana + Honey + Cinnamon Toast

• 1 Little Northern Bakehouse slice

• 1 tablespoon tahini

• 1/2 a banana

• 2 teaspoons honey

• a dash of cinnamon

Avocado + Pickled Ginger Toast

• 1 Little Northern Bakehouse slice

• 1/2 an avocado

• 2 tablespoons of pickled ginger

• sea salt for topping

For all combinations listed above, begin with one piece of Little Northern Bakehouse toast toasted to your liking and then simply layer the ingredients listed under that specific combination.

Sautéed Cabbage with Tahini

It feels like cheating to call this a recipe, so I won’t. I’ll just call it what-i-eat-for-breakfast-when-i-feel-like-going-veggie-heavy-but-putting-in-minimal-effort because that’s really what it is. So if you’re in need of an insanely easy plant based breakfast, lunch, or dinner idea, here you go.

Sauteed Cabbage with Tahini

serves 1

• 2 cups pre-shredded cabbage + carrot mix (I used the Trader Joe’s one)

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• sea salt to taste

• 2 tablespoons of tahini

Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once the coconut oil is hot, add in the cabbage-carrot mix and then sauté for 4-6 minutes or until the veggies have softened. Transfer to a plate and drizzle with the tahini. So simple, but super satiating and nutritious!

Grain-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Slowness has been on my mind lately. Probably because my life for the last three months has represented anything BUT slowness. Ever since we moved out of our old apartment and into a state of unknown (see here) there has been far less thriving and way more surviving than I would care to admit. I'm a busy body by nature. I can't sit still, but amidst the shuffle of the last few months I've lost so much of myself and my purpose and I need to get back to my normal. 

As a challenge to myself I want to make a little shift. I want to slow down. I want to embrace slow mornings where I have the chance to cook breakfast in my PJs and sip coffee as long as I want. I want to forgo rushing from errand to errand or getting anxiety over the impending to-do list. Instead I want to slow down and take more breaths. Wish me luck. 

Between breaths you can find me making these paleo banana chocolate chip muffins. They're hella easy and damn good. And I know we're all about that. 

Grain-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 

Makes 15

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly 
• 4 mashed bananas 
• 2/3 cup maple syrup 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 teaspoons vanilla 
• 2 cups almond flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 3/4 cup Enjoy life mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, or another non-dairy chocolate chip 
• a pinch of salt
• 1 banana, cut into slices to top the muffins 

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with muffin tins. In a large bowl beat together the coconut oil, mashed bananas, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. In another bowl mix together the almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet until they are fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. 

Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake tins and then top each with a banana slice. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Take out of the oven and allow to cool. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

Because it's November and by now you've probably heard enough people pledge their loyalty to Fall as the most superior of season, I will avoid a long soliloquy about how I love oversized sweaters and would die for crisp temperatures and bonfires year round. But just know that I do and I most definitely would. Instead, I'll talk about traditions. 

Growing up it was a running joke that our family's tradition was having no traditions. I don't know if it's because my family likes to reorganize plans two hours before they're supposed to be carried out making it nearly impossible to actually uphold any sort of regular event or that we just didn't have any sort of sentimental value surrounding the idea of having them. This lack of emphasis on traditions might sound kind of sad to those of you that have super awesome traditions, but in our house the absence of traditions left so much room for spontaneity. One of my most favorite Christmas memories was the year we spent Christmas day at an indoor water park. The lines were short and the gift of being together and experiencing something became the present we actually cared about. 

Josiah on the other hand comes from a family that places a much stronger emphasis on traditions. When we first got married it was hard for me to understand the value that he placed on cutting a tree down the day after Thanksgiving or making donuts on Christmas Day. Don't get me wrong, I thought those things were cool (I mean, hello, donuts!), but it wasn't until recently that I fully understood how important it was to him and could relate to the importance he placed on them. 

Although Josiah and I have yet to create any of our own traditions together surrounding the Holidays, one tradition that we have started is a yearly Fall drive to see the changing colors. Each year our trip looks a little bit different. The first year we did it we lived in Illinois and so we headed up to Wisconsin for a day of exploring. Our second year we were living in Colorado so we made a trip to Steamboat Springs, CO where we spent the weekend and enjoyed some great brunching and browsing in the little shops. This year we're in Chicago so we took a drive up to Lake Geneva, WI. We spent the day walking around the lake with Henry and then grabbed brunch at a cute little place that had a dog-friendly patio. Because of the business of wedding season we almost skipped our trip this year, but the thought of forgoing this short-lived, but meaningful tradition made both of us far too sad. Despite our crazy schedule, we packed up the car and ended up enjoying a full day together and I am so, so glad. I now see why Josiah thinks so fondly of even the simple things that his family does year after year. Going forward I hope that no matter how hectic October becomes, we continue to prioritize that time together and are always able to maintain this simple tradition. 

Whether it's a yearly thing or just a this-year thing I encourage you to bake these muffins, grab the people you love, pack up the car, and drive (through your neighborhood or across the state) to take in some Fall views.  The sweetness of the chocolate combined with the comfort of pumpkin make these muffins the perfect treat for Fall. There are few combinations that trump chocolate and peanut butter, but chocolate and pumpkin comes pretty dang close. They're insanely moist and for sure going to become your favorite Fall road tripping snack. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins

• 2 cups oatmeal 
• A pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1 cup pumpkin or butternut squash
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup coconut yogurt 
• 2 TBS coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs 
• 8 oz of Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the oatmeal, salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon in one bowl and set aside. Next, combine the pumpkin or butternut squash, maple syrup, coconut yogurt, coconut oil, and eggs in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until they are all mixed together. Stir in the chocolate chips. Portion out into a greased muffin tin. Bake at 375 for about 16 minutes. Cool and serve. 

And here is Henry begging for some of the muffins.