You may have seen the latest foodie fad on social media: “mermaid” or “unicorn” toast. With Pinterest inspo, I coined my own version, “rainbow toast,” which basically encompasses the craziness of both types of glorified breakfast bread. With just a few basic ingredients, I was able to transform this simple food item into a work of art.
Ingredients:
Just a heads-up: you will probably have to “adult” and go to the grocery store if you have as little produce in your house as I do. Fortunately for you, these items do not amount to much money.
1) A loaf of multigrain bread
2) Two packages of cream cheese (For a healthier alternative: use Kite Hill Almond Milk Cream Cheese or plain/vanilla Greek yogurt)
3) Food coloring. Or, if you want to use more natural ingredients: beet juice (pink), turmeric root (yellow and orange), chlorophyll drops (green), freeze-dried blueberry powder (purple), and spirulina powder (blue). For time and money’s sake, I simply stuck to neon food coloring. It will still provide you with that pop of color you need.
4) One mango
5) Two avocados
6) Two kiwis
7) Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (The amount is a personal preference. To save money, I bought a package with separated compartments that contained each of these fruits inside.)
8) Honey
9) Granola
10) Edible pearls (optional)
11) Gold shimmer food spray or edible gold flakes (optional)
12) Flower-shaped cookie cutters
Recipe:
1) Toast a few pieces of bread. Once done, put the slices on a plate to let cool in the refridgerator
2) Cut the cream cheese bars into thirds. Put these pieces in small bowls. Add two drops of food coloring (or more if you desire a brighter color) and mix. Do not make the mixtures homogenous; rather leave it slightly unmixed so that when you spread the cream cheese on the toast, it creates a marbled look.
3) Thinly slice the mango, avocados, and kiwis. Use a flower-shaped cookie cutter on these slices to create shapes reminiscent of a summertime garden.
4) Take the toast out of the fridge. Make sure the pieces are completely cooled. Begin your rainbow toast art by spreading cream cheese of different colors side by side. Use gentle, even strokes, but do not spread too much in order to preserve the appearances of various colors. Side note: I also would suggest starting out by incorporating the avocados in your first piece of toast because avocado oxidizes quickly.
5) Add pieces of fruit, honey, granola, and decorative elements (like edible pearls or gold spray). I highly recommend using honey because it balances out the creaminess of the spread and works well with the sweetness of the fruits. Side note: decorating your toast is really an improvisational process. I created mine with little idea of what I’d end up with and instead just let the magical toast guide me along the way. However, if you want some inspiration, check out this mermaid toast Pinterest board.
Voila! There you have it. The most ethereal toast you have probably ever tasted. Snapchat it’s dazzling beauty to your friends, admire its marble-y appearance, and take a good look at it before ruining all of the hours you spent laboring over it by eating it.
