With the onslaught of summer and my little one now home with me for duration of these long hot months, my morning routine has certainly shifted. Even with it's changes, there are those few staple things that always stay the same. One of those things if me starting my day off right with my morning cup of coffee. In fact, it's become common laughable knowledge around here not to attempt communication until I've had my java. Hah!

Once I have my coffee I start in on making breakfast for whoever happens to be around. On most mornings, it's just myself and my little girl. But, my place is sort of the middle ground for most of my family, so there's a handful of people that come and go on occasion; my lovely 'wild cards'. This morning, my wild card was my little brother. I always like to feed him because he's not afraid to tell me what he really thinks.

After I settled in to the day, I got to make us breakfast; french toast at that! It turned out to be a happy coincidence that french toast is one of my brother's favorite breakfasts. He isn't generally a big 'breakfast' fan, so I wanted to make this extra special. How do you make french toast extra special? You make it vanilla french toast and load it up with plenty of berries and goodness!

For the vanilla flavor, I used Simply Pure Vanilla Coffee Creamer. Simply Pure is International Delight’s new clean label coffee creamer. It has just five simple ingredients, and offers a new way to enjoy the coffee (and/or recipe) you love.

To keep this recipe lightened up and better-for-you, I substituted in more egg whites and used a whole wheat bread to soak up the amazingness. Of course, it's the little things we do to make the day awesome, so I topped the french toast with loads of fresh ripe summer berries and a bit of lemon zest to give it all a little pop of brightness.

Needless to say, my little brother told me that I "...could make some french toast." while also commenting on my fancy lemon zest. Yay! He liked it! I was just secretly happy that I got him to eat some fruit!

Skinny Vanilla French Toast
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 2 • Size: 2 Slices French Toast • Calories: 358.5 • Fat: 7.5 g • Carb: 55.2 g • Fiber: 7.5 g • Protein: 18.1 g • Sugar: 24.7 g • Sodium: 330.3 mg

Ingredients:
1 Whole Large Egg
2 Large Egg Whites
1/2 C. Simply Pure International Delight Vanilla Coffee Creamer
1/2 C. Fat Free Milk
Dash Ground Cinnamon
4 Slices Whole Wheat Bread (Mine was 70 cal. for 2 slices.)
3 C. Fresh Mixed Berries
1 Lemon, Zested

Directions:
Set a skillet over a medium heat to begin warming up.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 Whole Large Egg, 2 Large Egg Whites, 1/2 C. Simply Pure International Delight Vanilla Coffee Creamer, 1/2 C. Fat Free Milk, and Dash Ground Cinnamon.

Dip a slice of the bread into the egg mixture to coat one side, then flip the slice of bread to coat the second side.

Reduce the heat of the pan to low lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Transfer the egg soaked slice of bread into the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the first side is browning.

Flip carefully with a spatula to cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes or until toasted and brown.

Continue the same process with each of the slices until done.

Serve right away with 1 1/2 C. Fresh Mixed Berries and some of the lemon zest.

Top with your choice of syrup, honey, or agave and enjoy!