Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day. More
than any other meal, I enjoy going out for breakfast the most. Sadly, breakfast
food is often heavy, fatty, salty, too sweet or simply too many calories. I am
not one to eat at Denny’s but for comparison sake a French Toast Slam has
nearly 800 calories and 45 grams of fat! Want to try the cinnamon pancake meal?
Try 970 calories and 49 grams of fat. Denny’s isn’t the only culprit. Restaurants
that serve breakfast want their food to taste good and often that comes in the
form of fat usually butter or bacon grease. Now don’t get me wrong, potatoes
cooked in bacon grease are one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures, but
everything in moderation is important. So, I have come up with a healthier
version of one of my favorite diner foods, baked French toast. It’s a weekend
treat that can be made Friday night and just thrown in the oven Saturday
morning. Serve with some strawberries and nitrate free (preferably organic)
bacon and you got yourself a delicious breakfast treat.
Baked French Toast
Serves 4-6
8 ounces of wheat bread or challah, preferably stale, cut
into 2" cubes.
6 whole eggs
3 tbsp light brown sugar
1 cup of 2% milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cinnamon
Topping:
2 tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
For serving:
Maple syrup
Powdered sugar
Fresh fruit of your choice
The night before:
Prepare 9x9 baking dish by spraying it with non-stick
spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, crack the eggs. Beat the eggs with a whisk
until fluffy. Toss in the brown sugar and whisk again until the mixture
lightens in color and the eggs seem to fall off the whisk like a ribbon. Mix
in the milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Toss in the bread and mix to
combine. Put the entire bread mixture into the prepared baking dish. Cover with
plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (If you don’t want to wait, try to give
it at least 4 hours, but believe me your patience will be rewarded.)
In the morning:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon for topping in a small
bowl.
Take the French toast out of the fridge, uncover and
sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top evenly.
Place uncovered in the center rack of the oven for about
40-45 min or until the top is golden and the egg mixture is set. Raw eggs are
yucky.
Let cool ten minutes before spooning out onto plates. Serve
with fresh fruit, nitrate free bacon, maple syrup and powdered sugar, if you’d
like. J
This would make an awesome dinner too! Assemble in the
morning and pop in the oven for dinner. Yum.
