Thursday, September 3, 2009

A Toast to Toast!

I've decided it's about time for me to explore a deep dark obsession I've had for quite some time now. It's my unquenchable love for toast. Now this is not just any love of toast, I have a very refined and specific taste for good toast. In my mind there are specific guidelines that must be followed in order to create the best toast.

The Bread. Not just any bread will make good toast. You can't pop that Wonderbread crap in toaster and expect anything good to come of it. Let's face it some breads make better toast than others. I, being the grainy girl that I am prefer the whole wheat variety. Most 100% whole wheat breads will do. I prefer a more hearty bread for best results. Also, I recommend using an organic sprouted wheat bread. The most common form is called Ezekiel bread and it's based on a recipe found in the bible. I know, you didn't realize there were recipes in the bible. Surprise! It's not to heavy, but still hearty and it is oh so satisfying with out being to much.

Butter or Margarine. Always, always, always (I repeat always) choose BUTTER! It's real people. I know we're all concerned with butter being to fatty, but reality is it's much more gentle on your system than margarine which is usually pumped with synthetic preservatives and crap. The key to enjoying butter is moderation. A little goes a long way. In the words of Julia child, "I LOVE BUTTER!"...mmmmmmmmmm.

Peanut Butter. Spread it on when your toast has just come out of the toaster and it'll kind of melt a little bit...and so will you! Delicious! I'm a peanut butter snob and only use organic or all natural peanut butter with no hydrogenated oils. You'll live longer. Trust me ;o)

Bananas & Raisins. Adding banana's and Raisins to toast topped with PB is one of my favorite snacks. It has that hearty, grainy, sweet yet satisfying appeal that I want in a snack. One slice will last you all afternoon... or morning. It's also a great midnight snack.

Agave. This is God's gift to hypoglycemics like myself. Agave is a natural sweetener derived from the agave plant. It's organic and has a low glycemic index so it's more like a carb than a sugar. You can find it at most whole food stores and it makes a great sugar substitute. I've made zucchini bread and other baked goods with it and it worked great. I like it because you get the sweet you want with out the highs and lows that sugar brings to your system. Having a warm piece of Ezekiel bread smothered with butter and agave is like cheesecake to me. Add peanut butter to that and it's like pimped out cheesecake with nuts, and berries drizzled all over it. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

So now you know my secret. I absolutely LOVE (and crave) toast. Everyday. In my opinion, it is natures candy bar. I want to hear what you like on your toast. Please share!

10 comments:

Kenna said...

Melissa, I love the new blog and the new back ground. It looks great and it looks like you transferred everything just fine.
I agree with you on the toast post, toast is good if you make it the right way.

Katie said...

It sounds like we are pretty similar where nutrition is concerned! I've swung wildly back and forth in the past, fully believing in the work of Weston A. Price a few years ago, to now wanting to be all raw or at least all plant-based.

My 2 year old loves "tosht" -- he can almost make it himself, yikes!!

Kelly said...

Lovely new blog you have here Melissa. And I admire the toast topic so much. Totally concur about the butter! I like 9 grain toast myself.

It's not hard to see why the Korean's view toast as a dessert!

Jay said...

OK so A: very funny post I'd have to say it's the 1st I've seen on toast.
2: I like peanut butter & sugar on my toast but since I'm not allowed to have peanut butter at my house (Ella has a severe peanut allergy) I have to substitute Sunflower butter (tastes very similar to peanut butter, but has a tasty sunflower seed after-taste) I told you I have a sweet tooth right?

Emily said...

Toast is soooo amazing and is probably one of the biggest reasons I gained a ton of weight this past pregnancy. I agree, the bread itself needs to be substantial. I prefer to have my bread golden toasted. I then spread real butter on it. Land O Lakes spreadable butter (with Canola oil) is wonderful if left sitting out for about 5 minutes beforehand. Then I go for the peanut butter on top. SO yummy.

I have that Agave stuff in my pantry and haven't found any use for it. On toast!? I shall try! Would love if you shared other ideas for what to use it in.

Katie said...

The main thing I use agave nectar for is my green smoothies. I make green smoothies with greens and fruit. If your fruit isn't very ripe, or you've used a lot of darker greens (collards, kale, chard), you sometimes want some added sweetness.

Marissa said...

Mmmm, toast...I had 3 pieces of toast with peanut butter and raspberry preserves every day for at least the last 6 months I was pregnant. That and a glass of ice cold milk. It must have been a pregnancy craving, because (although I still love toast) I haven't had it since I delivered. Now I'm stuck on cheerios and chocolate milk...

Grand Pooba said...

My favorite is peanut butter with cinnamon and sugar. Aaaauuurrrgggghhh...

(said with Homer Simpson voice)

Grand Pooba said...

btw do you take requests? Like a request to change your comments from embedded to pop up window?

Just for me, otherwise I can't comment on my work computer....I know I'm the most important person in your life right now and all you want to do is please me so I'll expect the change by your next post. LOL

:o)

Melissa said...

So for some reason I didn't have comment notifications set up to come to my email inbox so I didn't know about all of your awesome comments!! In fact, I was thinking "Wow. That toast post was a loser because no one commented. No more posts about that!" Then I'm on checking things and I notice I have 9 comments!!! Thank you all! It was like my birthday all over again...a week later. Sweet. I am passionate about toast. It is seriously THE thing I crave most. I love to hear your suggestions and I will be trying them all soon :P And I will also post some recipes using agave and natural sweeteners soon. Also, Kelly, as per your request I changed my comments to the pop up way. I'm listeneing ;) Love you all!

Melissa