Blueberry-Almond French Toast Bake

After years of perusing other blogs and dreaming of my own - finally! Welcome to my blog. I am so excited to be sharing with you what goes on in my kitchen and around my table. My very packed table!

I received a great cookbook for Christmas from my mom. So Easy by Ellie Krieger. I love her recipes and her healthy approach to cooking and eating. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so its quite appropriate that I start my blog off with a breakfast dish. This recipe for Blueberry-Almond French Toast Bake, was simple, I threw it together the night before and it bakes for 50-60 minutes the following morning. I loved this because it wasn't too sweet, although my kids did add syrup to it.

The recipe calls for using a whole-wheat baguette. Unfortunately, I do not live near any store that would carry that. So, I made my own the day before. They tasted great! I love whole-wheat anything! Feel free to use a regular white baguette. Also, I had no fresh blueberries on hand, so I tossed some frozen blueberries on before I threw it in the oven. I also added the almonds and brown sugar at that time, instead of the night before.

BLUEBERRY - ALMOND FRENCH TOAST BAKE

• Cooking spray
• 1 whole-wheat baguette (about 18 inches long, 8 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 large eggs
• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread. Scatter the blueberries evenly on top and sprinkle with the almonds and brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the baking pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

This post has been linked to Eat at Home.

Per Serving:

Calories 270; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 2.5 g, Mono Fat 2 g, Poly Fat 0.75 g) ; Protein 16 g; Carb 35 g; Fiber 3 g; Cholesterol 220 mg; Sodium 280 mg

Excellent source of: Protein, Riboflavin, Iodine, Manganese, Selenium

Good source of: Fiber, Vitamin K, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc