Health"IER" French Toast Casserole

Happy Valentine's Day!  My Sweetheart worked last night, so he is still in bed and probably will remain there until 2:00 p.m.  Valentine's isn't the greatest of days for him since he has developed Type 2 diabetes.  I decided to make him a late brunch that would be a little bit healthier than traditional French toast.  I'm not saying this is healthy, just healthIER.


INGREDIENTS:

5 cups of cubed whole wheat/high fiber bread (about 7 slices)

4 eggs

1 ¼ cup skim milk

¼ cup non-fat hazelnut creamer

1/8 cup sugar substitute

¼ cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp butter flavoring

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cloves

¼ tsp ginger

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the slices of bread into cubes. 

Spray an 8 x 8 pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Place bread cubes in the pan.

Beat together eggs, milk, creamer, sugar substitute, syrup, vanilla extract, butter flavoring, and all of the spices.

Pour the liquid mixture over the bread crumbs and let sit for 10 minutes while you are preheating the oven to 350 degrees. After 10 minutes, cover the pan in foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Allow to cool and set for 10 minutes after removing from oven. 

Drizzle with a little maple syrup. Enjoy.

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread. ~Mother Teresa

Happy Valentine's Day!