Hot Cereal For Breakfast

Seeing as boxed cereals from the market (even the "natural" ones) are about the worst thing we can eat ever eat, much less serve our children, I thought I'd share an easy hot cereal recipe.  I generally use whatever I have on hand, and some of the ingredients are probably not the "best", much less soaked, but it's still a vast improvement over whatever they're calling "food" in those grocery aisles.  You could make the same cereal with just *one* grain, too.  For example, we really like millet alone at times, topped with peach jam and chopped walnuts.

Hot Cereal Recipe

1 cup hulled barley

2 cups millet

1 1/3 cups amaranth

1 cup sweet brown rice

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup pumpkin seeks

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

Combine all ingredients, rinse and strain.  Yes, I know it looks like bird seed.  What do you think those boxed cereals look like before they're heat processed, turned into slurry, mixed with food coloring and chemicals and then extruded into fake little balls and stars?  Somewhere, they start out as real food (in a time long, long ago...)

Put the mix onto baking sheets and toast in a 350 degree or warmer oven, stirring on occasion.  It will be dry and smell nutty.

At this point, you can just jar up the whole mix and take out as much as you want to cook up at a time.

How to cook it up:

Grind up however much you desire to make.  I use my food processor, but you might try your blender.  Grinding it up will make it more creamy, and cook up faster too.

Combine 1 cup of your ground cereal mix with 3 cups of water, a pinch of salt, and cinnamon or other flavoring of your choice (we also like cardamom, or nutmeg, or vanilla...)  Bring up to a boil, lower heat and simmer covered for about 15-25 minutes, until the water is absorbed.  It is very similar to making rice; all the grains will soak up the water.  Be sure to stir on occasion while it is cooking or it will get very clumpy.

That's it!  To serve, put some of the hot cooked cereal in a bowl, top with milk and whatever sweetener your family enjoys.  You could even mix in some dried or fresh fruit, chopped nuts, or yogurt, or applesauce...  

This is a very satisfying meal to have on a cold winter morning, it is inexpensive to make, and it is delicious!

Enjoy,