Triple Power Grain Cereal

I am a cereal person — this is just something you should know about me, okay? When I first moved out on my own years ago, I was a firm believer that a bowl of cereal could make a balanced weeknight dinner or a perfect late night study snack. But, I must confess, it has been ages since I've bought any sort of cereal.  Since being more conscious about the food I buy and put into my body, I quickly realized the majority of cereals are mainly made of corn and not much else. Sure, there are great organic cereal options, but even a great deal of those have far too much sugar than I am comfortable with. Not to mention they can cost way too much to justify buying just to satisfy a simple cereal craving.

Well, I found myself a homemade cereal solution. I'd been contemplating different cereal recipes to make for a few weeks; I've been wanting something simple and quick to cook up in advance on the weekends to have for breakfast several times throughout the week. I paired some of my favorite flavors and foods together for this cereal. I don't really enjoy things that are really really sweet, so this cereal shies a bit there. Instead it is hearty and cinnamon spicy (but still a bit sweet from honey and coconut!) I then stumbled upon this simple recipe on The Beauty Department and I couldn't help throwing in some quinoa to mine too. This cereal features three awesome grains: oats, quinoa, and chia seeds. Your body and belly should love it! See the recipe below.



TRIPLE POWER GRAIN CEREAL | yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients                                           

+ 1 1/2 cup steel-cut oats
+ 1/2 cup quinoa
+ 1/4 cup chia seeds
+ 1/4 cup almonds, chopped
+ 1/4 cup shredded coconut
+ 2 tablespoons honey
+ 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
+ 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
+ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions                                         

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl combine the chia seeds and quinoa. Rinse the grains thoroughly and drain. Fill the bowl up with water to completely cover the grains and let the chia and quinoa soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain again after soaking. In a large bowl mix the oats, almonds, coconut, honey, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Fold in the drained quinoa chia mix with the other combined ingredients. Spread the cereal evenly into a greased baking pan and bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.



My favorite part about this cereal is how much crunch it has. The almond bits, to me, are especially delicious. Because we soaked the quinoa and chia a bit before baking, everything clumps together nicely and this cereal makes a fantastic granola with some greek yogurt. It is equally delicious with some almond milk and fresh fruit. And, it never gets soggy! The chia seeds will soak up excess milk and leave the cereal super crunchy the entire time you're eating. Homemade cereal success.

Enjoy! Cheers to healthy, yummy cereal!
xx Emorie