Who doesn’t love soft, fluffy French toast?  Even better when it’s flavoured with the sweetness of vanilla and the warm spice of cinnamon.  Even better still when it is packed with protein to power you through your day!  And you’d never guess that it’s lower in carbohydrates than many French toast recipes and other breakfast treats and pastries.

No need to save this recipe for the weekend (although it makes a great addition to any brunch) – let’s whip it up RIGHT NOW!

I’m so glad that someone in the food blogger world has already coined the term “brinner” (breakfast + dinner = brinner; a nice expansion on the concept of breakfast + lunch = brunch). Except I think that brinner is even better than brunch because to me, the former means eating so-called “breakfast” foods – hello giant bowls of cereal! – for your evening meal (a.k.a. dinnertime, although to my grandmother, dinner was the midday meal and the evening meal was supper – anyone else?), while the latter suggests that you’re actually missing out on a meal (the horrors!) by combining breakfast and lunch. Not that that’s ever stopped me from eating breakfast before brunch and/or eating lunch after brunch.

I’ve also learned that the North American concept of “breakfast” foods is really NOT a global phenomenon. The first meal of an Asian day can (and does) generally include a comforting bowl of steamed white rice and often seaweed and/or sea vegetable-based soups and broths and fried fish. I LOVE Asian breakfast buffets (and yes, you’ll find the “Western” breakfast section with its sad but colourful little boxes of dried cereal and sliced bread for toast). The Indian food offerings really blow me away and I’m so grateful that I finally discovered dosa (a very thin, crepe-like offering made with various kinds of flours).

This particular French toast recipe gets its vanilla flavour and sweetness from vanilla protein powder (you can use your favourite brand; I highly recommend a blend of different forms of protein vs. a pure whey isolate), with just the right warm touch of cinnamon spice. Extra egg whites keep the protein grams climbing with one of nature’s most perfect forms of bioavailable protein PLUS brisk whisking ensures extra fluffy, thick pieces of French toast. Get a few grams of healthy saturated fat from the whole egg (this can be omitted if required with no detrimental effects on the recipe) and, depending on your bread of choice, you can make this gluten-free and/or low-carbohydrate as well. I really like using a dense, seedy, whole-grain bread to amp up the fiber and add some crunchy texture and soak up as much of the French toast batter as possible. But don’t throw any remaining batter out! It serves as a great protein pancake batter all on its own – just cook it up as a pancake in the pan.

*Please note that I am currently NOT sponsored by or affiliated with any particular brand, company or product. Any ideas, comments or opinions are my own, as mentioned in my Product Review page.  However, if you choose to purchase new-to-you products I recommend using the link(s) I provide, I can earn a small credit.  More information on that is available here.

You may also like:

(High-Protein) Healthy Bread Pudding

(High-Protein) Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oatmeal