French-ish Toast

Breakfast is the undisputed most important meal of the day, yet for most Americans (the ones who actually eat it), it's loaded with empty calories and sugar, and void of any sort of nutrients that will help to fuel your body throughout the day.  It's sad how this important meal has gotten such a "bad rap"...because honestly, breakfast produces some of the most comforting and satisfying foods around!  I could eat breakfast food for all meals of the day, every day (well...most days!)  Here's a recipe that I've been working on perfecting for an amazing, egg, dairy, and butter-free french toast, that is also healthy and sustaining!  Serve it up with the Green Julia Smoothie (featured in a previous blog) for an incredibly well-rounded breakfast that will give you unspeakable energy, without that annoying mid-morning crash!

In a shallow dish (such as a pie plate or 8x8 pan) combine the following and whisk together:

1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/4 c. coconut palm granules (or sucanat)
3 T. nutritional yeast flakes (you've seen this in other recipes, if you've been following my blog...so now you know that you need it for sure!  It's loaded with B vitamins (the energy givers) as well as minerals...AND it's really versatile!)
1 T. vanilla
2 T. cinnamon (I LOVE cinnamon, but if you're not a huge fan, try 1 T. to start)
5 T. whole wheat flour (this helps to thicken it so it doesn't run right off your bread)
a pinch of sea salt

-You're looking for a nice, thickened, sweet dip for your bread, with the thickness close to that of gravy (that's my best guess at a word picture for you!)

-Dip both sides of bread into the mix, and put on a hot, oiled (obviously I'm going to recommend coconut oil here) griddle.

-Just so you know, this French-ish Toast will take longer to cook than the regular stuff you may be used to making.  You want both sides browned, and the center still nice and gooey, yet cooked through.

-Top with a slab of coconut oil and drizzle with agave, and trust me, no one will be complaining about the new, healthy French Toast that you've just made!

-Note:  I would HIGHLY recommend getting a good stack of these going before you begin to serve them up, because they WILL get eaten faster than you can produce them!  If you want to preheat your oven to 200 and throw them onto a cookie sheet so they stay warm, and then start the serving once they're all done, that would be a good idea for two reasons!  1) You'll be able to serve them up as fast as they get eaten if they're all finished.  2) This will ensure that you actually get some before they all get eaten! (Trust me, I almost didn't get any this morning...I actually had to cut my kids off so I could get a measly 2 pieces!!)

-This recipe made 13 pieces, and fed 2 adults and 2 kids (one of which had to be cut off!)  If you're cooking for fewer people, the batter can be refrigerated so you can have them the next morning too!  OR cook them all up, and freeze some of them for a special breakfast in the future!