As my toddler daughter grows up I get to stroll through different aisles in the supermarket and witness Arabella’s amazement with the cartoon characters she finds on a wall of cereal boxes.
(corn flakes, peaches and grapes with yogurt)
A few mascots might have contributed to the success of cereal makers such as Kellog’s with Cornelius the green rooster in the early years and Tony the Tiger still hot to this day. Everyone know Lucky Charms’ leprechaun telling us “they’re magically delicious” brought to us by General Mills another giant in cereal making. Quaker is a well known leader in cereal making and owns popular brands like Cap’n Crunch.
It probably comes as no surprise that the ingredient list of these popular “kids” cereals read like a candy bar and taste like candy which is probably why they do several billion dollars in business each year. If you calculate the added sugar content from an average cereal box it results to three teaspoons per serving.
(no Tony the tiger, no Cap'n Crunch...)
If you are like our family and try to cut down or even eliminate sugar and artificial ingredients from the staple foods like cereal then you probably turn your kids’ eyes and your own to “healthier” brands. But here’s the disappointing news – nearly every one of the cereals in health food mega stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s contain sugar. True the amount of sugar is less than the big commercial brands and true they have fancier names like “organically milled cane sugar” or “cane juice” but a rose by any other name …. Shouldn’t sugar be a treat and not snuck into your kids bran flakes and foods dressed up to look healthy? I think so and therefore have taken cereal making into my own hands.
What is a cereal?
It’s the family of grains (rice, wheat, millet, maize, barley, rye, quinoa, buckwheat) composed of bran (the out side layer of grain), which is nutritious and high in fiber, the germ and endosperm which is rich in vitamins, minerals, carbs, good fats and protein.
It didn’t start that sweet
Corn flakes is certainly one of the more popular breakfast items worldwide and it was actually developed accidentally. Dr John Harvey Kellogg was in charge of a food program for a sanatorium where bland food was served. He believed that spicy or sweet foods increase passion which he did not welcome in the sanatorium. He developed a flavorless wheat mixture which in his believe had an anaphrodisac effect and lowered the sex drive. As the story goes some cooked wheat was left to sit out for a long period of time unintentionally and became stale and was then processed through a dough sheeter in the hope of obtaining long sheets of that wheat mixture. But what came out instead were little flakes which they toasted and served to the sanatorium patients and they loved it. A patent was filed shortly thereafter and issued in 1896. Different recipes were developed out of that process one was corn flakes with a good amount of sugar added for palatability and the rest is history.
A few responsible cereal options
Granola
Our friend Reuben came by the other day and brought us a home-made batch of delicious granola and inspired our cereal crusade and sparked my appreciation for these toasted oats. Granola usually consists of rolled oats and nuts, sweetened with honey. It gets its addictive crispy-crunchy texture from baking, often dried fruits such as grapes, blueberries, dates, etc. are added to boost sweetness and flavor. In our family we love to snack throughout the day on granola straight out of the box without adding anything. For breakfast I like to add sliced banana for it’s soft texture and some sort of fresh fruit such as raspberries or strawberries for their bright color and natural tartness which makes the eating more interesting especially for my toddler daughter who loved Reuben’s recipe. She’s currently going through her crazy twos and granola has become our reward snack of choice.
(Bells eating her morning cereal)
Müsli
Growing up I remember eating Bircher Müsli back in Austriae, which is similar to granola. Müsli is made with uncooked rolled oats, which is soaked in water overnight to soften. It is meant to be consumed with fresh fruits such as thinly sliced apples and berries in addition to hazelnuts, yoghurt, milk and sweetened with honey. These days Müsli can be found conveniently in instant versions on the supermarket shelves (but be sure to read the ingredients!).
To get you started following is a granola recipe – it’s really simple and everybody will love it.
(home-made granola)
Granola Recipe
(recipe yields four portions for snaking or to be consumed with milk or yoghurt)
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds and/or a mix out of chopped cashews, hazelnuts, pecans
sunflower seeds, pistachios, walnuts
½ cup maple syrup
2 pinch sea salt
¼ cup dried fruits such as raisins, cranberries, blueberries
1 teaspoon vegetable oil such as canola
- In a bowl mix oats, nuts, maple syrup, salt and dried fruits with a kitchen fork.
- Brush a cookie sheet pan with vegetable oil. If you don’t have a brush dip a kitchen paper towel into vegetable oil then coat the sheet with it.
- Bake in a 280 degree Fahrenheit hot oven for 45 minutes.
- Cool granola then transfer into an airtight container.
Chef’s Note: experiment with spice powders such as cinnamon, star anis, coriander, ginger, cayenne and such they add an interesting note to the granola recipe.
