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As a kid, my grandma made French Toast, grenki in Russian, almost every weekend for breakfast. A thick slice of stale white Russian bread “baton” dipped in eggs and milk, then pan fried. It was sweet, moist and melt in your mouth breakfast we have been waiting for all week.
Last week, I recreated so popular French Toast Casserole for all of us healthy people out there. This breakfast casserole is super quick, lighter than any traditional French Toast Bake recipes and is perfect for weekend and Christmas morning breakfast.
You can prepare it 1 or 2 nights ahead and then just pop in the oven for 45 minutes and chill.
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Instead of traditional French bread I used organic sprouted bread. Ezekiel, Silver Hills or Dave’s Killer Bread would work. Doesn’t have to be stale. We love all those seeds on Dave’s Killer bread and always fight who gets them from bottom of the bag.
This bread is made from organic sprouted grains which makes it nutritious and high in fiber and protein. It is the only bread we buy.
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To make the egg mixture I used eggs, egg whites and almond milk. I do not think egg yolks are bad for you. In fact, they are full of healthy fatty acids like Omega-3 and contain 80% of vitamins and nutrients that can be found within an egg. But if I can add extra protein with egg whites without sacrificing the flavour, I do.
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Then pour mixture over the bread, close tightly and shake to make sure all bread is covered with liquid. The mixture will sit at the bottom of the pan and that’s fine. It will get soaked up in the baking process.
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Top with chopped pecans or any other nuts. You can even add any dried fruit like raisins, cranberries or banana. Because I used stevia for sweetening the egg mixture, I felt it was totally appropriate to sprinkle the casserole with 1 tablespoon of raw brown sugar. Any healthier powder sugar would work – coconut, turbinado etc.
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The French Toast Casserole came out just like my grandma used to make, without the guilt factor – moist, tender, perfectly sweet and full of my childhood memories. We topped it with maple syrup, coconut flakes and Greek yoghurt. All organic of course.:)
The leftovers stay fresh in the fridge for up to 2 days and are perfect to take to work.
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Ingredients
- 8 sprouted bread slices like Ezekiel, Silver Hills or Dave's Killer Bread, cut into large cubes
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup egg whites
- 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp stevia
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp raw brown sugar
- Coconut oil cooking spray
Directions
- Spray 8 x 11 baking dish with cooking spray. Place bread in it spreading evenly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, almond milk, vanilla, stevia and cinnamon. Pour mixture evenly over the bread. Cover tight and refrigerate overnight or 2 nights.
- In the morning or whenever ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle casserole with pecans and brown sugar. Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes. Serve warm topped with maple syrup and/or Greek yoghurt if desired.
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving = 1 square:
Calories: 298.0
Total Fat: 13.0 g
Cholesterol: 124.0 mg
Sodium: 371.8 mg
Total Carbs: 33.6 g
Sugars: 7.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 7.8 g
Protein: 17.7 g
WW Points+: 8