Yes, it’s Meal Monday again! I love this day of the week, I get to share one of my favorite, healthy meals. Today’s recipe comes from the cook book The Sneaky Chef, by Missy Chase Lapine. This is the second recipe that I’m sharing (the first was the very yummy Chocolate Muffins) from this book, because it is was one of my absolute favorite books. Each and every recipe has hidden health ingredients, most of them being veggies. And with our struggle to get Eli to eat his veggies, this is right up our alley.

I present to you, French Toast Bites, which are a little piece of cheese Danish heaven, reworked to be healthy and tasty. Today’s secret ingredient? Tofu. I know, most people wrinkle their noses at the thought, but this very mild tasting ingredient is so perfect because it takes on the flavors of the rest of the ingredients. It adds bulk and texture and supports the ricotta cheese to give this dish a rich and creamy taste. You really don’t even know that tofu is in there. It even fooled Eli.

The first time I made this dish, I used store bought bread, which worked just fine. But since I now have a fantastic bread machine, I’m going to give it a try with fresh bread. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did. This is the perfect dish for Sunday morning Brunch of the ever popular Brinner (breakfast for dinner).

French Toast Bites

4 slices whole grain bread (cinnamon raisin bread works well)
1/4 cup firm tofu, mashed well or pureed in a food processor
1/4 cup part-skim or fat-free ricotta cheese
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I bet pumpkin pie spice would work well too!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon canola oil
Cinnamon sugar, for dusting

Use a rolling pin to roll out each slice of bread on a cutting board until flattened. In a small bow, mix the tofu with the ricotta cheese. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the tofu-ricotta mixture on each flattened slice of bread, keeping about 1/4 inch away from the edes. Roll up each slice of bread, pressing to seal the edges and cut each roll into 3 horizontal pieces (we left ours whole).

In a large shallow backing dish, whisk together the egg whites, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Dip each piece in the egg mixture until saturated on all sides, the cook in a well greased skillet over moderate heat, turning to brown each side. Remove from heat and lightly dust each piece with cinnamon sugar before serving.

If you are looking for healthy recipes, that taste good enough to fool a toddler (husband, grandparents or even yourself) I highly recommend that you purchase this book. It has recipes for every meal, plus healthy fixes for store bought products such as pasta sauce and barbecue sauce. You can’t go wrong with this book.