peach french toast casserole

recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger

I have a small obsession with the food network.  There are a variety of shows and chefs on it that I like to watch.  One of them is Ellie Krieger. She is a registered dietician and a chef.  Her recipes are slightly more health conscious but still very delicious.  

This is my version of her peach french toast casserole.  The original recipe uses french bread which works well.  I prefer to use day old challah bread.  It adds a wonderful buttery flavor to the dish. The bread isn't actually made with butter so it won't add too many calories to the dish!  This does need to be made the night before.  It is the perfect prep ahead Sunday breakfast!

peach french toast casserole

Cooking spray
1 loaf day old challah bread
4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1 cup nonfat milk

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups frozen unsweetened sliced peaches, thawed (or fresh) *
1 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar for milk mixture 

1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons brown sugar to coat the peaches
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon to coat the peaches
1 1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt (optional)
3/4 cup maple syrup (optional)

*My grocery store's peaches did not look so good last week and they were out of frozen so I used canned peaches in pear juice and water, not in syrup! Fresh is so much better though!

Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Cut the challah bread into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange them in a 2 rows in the pan (picture two collapsed rows of dominoes!). 
In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg whites, milk, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan. Scatter the peach slices evenly over the bread. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover and bake until it is slightly puffed and the bread is golden brown, about 40 minutes.


Acorrding to Ellie:
Excellent source of: fiber, iodine, manganese, riboflavin, seleniumGood source of: calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, niacin, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, potassium, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin C, zinc