Any Morning French Toast

I have a bit of a problem. Every day, I agonize over what to have for breakfast.  My usual go-to's are Greek yogurt with assorted stuff, oatmeal with assorted stuff, or a smoothie.  Recently, I added in two different options:  eggs and toast (I obviously forgot how darn quick eggs cook.) or French toast.  You heard me. French toast.  In the morning, before work.  It takes a whole 5 minutes to cook. And it tastes delicious.

Doesn't this just make your morning better?
It's also the perfect balance of whole grains,
dairy protein, fruit, and nuts. Talk about
a power breakfast!

Any Morning French Toast
French toast quick and easy enough for a weekday morning
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:
1-2 slices of your favorite bread (I love sliced 10 grain)
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
Ricotta cheese
Fresh fruit (chopped), nuts, honey or maple syrup

Preparation:
In a shallow, wide bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sugar and vanilla extract until thoroughly mixed.  Press one slice of your bread into the mixture and give it a moment to soak up the eggy goodness.  Flip the slice over so the other side soaks in the egg mixture as well.

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the butter to your pre-heated skillet and allow it to melt, swirling it around the pan.  Put your egg-soaked bread slice in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes.  Flip the bread over and cook until golden brown on the other side.  Transfer to your plate.

Spread ricotta over the bread. Top with fruit, nuts, and honey or maple syrup.  Heck, go crazy and add some chia seeds and shredded coconut. What about a dollop of delicious jam? Bonus if it's strawberry-chia seed quick jam...

Note: If you have extra egg mixture, you can store it in the refrigerator for a few days.  This makes the French toast-making process even faster! Just pour it in a shallow bowl, give it a brief stir, and use.

Peaches, plums, and sliced almonds

Some other ideas for your French toast...

• After dipping your bread in the egg mixture, dip or sprinkle with wheat germ or ground flaxseed before cooking.
• Give your fruit a theme. Tropical -- pineapple, shredded coconut, macadamia nuts, mango, kiwi.  Stone fruits. Apples and caramel sauce for fall. Pumpkin puree and pumpkin seeds for October. You get the idea. Have some fun!
• Make two slices and sandwich around nut butter and banana slices. If you're really daring, add some cooked bacon for a twist Elvis would love.
• Mix your ricotta with a teaspoon (or a tablespoon if you're a chocoholic) of cocoa powder for a chocolately twist. This is especially great with raspberries and strawberries.
• Mix your ricotta or your fruit with a splash of Gran Marnier or fruit liquor (creme de cassis, raspberry liquor like Chambord, etc.). 
• Add some orange zest to the ricotta, sprinkle the top with pistachios and chocolate chips. It's an impromptu cannoli.
• Have leftover fruit sauce?  Add a hefty spoonful or two on top of your ricotta. 
• Go the more savory route and omit sugar and vanilla from your egg mixture. Then top your French toast with a veggie saute.

Ricotta, walnuts, honey, strawberries, blueberries.
And some hibiscus tea.