I couldn’t even tell you how long it had been since I’d had French Toast! Thanks to a wonderful NITK reader/Facebook fan I have brought this delicious breakfast back into my life, BUT in a totally different way!
This version of French Toast is clean, mean, filled with proteeein, and incredibly delicious. I’ve been tempted to make this every single morning for the past week now!! But.. because I still really love my protein pancakes and overnight oats.. I do a nice little rotation now!
A little while ago on Facebook I asked what people typically enjoyed eating for breakfast/brunch on the weekends. One wonderful reader mentioned Cinnamon Raisin French Toast! The Ezekial 4:9 brand in particular. I was already pretty familiar with Ezekial brand bread, but I hadn’t yet tried the Cinnamon Raisin.
WELL.. Oh my, oh my, oh my, let me tell you!!! It is ummm… Ahhhhmazing!
A sublte hint of cinnamon, mixed with hearty grains and seeds, and speckles of raisins throughout. The smell alone was enough to make my heart flutter when I opened the bag.
What I love most about this bread…. NO CRAP!
It’s literally made with all wholesome ingredients; Organic Sprouted Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Raisins, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Organic Wheat Gluten, Sea Salt, Organic Cinnamon. (list taken directly from the website!)
Do you see…
No sugar!
No sugar???
No sugar!!!
Honestly, pretty much a majority of packaged breads out there, even the bakery ones are filled with sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, preservatives.. and other junk.
Here’s an ingredients list I pulled off the net from a very popular bread brand website for their version of Cinnamon Raisin Bread; Enriched wheat flour, sun•maid raisins, water, vegetable oil (soybean or canola), yeast, wheat gluten, milk ingredients, sugar, raisin juice concentrate, salt, cinnamon, monoglycerides, sunflower oil, corn syrup solids, flavour, sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate. May contain soybean, egg and sesame seeds.
Hmmm… I’ll take the Ezekiel thank you!
Now, here’s where the fun comes in!
I definitely wanted to do French Toast, but I wanted to figure out how I could keep this breakfast as healthy as possible and also add some balance by bringing in protein. So I pulled out my trusty, couldn’t-live-without-it, North Coast Naturals vanilla Iso-Protein and started experimenting.
In a bowl I mixed together what I planned to dredge the cinnamon raisin bread in. I used protein powder, egg whites, almond milk, and of course, because I must have this every morning… ground flaxseed! Oh, and a little more cinnamon just for good measure!
The reader who recommended this delicious dish gave me a heads up that this bread is pretty dense so it needs a little time to soak up all of the egg mixture.
It does, about a minute or two, but then when it cooks, the whole piece of bread puffs up and pretty much doubles in size and density, so one piece is super filling!
In the pan the toast went, and when I flipped it for the first time… aaaah, just beauty! A golden, eggy, partly crispy, partly soft crust on the outside of the delicious cinnamon raisin bread!
Oh, and the smell… divine!
The last thing I felt this delicious breakfast needed was the sweetness of some berries. I heated up some fresh blackberries then mashed them in a bowl and poured it over the protein-packed Cinnamon Raisin French Toast.
Is this real life?
A healthy, delicious, guilt-free French Toast packed with protein, fiber, and naturally sweet?!
Yes, my friends, it is.
Let’s just look at a couple more pictures of this healthy deliciousness, and smile…
You… yes you, need to make this.
Oh, and those of you with a gluten allergy or intolerance… I haven’t forgotten about you! You can most definitely substitute a gluten free Cinnamon Raisin bread!
- 2 pieces Cinnamon Raisin bread (Ezekiel brand if possible)
- 2 tablespoon vanilla protein powder (I used whey, can also use rice/soy/hemp etc.)
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ packet stevia (optional)
- 2 tablespoon egg white
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or other milk of choice)
- ¼ cup berries of choice, or syrup, or nut butter... or whatever toppings you prefer!
- In a bowl combine the protein powder, flaxseed, and cinnamon, and stevia if using. Mix together.
- Add in the egg white and almond milk, stir to combine.
