Healthier French Toast
Healthier French toast – just a few simple changes can save you up to 100 calories PER SLICE, without compromising on flavour!
In the UK, French toast is usually just known as eggy bread – we’re not particularly creative with our recipe names, we Brits. But really, when it tastes this good, it deserves the fancier name. It’s not just bread and egg – it’s soft and fluffy in the middle, crispy around the edges, served with fresh strawberries and drizzled with maple syrup… it’s proper French toast. The kind of breakfast that makes you start your day with a smile.
Oh, and did I mention that it’s pretty healthy too?
Usually if I want to make a sweet version of eggy bread (which we often make savoury too!), I add a little sugar into the eggs, dip white bread into the mixture, then fry it up in oil or butter… and suddenly, it’s become a pretty calorific breakfast. And despite rhyming with ‘terrific’, this isn’t always a good thing.
A few simple substitutions make this French toast healthier and lower in calories, without compromising on flavour – it’s the sort of thing that you’d be proud to start your day with.
Firstly, this recipe swaps white bread for wholewheat, which contains more fibre (as well as having slightly fewer calories). You don’t need to add any sugar to your eggs, as serving it with fresh fruit and syrup makes it taste plenty sweet enough. It’s fried up with just a couple of sprays of oil, rather than a full glug poured straight from the bottle. And, egg whites are used instead of full eggs. There are lots of benefits to eating egg yolks, so I certainly don’t avoid them altogether, but using just the whites in some meals is an easy way to cut calories. I reckon these few small changes can easily save you 100 calories per slice of French toast.
But luckily, this healthier French toast tastes just as good as the full-fat, full-sugar version. Pile it high with fresh fruit (blueberries and bananas are also yummy on French toast), pour over some syrup, and you’ve got a delicious, healthy breakfast.
If you have any other bright ideas to make healthier French toast, or healthier versions of any other favourite meals, let me know!
Healthier French Toast
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- Spray oil
- 4 egg whites
- 4 tbsp skimmed milk
- 2 slices wholewheat bread
- ~ 8 fresh strawberries, sliced, to serve (~ 1 cup when sliced)
- 2 tbsp sugar-free maple syrup
Instructions
- Lightly spray a frying pan with oil, and allow it to heat up over a medium-high heat.
- Lightly beat the egg whites with the skimmed milk, and dip the wholewheat bread in the mixture for around 10 seconds, making sure both sides are completely covered. Allow any excess to drip off, then place the bread into the hot pan. Cook for a couple of minutes each side, until golden brown.
- Serve with the sliced strawberries and maple syrup.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1 slice of French toast.
We had eggy bread ALL the time when we were younger. I make it quite a lot still and french toast also. This looks delicious and definitely up for trying a healthier option!
Eggy bread is such a kids’ food isn’t it! With a good squeeze of ketchup :D
My kids love mashing banana and adding a pinch of cinnamon in the egg mixture before dipping the bread in and frying. Its delicious.
LOVE the idea of adding banana! Great tip :)
Girl, you had me at healthier and then topped it with strawberries. This french toast looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
Eggy bread–I love that! Never a question of what you’re getting, huh? ;) French toast is one of my favorites, and I’m glad to have a healthier option!
This looks delicious! We occasionally have breakfast for dinner and my family always asks for French toast! I do rather like the idea of calling it eggy bread though, even if it is sweet rather than savory. But then, we just home from a London vacation a few weeks ago and I’m pining for any and all things British right now!
Haha well there are some more British recipes here if you fancy them! Here are a few to start with: https://www.easycheesyvegetarian.com/category/cuisine/british-recipes/ ;)
It looks delicious! French toast can be such and indulging breakfast, and I love the way you’ve lightened it up.
I had never come across it as a sweet thing until the age of the Internet, so if it is served sweet, I call it French Toast, and if it’s savoury, it’s eggy bread, and would be nice with bacon! It was a very popular breakfast at school….
Yes I think that’s probably the distinction I would make too :)
This is one of my favourite comforting breakfast when we fancy something a little more exciting than eggs on toast.
Eggy bread… I’ve never heard that before and I have an English father AND an English husband. Learn something new every day ;)
In any case, this looks delicious… and lightened up is always a good thing!
Haha yep, eggy bread was a favourite as a kid! Usually savoury with a bit of ketchup :P
“we’re not particularly creative with our recipe names, we Brits.”
I challenge this. Britain is after all the nation of spotted dick, toad in the hole, bubble and squeak, eton mess and knickerbocker glory. Just off the top of my head. Nobody who doesn’t know we’re talking about food would ever be able to work those out.
Husband did a full English this morning, which traditionally means I now owe pancakes. I wonder if he’d go for this instead…
Haha true! I was thinking of things like ‘beans on toast’ – does exactly what it says on the tin ;)