Bread isn’t Paleo. I don’t care what kind you use, it’s an empty waste of calories void of requisite nutrients. However, we allow tapioca and white rice (as well as coconut and almond flour) breads into our house as a treat. Our hard and fast Paleo rule is NO GLUTEN. Bread isn’t something we eat regularly and the kids don’t even think of it as something to ask for when requesting meals or snacks.
This morning, we were all doing our Sunday morning snuggles and discussing the idea of going to brunch. We looked up a review for a recommended restaurant whose Yelp comments kept saying, “best french toast I’ve ever had!” After realizing there wasn’t a gluten-free place we really wanted to venture out and try, I looked at Matt and said, “I’ll make us french toast here – you guys relax!” Matt was thrilled to get longer time in bed and the boys were happy to get some cooking time alone with mom.
First, the boys and I started the wild blueberry sauce.
- 2 C frozen wild blueberries, thawed
- 1 Tbsp honey (we used creamed)
- 1 tsp arrowroot powder
- 2 Tbsp Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil
We let the blueberries and honey come to a very soft bubble at medium heat, then stirred in the arrowroot powder. We continued to stir occasionally (we put Fini on the job and he stirred almost the whole time, but this wouldn’t normally be necessary) until a large amount of fluid had evaporated and the sauce had thickened slightly. We then added the coconut oil, mixed it in until melted and then poured it into it’s serving bowl.
What’s great about coconut oil is that it’s solid in it’s room temperature state. So, as the sauce comes to room temperature you will be able to create an emulsification with the solidifying coconut oil by stirring often (see the oil floating on top in the left, and the emulsified version on the right). What you’ll have is a lovely sauce, naturally thickened that’s also been fortified by the unbelievably healthy fat and nutrients of coconut oil.
Once the sauce was on, and Fini was stirring, Cole and I made the toast batter with:
- 6 eggs
- 1 C vanilla hemp milk
- 2 T maple syrup
- 1 T vanilla
- 2 t cinnamon
Add all ingredients to a bowl and beat until nice and frothy.
Cole then dunked our bread of choice until softened (there’s a thin line between soaked and falling apart, be careful!). We added it to our griddle pan on medium heat, which had been greased with Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. Normally I would’ve used lard, but since this meal was to review the oil I figured I’d give it a shot. I was sincerely shocked at how well the coconut oil worked. There was no burning or smoking, and the egg from our first batch wiped right off of the pan in preparation for the 2nd. I’ll use it this way again, honestly!
Once browned, I flipped the bread (about a minute). The result was surprisingly perfect french toast. We served ours with the delicious blueberry sauce, a side of cantaloupe and bacon. After not having french toast in a year, it was quite the treat!
Tropical Traditions asked us to review their product. Although the coconut oil was a resulting gift, the opinions are our own and I can tell you that it is the product our family prefers to use. As a subscriber to their website, you can be notified of sales for great discounts. I also subscribe to a Co-Op so that when I can make bulk purchases at wholesale prices for the items we use a lot of (coconut oil, concentrate, flour and flakes).
