October 03, 2024

Healthy Recipe: Pumpkin-Stuffed French Toast

By Jackie Gentilesco, For Independence Good Living

Limited - IBX Recipe - Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast

Cody C/for PhillyVoice

Pumpkin spice lovers, this recipe’s for you! Start your day with a seasonal twist on French toast — whole-wheat challah stuffed with creamy pumpkin filling. Seared to perfection and lightly spiced, it’s a fall breakfast treat that’s both indulgent and healthy. Top it off with maple syrup or slivered almonds for an extra dash of deliciousness!

Pumpkin-Stuffed French Toast — makes 2 servings

Ingredients:
• 2 thick slices (1”) stale whole-wheat Challah bread
• 1 tablespoon of Neufchatel cheese
• 2 tablespoons of plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoon of brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• Generous dash of cinnamon
• 1 egg white, beaten
• ¼ cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon of plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin puree
• Generous dash pumpkin pie spice
• To serve (optional) 100% pure maple syrup
• To serve (optional) slivered almonds

Directions:

Slice each piece of bread lengthwise without separating the halves, and place a 1" ball of aluminum foil in the center of each slice. The foil will help make an open space for the stuffing (think pita bread). Put bread in toaster oven for 5 minutes.
Remove bread from toaster oven, remove foil, and stuff each slice with chilled pumpkin filling: whisk together the Neufchâtel cheese, plain low-fat yogurt, pumpkin purée, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and dash of cinnamon to make the pumpkin filling.
For the batter, whisk together the egg white, almond milk, plain low-fat yogurt, pumpkin purée, and dash of pumpkin pie spice in a shallow bowl. Carefully dip stuffed bread into the batter and coat on each side.
Heat an olive oil-sprayed pan and sear bread for 2-4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and serve immediately with pure maple syrup or slivered almonds, if desired.
Handy Hint: If slicing up challah gets messy, use thinly-sliced banana slices to patch spots.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 193
Fat: 5.6g
Saturated fat: 1.8g
Polyunsaturated fat: 0.1g
Monounsaturated fat: 0.6g
Cholesterol: 19.7mg
Sodium: 266mg
Carbs: 29.3g
Fiber: 3.2g
Protein: 8.2g