Use your favorite French toast casserole recipe and substitute whole grain bread, or try this:
Ingredients
Eight thick slices of whole grain bread (from the supermarket's bakery)
2 bananas
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 ts cinnamon
2 tbs sugar
1 ts pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Butter
1/4 cup chopped pecans/1 ts sugar
Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 30-40 minutes
French toast casserole recipes always say to prepare the dish the night before. I didn't plan ahead but wanted to make French toast casserole so I wouldn't have to stand at the griddle all morning. I went forward with this recipe and after the bread absorbed the mixture, which took about 30 minutes (actually, I should have let it sit a little longer), I baked it and it tasted great.
In bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cinnamon, sugar, salt and vanilla. Generously butter bottom of a casserole dish, layer whole grain bread slices and top with sliced bananas:
Add second layer of bread. Slowly pour mixture over top letting top layer absorb some of the mixture before reaching the bottom. (I noticed that, after pouring, the bottom layer was absorbing a lot more of the mixture, so when mixture was half-way absorbed I flipped the sections over with a skinny spatula so the top slices would absorb more.) When mixture is fully absorbed, dot with butter and place in preheated oven. And bake according to recipe.
While the French toast is baking, chop about a 1/4 cup of pecans, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, and mash until finely mixed. This topping is modified from the cookbook's recipe to reduce the sugar. Blend in1 tablespoon of softened butter. Butter is optional. Spread pecan mixture over top about half way through baking:
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