Saturday, March 6, 2010

Vegan French Toast

Special consideration and thanks have to go out to my friend Carl, who makes one mean Vegan French Toast, and was nice enough to share this nearly-perfect recipe with me.

I love breakfast. It is my most favorite meal of the day, and I would indulge in breakfast foods for lunch and dinner if I could (and to be honest, I often do). One of my favorites is French Toast, but by the time I finish dipping the bread in eggs and slathering it with butter and maple syrup, I might as well have just eaten a Big Mac and washed it down with some orange juice.

I believe that a certain advertising campaign touts the beauty of the incredible, edible egg. An egg contains 54 calories,33 of which are from fat. It also contains 52% of your daily recommended cholesterol. My ener-g egg replacement powder contains a mere 15 calories per serving. Eggs are gross, they're just little baby chickens who never got fertilized. Think about that the next time you're confronted with a buffet's omelet station.

I love French Toast, and when I was at the peak of my dieting, I used to wish that I could have it every day for breakfast. But, I shied away from it because of the cholesterol associated with the eggs, the carbs from the bread, and the sugar from the maple syrup. Vegan french toast addresses the egg problem, and the substitution of whole wheat bread instead of worthless white will provide you with important fiber. I like this recipe because it includes lots of cinnamon and vanilla, which makes the end result sweet enough that I use less syrup. Voila, french toast every morning.

A note on the bread: you can use any kind of bread you want with this recipe, with special consideration given towards whole wheat. This morning I tried it with Country Harvest Bread. It's a special kind of bread that I buy from the farmer's market across the street, and it's full of carrots, raisins, whole grains, and nuts. Nuts are a little fatty, but the health benefits far outweigh any caloric short-comings.

Vegan French Toast
1 1/2 tsp. egg replacer (I use less than the original recipe, which calls for 2)
3/4 c. soy milk
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
3 slices whole wheat bread
2 tbsp. earth balance

1. Add egg replacer directly to the soy milk. Add vanilla and cinnamon and stir with a whisk. You may need to stir pretty hard, because you need to make sure the egg replacer completely blends with the soy milk.
2. Dip each side of the bread in the "egg" mixture. I like to let it sit for a few seconds so that it really soaks up some of the liquid.
3. Bring a pan to medium heat and coat the bottom with 1 tbsp. of earth balance. This is not the time to be stingy with the earth balance, as it is very important in getting a good crust on your french toast.
4. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until you have a nice golden brown crust on the bottom.
5. Flip the french toast, adding the second tbsp. of earth balance to your pan as you are flipping. It's a technique that requires some practice, but again, you need the earth balance to get a perfect french toast.
6. Serve with fruit, powdered sugar, maple agave, or whatever else floats your boat. I've been meaning to try pumpkin butter.
Servings: 2 at 307 calories each

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