(Lighter) French Toast

There are many variations of French Toast but some can be particularly high in calories. This awesome lighter version from the Hairy Dieters is under 300 calories and less than a £1 per serving! But best of all, this tastes unbelievable and so indulgent with the apple compote, cinnamon, maple syrup, Greek yoghurt and blackberries dolloped over a slice of eggy bread. Pure heaven!

If you love fruit-based breakfasts / brunches, I’d also recommend fresh fruit compote with home-made granola, which takes longer to prep but is equally gorgeous.

Recipe: French Toast

Calories: 281 per serving

Serves: 4

Book: Hairy Dieters – Fast food

Prep time: Approx 15 minutes

Cooking time: Approx 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 200ml whole milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Low-cal oil spray
• 4 fairly thick slices of bread

Apple compote:

• 2 large Bramley apples (about 300g peeled weight), peeled and diced
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

To serve:  

• Blackberries (optional)
• Low-fat Greek yoghurt or crème fraiche

Cost per portion: Approx £0.86

Method:

First make the compote. Put the diced apples in a saucepan, squeeze the lemon juice over them and 100ml of water. Simmer the apples over a low heat until they have softened and broken down – this only takes 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and pour over the maple syrup, then stir to combine. It’s fine for the compote to be quite lumpy.

While the apples are cooking, get everything ready for the French toast. Break the eggs into a large bowl and add the milk, sugar and cinnamon. Whisk thoroughly until the eggs are completely broken up and combined with the other ingredients.

Heat a large frying pan and grease it with low-cal oil spray. Lightly wipe the pan over with kitchen towel to make sure the spray covers the base evenly. Press each slice of bread into the milk and egg mixture until it has just soaked through – don’t let the bread become saturated or it will be in danger of falling apart.

Shake off any excess and immediately drop the bread on to the frying pan and repeat with the other slices. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side until heated through and well browned on both sides.

Serve the French toast with the apple compote, a few blackberries, if you like, and a dollop of low-fat Greek yoghurt or crème fraiche.