Day 312: French Toast

According to my book, Sunday mornings are made for French Toast.  When I first got married, my husband bought me a griddle.  He knew my love of breakfast foods ran deep.  Since then, pancakes and French toast have been a staple at our house, especially when we have houseguests.  Though sometimes we'll try variations with different techniques or ingredients, a basic recipe with 100% pure maple syrup is still the best way to go.  And this is my go to recipe.

I've tried a variety of breads: baguette, challah, brioche (my favorite) and naan (that one didn't turn out so great).  I've also toasted it, and used day old dry bread (didn't make that much of a difference).  For the sake of simplicity, I usually make it with the regular pre-sliced bread.  And since I'm on a detox with no white bread, I used a whole wheat bread.  My next idea is to try cinnamon raisin bread, but that's for after my detox!  

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1/4 cup low fat milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

8 pieces of whole wheat bread

Directions:

1.  Preheat the griddle to 350 degrees F.  

2.  Lightly beat the eggs and add the milk, cinnamon, and vanilla.  

3.  Take each piece of bread individually and soak it on both sides with the batter, and lay it on the griddle.  After about 3-4 minutes, flip.  Fry until each side until lightly brown.

You can serve this with a simple assortment of fruit like bananas, or berries.  Or you can make an apple cinnamon compote, recipe found here.  Whatever you do, don't forget the maple syrup!  

Day 309: Discovering the Power of Kodiak cakes

I'm not sure that I mentioned this, but I am about two weeks into a 30 day detox.  This means no caffeine, no processed foods, no refined sugar, and no white bread.  That is partly why there have been so many food posts lately!  When your eating options are limited, you tend to get creative in the kitchen.

A few weeks ago, my husband came home from Costco with a huge box of Kodiak Power cakes mix.  I laughed at him.  But it looks like I'm the one who's laughing last.  These pancakes are the best pancakes EVER.  And I can eat them while on my detox.  They are so good, you don't need to bother putting anything in them - no chocolate chips, no blueberries, no butter.  Just enjoy them with 100% pure maple syrup, and you'll be good to go.

I also made these muffins with the mix.  They came out really good.  It's just a basic "pancake" muffin recipe from Aunt Jemima, but it can easily be made into blueberry or apple muffins, or whatever your fancy might be with some easy additions.

Kodiak cakes Power muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups Kodiak cakes Power Cakes whole grain mix

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup honey

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2.  Spray a muffin tray with a non stick cooking spray, or line with baking cups.

3.  Combine mix and cinnamon in medium bowl.

4.  Combine milk, honey, egg, oil, and vanilla in a small bowl until well mixed.  Add to dry mixture, and combine.

5.  Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick insterted into center comes out clean.  

6.  Cool in pan for 2 minutes, and then remove to cooling rack.

Day 301: Apple Cinnamon Water

I am six days into a 30 day detox.  As a part of my detox, I have incorporated two liters of apple cinnamon infused water.  It is super simple to make and is supposed to help cleanse out your system.  I'm not sure if I've seen any effects of it myself, but it tastes good and is a good substitute to juice or ice tea.  

Basically take three apples and slice them as thin as you can.  Put them in a two liter jug along with a cinnamon stick.  Then put it in the fridge and let it "infuse" over night.  Try to finish the entire jug in one day.  After that, drink just plain water.  You can reuse the apples in the cinnamon stick and just refill the water for three days.  

It supposedly is a diuretic, so try to be at home the first day you use it.  It's easy to prepare, and I like the taste of it alongside my breakfast.  It's nice and cool, and has a pleasant sweetness to it in the morning.  Enjoy!