Combine the garlic, miso, apple cider vinegar and rice malt syrup in a small bowl, whisk until smooth.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over low-medium heat. Add this mixture to the skillet and simmer, whisking until thickened. Add the beans and give them a gentle stir to prevent sticking.
To assemble, top each slice of toast with a serving of avocado and miso beans. Sprinkle with hemp seeds and sea salt. Serve immediately.
These herbed beans on toast practically make themselves, can be created in moments with a handful of ingredients. It’s breakfast, lunch and, has been dinner on occasion. There are always simple fixes we gravitate to, for me, it is either a big salad with greens, broccoli, avocado and loads of coconut balsamic vinegar. On other days; instead, I’ll have toasted sourdough topped with avocado, hummus, hemp seeds and sauerkraut if I had any. And the miso here delivers a deep and salty flavour with the benefits of fermented food. Sourdough is also a fermented food that is nutritionally beneficial for your gut health. Naturally fermented sourdoughs don’t contain commercial yeast and are far better for you. Wild yeast and Lactobacilli bacteria in a sourdough starter, produce Lactic Acid, which is essential and even reparative to the human gut, helping to heal and maintain a healthy digestive system. This fermentation process reduces and degrades carbohydrates and proteins found in flour — including gluten, giving your digestive system a head start. Traces of remaining glutens are quickly and easily digested. As such, a fermented sourdough is more digestible than a standard loaf and less likely to cause food intolerance.
During fermentation, Lactic Acid bacteria produce a wide range of bioactive molecules including organic acids, fatty acids, and bacteriocins. Lactic Acids increase your body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals from the sourdough, neutralising phytates in the flour that would otherwise interfere with their absorption. And while bread can be thought of as a high glycemic (GI) food, Lactic Acid bacteria in sourdough actually reduces starch availability and lowers glycemic responses. Research also finds sourdough has higher levels of resistant starch than other bread — your body takes longer to digest these carbohydrates so blood sugars are more stable. It can take 24 hours to make a loaf or even three days to make proper sourdough bread. I love the sourdough loaves from The Dusty Apron. Amandine and I, our entire house orders up weekly. Sourdough bread is something I eat most days. The supermarket does not sell real bread. Look for producers of fermented bread local to you. Here slices of crusty, organic sourdough are topped with herbed miso beans, then you add all your favourite things. Mine are listed below.
White beans A staple for me, I’ll usually have beans soaking countertop. I gravitate towards butter and cannelloni beans — both contain around 15 grams of fibre per cup while providing vital minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. And besides being an upgrade from the canned in sauce kind, you’ll find a myriad of ways to incorporate beans into your meals.
Avocado My love for avocados, knows no bounds. A stash of avocados allows a meal to happen at a moment’s notice. Amandine refers to them as vegan butter. This is one of our favourite ways to prepare avocado on toast. High in vitamin K1 and potassium and loaded with healthy fatty acids, avocados mid-day are a slow burn, keeping blood sugar stable and your appetite satiated.
Olive oil Widely loved for its omega fatty acids and plant polyphenols. Opt for organic cold-pressed extra-virgin oils, as they are less processed. Much like salt, different regions and production methods yield different flavours of oil.
Hemp seeds I’ll add a heaped tablespoon of hemp seeds to most meals, that’s some 4 grams of quality protein. Hemp seeds deliver ideal ratios of fatty acids and essential minerals such as magnesium and phosphorous. And when you eat hemp seeds, you’re fueling your body with zinc — vital for thyroid health and sulfur, both of which can help keep the skin clear. Even living in a country producing hemp seeds, finding any under $100 per kilo has been challenging. These hemp seeds work out at around $42 per kilo, even less on subscription.
Hummus A Middle-Eastern favourite chickpeas contain iron, phosphate, calcium, magnesium manganese and zinc that deliver bone and heart health benefits. And with the addition of tahini, hummus provides healthy fats, protein, fibre, minerals and grounding comfort. Tahini is nothing more than ground sesame seeds, easily acquired, ideally in bulk.
These beans on toast can be an easy solution for busy weeknights without sacrificing nourishment. Add a simple salad on the side, I usually just utilise pre-washed greens from the store with some coconut balsamic. And good salt, Celtic salt is incredibly mineral-rich. In general, it’s important to eat unprocessed and whole foods. And generally, this is relatively inexpensive when focusing on the perimeter of the supermarket and buying bulk foods. Avoiding pre-made freezer meals, snacks or ready meals from the chilled sections will allow you to allocate your grocery budget to better things. These foods are in relative terms expensive and will not provide the life-giving nourishment you’ll find in whole plant foods. With the right strategy and a bit of planning, it is possible to eat for vibrancy. Invest in some good containers, favourites of mine are these sturdy Pyrex glass containers with tight-fitting lids and for smaller quantities these Le Parfait glass mason jars which come with leak-proof caps. And if you need some ideas and tips for meal planning, download your free copy of our ebook here.
Everything we create is an effort to participate in a culture shift. All products featured are independently selected and curated by the authors, and we only feature items we use or would use ourselves that align with our values. As part of our business model, we do work with affiliates such as Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases if you decide to purchase through our links. The price would be the same to you either way, but if you find value in our work, then these affiliate links are a way to support it. We only recommend brands, makers and products we use - that we support. Transparency is important to us, so if you have any questions, please reach out to us.
