Almost Vegan Baked French Toast

I woke up this morning, brushed my teeth, and walked downstairs to make myself some coffee.  As I’m trying to find a coffee mug I hear the sound of little feet running towards me at the speed of light.  It’s my little cousin.  She’s wearing puffy polka dot shorts that make her resemble a little bumble bee curiously buzzing around.  I ask her how Disney World was and she tells me that she had fun, but missed me the whole time.  Oh ..My …GAWD! This child knows how to melt my heart!  Kids are amazing! I’ve spent the last 6 days with my two little cousins (6 and 9) and I’ve already re-learned so much.  They have this beautiful, untainted view of the world and if you listen hard enough, you’ll find that you can gain a lot from what they say and from what they do.  These two kids have reminded me to appreciate the little things in life and they’ve also reminded me how to set aside my stress (much of it unnecessary) and have fun!  I watch them light up when they see a lizard and it reminds me of the joy that little things brought me when I was a child.  It forces me to question why I let the little joys in life blend in with the monotony of adult life to the point where they are almost invisible.  In this moment I make a promise to myself to take time every day to appreciate the little things, be it a lizard on a tree or a smile from a stranger.  I’m going to appreciate the little things a lot more often.  She also reminds me what it is to be genuinely gentle and patient; she catches the lizard and handles him so gently.  She speaks to him so kindly and with so much patience! It inspires me to do the same to every creature and every human being.  Being gentle, patient and kind are traits to be admired.  They are often overlooked and shouldn’t be.  So this kind, gentle, and patient little-bumble-bee and I made some “Almost Vegan” Baked French Toast with a leftover baguette that was drying out.  It’s “almost” vegan because I used real butter.  However, it can be just as tasty if made with vegan butter.  Enjoy 🙂

Ingredients:

4 cups of cubed dried out bread

2 cups of almond milk (or any kind of milk) …I actually used 1 cup of light almond milk and 1 cup of soy creamer for a “richer” french toast.

3/4 cup of maple syrup

3 tablespoons of melted butter

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Place cubed bread in a baking dish (any size will do)

Blend milk, syrup, butter, cinnamon and vanilla in a bowl and pour over bread.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Flip the bread.  Bake for another 5 minutes.