A Healthy French Toast

A healthy version of the traditional French toast, low in saturated fat but high on flavor. Perfect for baby-led weaning, finger food, picky eaters, toddlers and parent breakfast or snack.

For a long time I have had an aversion to french toast. I think it's probably due to the fact that my grandmother used to make it for me when I was a child and it was always filled with soooo much saturated fat.

Of course at the time I didn't know that it was saturated fat. I do remember it was delicious but I also remember feeling sick and "heavy" in the stomach afterwards.

So as I grew up french toast vanished from my menu. Until it was suggested that I make some for my son that is. At first I said no.

But then I realised it's basically milk, eggs and olive oil and I can use wholewheat bread if I want to. And then I thought "well I give them all these ingredients anyways just separate, so why not give it a try".

Of course he loved it. And I snuck a few slices in there for myself also. So here is the recipe to a healthier version of the standard french toast.

Perfect recipe for baby-led weaning, finger foods, picky eating and toddlers.

Nutrition And Ingredients

Milk

• Most of my recipes have whole milk as an ingredient because I mainly make them for my 2 year old son, but it is easily substituted with a lower fat version or plant-based version

• High in protein, fat, calcium and calories so a great ingredient to use when needing to boost up the calorie and nutrition content of toddler meals

Eggs

• Choose organic or free-range so you can be sure the chickens have not been treated with antibiotics or any hormones

• Source of B vitamins, especially choline, as well as protein.

Olive Oil

• You might have noticed that I rarely use sunflower oil and almost always go with olive oil in baked meals. That's because olive oil has a wonderful nutritional profile and provides a huge amount of healthy fats

• When possible, use extra virgin olive oil

Wholewheat bread

• In our family we eat either 100% wholewheat bread or 50% wholewheat bread and it's almost always homemade

• This Easy Wholewheat No-Knead Bread is the one I make every 2 or 3 days

• Wholewheat bread contains far more nutrients than regular white bread. These nutrients include minerals such as iron, magnesium and manganese but also complex carbohydrates and fiber

• If you are serving this to under 1 year olds, look for bread that has under 100mg of sodium per slice, does not contain honey or any nuts and seeds or artificial sweeteners.

Cinnamon

• Use Ceylon cinnamon if in any way possible as it contains less coumarine, a substance that can be harmful to the liver if ingested in large amounts

Peanut Butter

• When buying, make sure you only buy 100% peanut butter and not the varieties that have added palm oil (or any other for that matter) or salt

• Like other nuts and nut butters, it is high in calories and fats. But it's the "good" kind of fats that can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases

Blueberries

• I love buying blueberries in the summer and then freezing them for the autumn and winter months while I wait for them to get back into season. This might not always be possible for everyone so buying organic fresh ones throughout the year is a good enough substitute

• They are a great source of fiber and various vitamins as well as a powerful antioxidant (one of the best)

• You don't have to use blueberries, there are just a nice addition. You can use any other fruit you want, or none.

How To Make

Make the mixture. Mix the eggs, milk and cinnamon in a bowl or a deep plate. Soak each slice of bread into the mixture so that it is covered from all sides.

Bake the bread. Place a pan onto the stove, add the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once the pan is hot put as many slices of bread that will fit on the pan. Fry for a few minutes on each side. You can press them with the bottom of a spatula so that it bakes more evenly.

Cool and serve. Once finished, transfer to a plate and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving with blueberries and peanut butter (or maybe some homemade hazelnut butter or healthy nutella).

Tips & Tricks For The Perfect French Toast

Fry on medium heat. You want your french toast to be nice and crispy on the outside but also cooked in the middle. And the key to achieving this is using medium heat. You can heat your pan over high heat (although I prefer doing this on medium heat also) but you need to lower it to medium before adding the bread.

Use your spatula. When making french toast, the spatula is not only for turning the bread over or removing it from the pan. It can also help the french toast bake evenly. You can do this by pressing the bottom of the spatula over the french toast while baking. On both sides. That way you will have an evenly baked crispy bread slice.

Use the leftover mixture. Although this is not a tip & trick for the french toast it is for possible leftovers of the mixture. You can simply toss it into the pan after you've made all your french toast slices and make a mini omelette out of it.

How To Serve To Babies and Toddlers?

Babies

• Baby-led Weaning 6-9 month old – I wouldn't go through the effort of making this just for a baby this age but if you are making it for a toddler and whole family just offer them the same bread cut into the width and length of a adult finger and remove the crust. Blueberries need to be smashed as they are a choking hazard whole.

• 9 month+ or pincer grasp – remove the crust if you find it too hard and cut the bread into smaller bite size pieces, the size of your pinky fingernail. Blueberries need to be smashed as they are a choking hazard whole.

Toddlers

• Serve the same as you would for adults

• You can cut it into triangles, squares, really whatever your toddler desires

FAQ & Recipe Variations

Can I make it dairy-free? If you want or need to avoid milk and dairy products, you can easily make this recipe dairy-free. Simply substitute the whole milk with a plant-based option. But if serving to kids I'd recommend you use a calcium fortified one.

What kind of bread should I use? Although I always do recommend going with whole grain flour and bread options nothing bad is going to happen if you choose a regular white option every once in a while. I haven't tried this recipe with white flour bread but I'm sure it tastes amazing.

Vary your toppings. Peanut butter and blueberries are our favorite toppings on all baked goods like pancakes and toast. But you can really choose any you like on top of this healthy french toast.

Make it savory. If you prefer a savory french toast rather than a sweet one, simply omit the cinnamon from the french toast mixture ingredients and add some savory toppings to your baked french toast.

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