Let's Do Brunch: Stuffed French Toast Recipe

Healthy Cooking Tips

Slice the bread and leave it out overnight. Slightly stale bread soaks up the egg-and-milk mixture for maximum flavor and minimal sogginess, says Joan Salge Blake, RD, clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University. If you didn't plan ahead, dry bread out in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Not a morning person? Stuff the bread at night (dry it out in the oven if necessary) and refrigerate. When you wake up, all you have to do is prep the egg mixture and cook.

We used fat-free milk instead of whole or 2 percent to save fat grams and calories. If you're lactose intolerant, substitute calcium-fortified low-fat vanilla soy milk.

You don't have to swear off yolks. They provide bone-building vitamin D and brain-boosting choline, Blake explains. Plus, the fat helps the mixture stick to the bread.

For a lower-calorie topping that's packed with vitamin C, swap out jam for the real thing. Puree 1 cup frozen strawberries in the blender, then warm in a saucepan over low heat.

Instead of drowning French toast, pancakes, or waffles in butter and syrup, try one of these healthier alternatives, suggests Nicole Garfield, RD, chef and nutritionist at the Pump Energy Food restaurant in New York City.

• 1/2 cup vanilla fat-free yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter, microwaved for 10 to 20 seconds
  
  

Originally published in FITNESS magazine, November/December 2009.