Hot Breakfast Cereal additions

There are many hot breakfast cereals to choose from: whole grain to the more refined types; and all are a welcome warm treat on a chilly morning. Even the whole grained cereals do not take much longer than 15 minutes to prepare.Adapted from some of the packaged premixed instant cereals, I find whole ingredients and the versatility of adding extra flavors after the cooking process is done lends to a variety of tastes, with many flavors to choose from once you start with a healthy home cooked base.

A special note: Whole grained mixed cereals have a grittiness not easily accepted by small children or some adults new to whole food. Adding frozen berries like Saskatoon berries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, or a mixture of these seedy berries can help a child or adult accept the little crunch that comes with whole grains or flax seeds more readily, and in a tasty and creative way.

Grated apple, a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon makes a wonderful addition to oatmeal.Cinnamon and apple have great digestive properties, and leaving the peel on the apple adds additional fiber to your breakfast. A dash of milk helps cool this dish and make it easier to consume. If you are looking to add calories, try half and half or whole cream for a boost; if not, soy or almond milk is a great addition to cool this dish off.

Prepare oatmeal as directed: usually 2 parts water and one part oats, but some varieties call for different amounts so read directions carefully. While cooking, add raisins and cinnamon with a bit of brown sugar. Adding the sugar before hand prevents big eyes from putting too much and allows you to control the amounts.

Just add a squirt of maple syrup to your oatmeal with a few teaspoons of brown sugar. Using grade B maple syrup will add extra vitamins to your dish and no one will ever know its “healthy”.

It’s as simple as adding a quarter cup of frozen berries to any hot cereal! It will help bring it to an edible temperature when in a hurry, and will help you reduce or totally eliminate the sugar usually added to this dish. If you are looking to boost calories this one tastes great with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream!

This dish allows for great calorie control if made with water and sweetened with berries and a dash of skim milk to cool; it’s a great low calorie hot cereal. Then on the other hand you can boost calories by making it with milk instead of water and adding berries and whole cream at the end of cooking. What ever your dietary needs are, these recipes easily adapt for everyone’s choice of calories; it’s all in how you choose to finish the dish off.

Wash your strawberries and remove the tops, dry with a paper towel and make sure all the dirt is removed. Now slice your strawberries and add them to your choice of hot cereal, add some cream and enjoy! This combination is great with any kind of sweet fresh fruit.

When I had small children this one was a favorite. We all know how kids are just starving in the morning and want to eat it now, and fresh oatmeal is so extremely hot. So I devised a way to cool it down quickly and avoid adding any sugar.

First I would start to prepare the piping hot oatmeal. At the same time i would place some crushed pineapple and banana into the food processor and pulse a few times.Try using equal parts hot oatmeal and room temperature fruit. Then when the oats were done i would mix it all together. This whole process would take less than 15 minutes, and can be served immediately.

This dish is very satisfying and filling and oh so sweet.