Healthier French Toast …And Burning the Candle at Both Ends

Hi everyone, it feels so good to be back!  Although I have always been the type of person to burn the candle at both ends, recently I hit my limit and had to put the blog on the back burner for a couple of weeks.  I missed you all and am so happy to be posting again.  Interacting with all of you is the highlight of my week.  Especially hearing your personal stories, so keep them coming!  So where was I?  I promise to give you the mini version so you can go enjoy this french toast.

Two months ago, I was about to demo one of my recipes in our local Whole Foods when someone in the store said “you should be selling these so they can be available to the masses”.  It’s not that I haven’t thought of this before, it just seemed too BIG, and too overwhelming.  I thought this was something MAYBE in the future when I had the right resources.   The next thing I knew she gave me the contact information for the person in charge of our local markets here in town.  The markets are a place where 75-100 vendors sell their local, healthy foods, live bands perform as you shop and sample delicious and unique foods.  It’s a fantastic opportunity to get your product seen and sampled.  I emailed her that day and to my shock she emailed me back within 24 hours, and she invited me to be a part of a 3 month Whole Foods market event.  I realized quickly that I was in way over my head, because although I had a product, I had no packaging, no contacts, no community kitchen in which to make my food, and most importantly, I had NO LICENSE to serve food to the public!!  Of course she didn’t know that (and I didn’t even know what was required when I reached out) and so I gracefully and thankfully accepted her invitation.  Now the clock was ticking as I had 6 weeks before the first event.  Over the next 6 weeks I got certified as a food manager, found a local kitchen and passed inspection by the health department, got my retail and mobile food license, and found some awesome packaging for our products.   Oh and did I mention I still hold down a full time job in addition to all of this including the blog?  There were many tears shed over those 6 weeks.  Some happy, some out of sheer panic, but it’s been a fantastic journey. And now 8 weeks later, three of our dessert products hit the shelves in our local health food store, Abby’s Health & Nutrition and they are also about to be sold in three other health food stores in the bay area.  So thank you all for your support and patience while I’ve been a bit MIA.  The good news is, after 13 years with the same company, I am being laid off due to the company being bought out.  I say good news because now I will have more time to focus on creating health posts, recipes, and responding to your emails.  I’m so excited for this transition and thank you all for bearing with me, especially to my husband who always has my back and supports me in every way possible!

Now on to some delicious french toast…..

Do you ever miss something a little sweet for breakfast?  This healthier version of french toast is wheat, yeast, dairy, gluten, and sugar free!  Yet, you don’t feel like you are missing out on a thing.  I used “Food for Life’s” multi seed rice bread for this recipe and I love how fluffy and moist the bread turns out, it’s almost like a pancake in consistency once cooked. The coconut whipped cream and berries adds the perfect amount of “sweet” to this breakfast.  Enjoy!

Note:  I did not get paid by Food for Life for this post nor did I get free product.  These opinions are all my own.