- Place the bread in a shallow dish and pour half of the mixture over top both pieces of bread. Allow the mixture to soak into the bread for 1-2 minutes. Flip each piece over and pour the remaining mixture and allow to soak for another 1-2 minutes.
- While the bread is soaking, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat (I spray my pan lightly with olive oil spray to prevent sticking).
- Once the pan is heated, add in each piece of toast. Scrape any remaining egg mixture from the dish over each piece of toast (waste not, want not!)
- Cook for about 2 minutes, then flip each piece of bread. It should flip very easily in a non-stick pan.
- Cook for another 2 minutes on the opposite side.
- Garnish with berries, nut butter, maple syrup... Greek yogurt... whatever you prefer!
- Enjoy!
Now… if this post wasn’t awesome enough already…
I’ve got a great workout for you too!
The other day at the gym, my super awesome and inspiring bestie Brooke introduced me to this Tabata workout routine. We sweated (?? is that a word) our way through the intense 9 minute routine, and totally pushed each other to get through!
It was so much fun!
I’ve done HIIT before and loved it, but I LOVE the 20 seconds ON 10 seconds REST interval sequence with Tabata. It really allows you to give it your all in each burst of exercise!
So without further adieu…
(I’m not sure why this image turned out so small 🙁 Hopefully you can all still read my writing, or are able to print it off!)
You’ve got to give this one a try, you’ll love it. AND you’ll TORCH calories for hours after!!
Oh…before I forget! I’ve had readers asking wether I have an instagram account or not. I’ve had my personal one for a long time and I often post pictures of my food, recipes, and other health related things on it (but please note, I also post pictures on anything else going on in my life.. so it’s not all food, just a heads up!!) … if you’d like to follow …go the link to my instagram page here! – I’ve also added an instagram button under the “connect” in the sidebar!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Christal
Nutrition in the Kitch
My husband has been making these for me for months now, and it has to be one of my most favourite breakfast dishes, but never did we think of adding in the Protein powder!!! He will be so excited because he loves anything to get more protein in his diet.
Thanks so much, your blog is awesome!!
SO happy to hear that Suzi! 🙂 I LOVE this breakfast! A sneaky way to get in protein!
I made this for breakfast today and it was SO GOOD! I am so glad you recommended the Ezekial cinnamon raisin bread, it’s so yummy! And I am so glad it doesn’t have all that sugar like most cinnamon raisin breads 🙂
Yeah it’s a way healthier option! I love it, and with the french toast coating it’s super filling too! 🙂
I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while and today I found some Ezekiel bread and so I just couldn’t wait until the morning. My husband is out of town and I have had a busy week. So I decided to treat myself with breakfast for dinner. I have been eating overnight oatmeal for months (i am a rut breakfast eater too :). I think I just found my new rut though. DELICIOUS!
Haha! I would say this is a new good “rut” to be in!! Funny you say that because I just switched back to oats lol!
Glad you enjoyed the recommendation 🙂 It is my favourite breakfast. I look forward to it every weekend.
Loved it! And clearly so many others do too! You’re a genius! 🙂
Where do you get your Ezekiel bread in Edmonton? I never see any at the supermarket and I hate to jump from bakery to bakery until I find it.
Hey Vanessa! The ezekiel bread is always in the frozen foods section – I got mine at superstore, in the natural foods section, the freezer, and it’s also at planet organic. I believe it is at Save-On-Foods too… but don’t take my word on that one!
Thank you! I never would have thought to check the frozen section! 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂
I made the french toast today, yummy. I didn’t have any raisin bread so I just used reg. Silver Hills and ‘Natural Whey’ protein powder. I also added 1 T maple syrup to the berries. I never felt hungry all morning! Now if I can just get lunches figured out! 🙂
I know this breakfast is so filling!! Lol, you’ll get there with the lunches! 🙂
I love Ezekiel bread so I can or wait to try this ! Looks amazing : )
It’s seriously delicious!! Had it again for breakfast this morning! 🙂