Homemade Granola Cereal
By Kevin Williams
I saw an article on CNN yesterday entitled "Does Anyone Eat Cereal Anymore?"Â It's a good question. DOES anyone eat cereal anymore?
Man, as a child, cereals were my breakfast bliss. Capt'n Crunch, Sugar Smacks, Â Frankenberry, Trix, and Cookie Crisp were among my favorites. Â And as I got old Cracklin' Oat Bran was a favorite. Â Wow, I am getting nostalgic just thinking of Cracklin' Oat Bran. Do they still sell it? I may have to get some if they do. Â The other cereals I mentioned are essentially just boxes of sugar. What the heck was the world thinking? Â Loading up already hyper 5 year olds with sugar first in the morning. Â Or anytime. Bad idea.
I'm not sure why I don't eat cereal for breakfast much anymore. Â It is expensive. Â And you have a leftover bowl of cereal-polluted milk when you're done. Â My Mom loved Cream of Wheat and Wheetabix when I was growing up. Â I rarely ever remember my Dad eating cereal. Â So, what about you, do you eat cereal?
Here are my 5 favorite breakfast cereals when I was growing up:
Capt'n Crunch - Ah, wow, I loved this sugary cereal. Ate it for breakfast or as a snack.
BOOBERRY- Â The blueberry version of Frankenberry or Count Chocula, I loved BooBerry
Cracklin' Oat Bran - a healthy cereal? Â Sort of.
Cookie Crisp - a bowl of chocolate chip cookies for breakfast? Â What is there not to like about that.
Raisin Bran - occasionally I'd get cravings for this cereal when I was in high school.
So, if you don't want to go the route of Kellogg's or Post or General Bills, but still want your cereal fix, you can try Rosannna's homemade cereal, a good granola blend. Yum.
- 5 cups rolled oats (preferably not instant)
- ¾ cup sunflower seeds
- ¾ cup wheat germ
- 1½ cups chopped nuts (your choice)
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- In a saucepan heat together, but do not boil the following:
- 1 /2 cup brown sugar
- 3 /4 cup water
- 3 /4 cup canola oil
- 1 /4 cup honey
- ¼ cup molasses
- 3 /4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1 /2 teaspoons vanilla
- Preheat oven to 300.
- Pour syrup over dry ingredients arid stir well.
- Spread in two 9x13 baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. (I am too lazy to dirty that many dishes so I mix It up and roast the granola in the same turkey roasting pan.
- This takes longer in the oven; I roast for about 45-60 minutes and stir every 15 minutes.)
- When the granola has cooled, mix in 2 cups of your favorite dried fruit. (I typically do part raisins; part dried cranberries because they are readily available.)
Â
Dorothy
My siblings and I also loved cereal, but our mom wouldn't allow the really sugary ones. We usually had Cheerios or one of the Chex cereals, or Rice Krispies. In winter we loved Maypo (I'm really showing my age with that one, it was a blend of something including oatmeal, cooked, and very lightly sweetened). Mom always tried to give us Cream of Wheat but we hated it! Now I still eat Cheerios and Corn Chex, also Raisin Bran or Blueberry Morning.
I try to wait for a sale. I add chopped apple or banana instead of sugar. Lessons learned from mom, I guess! Rosanna's granola looks great, must try it!
Kevin
I forgot about Blueberry Morning, I really liked that one...
Nana
Just a comment that I would be far more concerned about the fat content in the granola than I would be the sugar. Canola oil, nuts, seeds are all high in fat. I eat cereal when I don't want to cook but try to stick with healthier choices such as Special K, shredded wheat, multigrain cheerios, Kashi- go- lean crunch. Steel cut oats require cooking but they are a favorite especially on a winter morning.
Kevin
I do see your point, Nana...the homemade granola blend does sound good, but definitely fatty...
Vickie
Yep. I eat cold cereal most mornings. I'm on a Vanilla and Almond Special K kick at the moment. I only add a little milk (less than half way up the bowl) to avoid the soggy mess.
Kevin
I might have to check that cereal out....sounds good
Melanie
They still sell Cracklin Oat Brand in my local northeast Indiana Kroger. My husband loves it but at $5+ a small box I don't buy it very often. When my husbands cousin comes over to visit he buys a few boxes to take back with him to Germany.
Kevin
Melanie, agree, COB is too expensive for the small box. On another note, do they still have Scott's grocery stores in your area? I use to love going to Scott's....they were a scrappy local chain...