Almond Crusted French Toast

Who says that heart-healthy eating has to be bland and tasteless? Our recipe for Almond Crusted French Toast with Fig Jam is sure to add some flavor without the extra fat!

Eating nuts as part of a healthy diet can be good for your heart. Besides being packed with protein, nuts contain unsaturated fats (aka the “good” fats), omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, vitamin E, and plant sterols, which can help lower your cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) is one of the primary causes of heart disease and eating nuts as part of a heart-healthy diet can lower this type of cholesterol in your blood. Nuts may even improve the health of the lining of your arteries, which can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

When following a heart-healthy eating style, it is important to swap out higher fat foods for lower fat versions whenever possible. For example, using skim milk instead of whole milk cuts out about 8 grams of fat per cup! Not quite ready for skim milk? Even switching to 2% or 1% milk can make a significant difference. When shopping for dairy products, choose cheeses that are labeled “part skim” or “reduced fat,” and look for nonfat and low-fat varieties of yogurt. You can even use Greek yogurt in place of eggs and oil in when baking!

Our Almond crusted French Toast with Fig Jam is a great heart-healthy breakfast recipe that incorporates almonds and low-fat dairy products!

Almond Crusted French Toast with Fig Jam

Ingredients:

For the Filling:

3/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese

1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese, softened

zest of 1 orange

For the French Toast:

½ cup sliced almond

3 eggs

¾ cup low fat milk

splash vanilla

pinch salt

8 thick slices of challah or brioche bread

2 tablespoons butter

Fig Jam

Directions 

1) Whip the ricotta and cream cheese until smooth with an electric mixer. Stir in orange zest.

2) In a shallow wide bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and salt. Spread the almonds out on a plate.

3) Heat a skillet over medium heat. Melt half the butter in the skillet. Dip half the bread slices in the egg mixture, letting it soak in for about five seconds on each side. Place both sides of the bread in the almonds, pressing them into the side. Put the bread in the melted butter and grill until browned, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Melt the rest of the butter in the skillet and repeat with remaining bread slices.

4) Top each slice with a dollop of filling mixture and finish off with a little fig jam.

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