healthy french toast

Toastless Oatmeal French Toast

Raise your hand if you love French toast!
*both hands raise towards the ceiling*

This was one of my favorite special weekend breakfasts as a kid. Unfortunately a piece of white bread French toast will not hold me over for very long, or I’ll just want more and more until I’m overly stuffed. You guys know that I love making healthy versions of my fav comfort foods, so I wanted to try and make a healthy French toast out of oatmeal. No bread required! It’s definietly toastless French toast!

The oatmeal is cooked with water and a little bit of salt and then refrigerated in a pan overnight to form a “bread” that is then coated in a sweet cinnamon, vanilla, egg mixture, cooked over the stove, and baked! The oat squares become golden brown and crisp on the outside, while still being soft and chewy on the inside.

It’s actually simpler than it sounds, and the prep is pretty easy. I make both the oatmeal “bread” and egg mixture the night before I want to serve this breakfast and then assemble it in the morning.

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Oatmeal (Toastless) French Toast
Serves 2

Oatmeal “toast”
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt

Egg Mixture
1 egg
1/4 cup almond or soy milk
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup or honey (or stevia for a sugar free option)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla

Night before: Make the oatmeal “bread”: In a saucepan, bring the water, salt, and oats to a boil. Cook uncovered until the water has completely absorbed into the oats. Coat an 8 x 8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer the oatmeal to the baking dish and press firmly with a spoon until oats are distributed evenly and packed down. Place the oatmeal dish in the fridge uncovered (do not cover or it won’t solidify) overnight. Whisk together the egg mixture and place covered in the refrigerator.

In the morning: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the chilled oatmeal “bread” into 9 squares. Give the egg mixture one last stir, and then pour it over the bread pan, completely coating the dish. Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place over medium-low heat. Take a few oatmeal squares out of the egg mixture dish and place in the skillet, cooking on each side until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Transfer oatmeal squares to a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot with maple syrup or fresh berries and your choice of nut butter!

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The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown

Produce: none – enjoy with 1 cup of fresh berries*
Whole Grain: rolled oats
Protein: egg
Plant Based Fat: none – top with 1 Tbsp nut butter of your choice*
* Follow these suggestions to make this a complete Rabbit Food Pyramid approved meal!

Rabbit Food Pyramid Refresher

Today’s post is a little different than the norm. After reading a comment from a reacher: Stephanie, I noticed that I haven’t talked about the Rabbit Food Pyramid since I started my blog in 2012! Since I often have new readers, I think now would be a great time to re-introduce the rabbit food pyramid and how it works!

How it started:
After being on Nutrisystem for a few months and not liking the groggy lethargic feeling that overly processed shelf stable foods gave me, I branched out on my own to continue my weight loss journey. After reading numerous health and fitness magazines and articles by registered dietitians and nutrition experts, I experimented with different styles of eating and found what works for me. I quickly realized that drastic diets and cutting out food groups following “no-carb” or “fat-free” fads were not for me. It left me hangry (hungry and angry) all the time, which led to uncontrollable binging and even worse, a severe eating disorder of restrictive eating, and eventually bulimia and a brief stint with anorexia. As you can tell, food rules were a terrible idea for someone like me who has OCD perfectionist qualities.

Determined to lose weight the proper way this time, I educated myself on how to portion meals properly with balance. That meant carbs, fat, produce, and protein to keep my body nurtured and healthy. This is when the Rabbit Food Pyramid was born. I gathered the proper recommended* serving sizes of each food/food group into a huge list and divided them into four categories.

Weight loss using the Rabbit Food Pyramid: 4 small meals per day!

Breakfast:
1 serving of fruit
1 serving of whole grain
1 serving of protein
1 serving of plant based fat

Lunch:
2 servings of vegetables
1 serving of whole grain
1 serving of protein
1 serving of plant based fat

Dinner:
2 servings of vegetables
1 serving of whole grain
1 serving of protein
1 serving of plant based fat

Snack Meal:
1 serving of fruit
1 serving of whole grain
1 serving of protein
1 serving of plant based fat

Free Extras:
Spices! Anything from cinnamon to chipotle or even zero calorie natural sweeteners like Stevia.

Now that you know the formula for each meal, all you have to do is pick your food for each category! I’ve provided ideas and sample servings for each category here.
If you aren’t sure what the proper measurement is for a certain food, refer to the Rabbit Food Pyramid page to double check!

LET’S START WITH AN EASY BREAKFAST:
PB & Banana Toast

Breakfast:
Produce/Fruit: 1/2 sliced banana
Whole Grain: 1 slice whole wheat bread
Protein: 1 cup (8oz) of soy milk
Plant Based Fat: 1 Tbsp unsalted peanut butter
Free Extras: Sprinkle of cinnamon

Easy peasy! No calories, points, carbs, or macros required! Just balance from each food group!
NOW LETS GET TRICKY WITH A BREAKFAST RECIPE:

Whole Wheat French Toast

Breakfast Recipe: French Toast
Produce/Fruit:
 1 cup fresh raspberries
Whole Grain: 1 slice of whole wheat bread
Protein: 1/4 cup egg whites
Plant Based Fat: 2 Tbsp sliced almonds
Free Extras: 1/8 tsp cinnamon & 3 drops liquid stevia

Combine egg whites, cinnamon, and stevia in a bowl.  Soak the slice of bread in the egg mixture until it is absorbed. Place the bread in a pan lightly coated in cooking spray over medium heat. Pour excess egg mixture on top of the bread. Flip and cook both sides until the egg is no longer runny. Transfer to a plate and top with fresh raspberries and sliced almonds.

Maintenance:
To maintain my weight, I learned that adding one additional snack meal or protein shake per day worked perfectly for me. Of course it took some trial and error to figure out what worked for me!

I hope that this breakdown of the Rabbit Food Pyramid helps you to better understand the way that I portion my meals and create recipes!
Health & Happiness xo
Catherine

Let me know if this was helpful or if you have any questions about the Rabbit Food Pyramid!

*What works for me, might not work for everyone. The suggested serving sized are based on my own personal experience. Everyone is built differently, so if you are taller or heavier than my starting weight, you may need another small meal in your diet to fit your nutrition needs. Please consult a doctor before making any changes to your diet. This is only a suggestion based on my personal experience.