I've eaten a lot of cereal since moving home. I didn't buy cereal very often when I lived on my own, so I guess now I'm making up for it. Like I eat cereal almost every night for a bedtime snack.
As part of my bucket list project, I wanted to try a new cereal. But then I got to thinking that I should make a new cereal. One of my Instagram friends posted about making cereal last week, and so I embarked on the cereal-making journey.
I'd pinned several recipes for homemade cereal after constructing my bucket list, but I decided on this one from Southern Kissed. I didn't have oat bran and I'm not a fan of sugary sweet cereal, so I adapted the recipe and made it my own. Then I shoved my concoction in the oven and waited.
What emerged was a somewhat soft, definitely hardy version of granola. I'm not sure it's like cracklin' oat bran (as per the original recipe) since I left out the bran, but it's definitely good enough to share. I ate the cereal plain for my first bowl, but I mixed it in with other cereals afterwards (as per the first photo). It definitely grew on me, and after a week, it's all gone!
If you want to make a batch of this hearty cereal for yourself, follow the recipe below.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c rolled oats (divided)
1/2 c dried coconut
1/2 c ground flax seed
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/3 c unsweetened applesauce
2 T maple syrup
2 T olive oil
1 t vanilla
Directions:
1. Place one cup rolled oats in the food processor and grind to a coarse powder.
2. Add the remaining dry ingredients and pulse 5-6 times.
3. Add wet ingredients and process until the liquids has dispersed.
4. Place on a greased pan and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.
5. Allow cereal to cool on the pan. Then break into clumps and store in an air-tight container.
If you try this recipe, please comment below and tell me what you think!
Hooray! I've reached my final day of oatmeal, and I wanted to celebrate with a special bowl of porridge. Enter pumpkin apple oats with a maple peanut butter drizzle.
The Oatmeal Artist has done pumpkin apple before, but what makes this bowl special is the maple peanut butter over the smooth, spicy, and warm porridge. See all that melted peanut butter gooeyness on top of the oats? Yum!
Ingredients:
1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
2 T pumpkin puree
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1 apple, diced
1 T peanut butter
1 t maple syrup
1 t coconut oil
Directions:
1. Combine diced apple, oats, and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low.
2. When oats reach desired consistency, stir in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
3. Transfer oats to a bowl.
4. In a separate pan, melt peanut butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Drizzle over oats and enjoy!
Yes, I'm writing about oatmeal again. Yes, this one includes chocolate and peanut butter. And I realized as I ate it that it is really a variation on my favorite oatmeal. But this was so good for breakfast that I have to share the recipe. I could really eat this for dessert, as it reminded me of the Braum's peanut butter cup ice cream I ate in the middle of the night last night. (Yes, the middle of the night. I was hungry and couldn't sleep and so I chose to enjoy ice cream and the novel I was reading.) So without further ado: peanut butter cup overnight oats (adapted from Bran Appetit's Double Chocolate Overnight Oats)
Rich chocolate, salty peanut butter + the health of oats? Mmm!
Ingredients:
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c skim milk
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 t maple syrup
2 T cocoa powder
1/4 t salt
1 T (or more) natural peanut butter for topping
Directions:
1. Mix all of the ingredients except the peanut butter in a small bowl or a medium-sized jar.
2. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
3. Before eating, "fill" the chocolate peanut butter oatmeal shell with the peanut butter.
Notes:
Don't omit the salt mixed in with the oats. It really brings out the richness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the maple syrup.
