Recipe: Breakfast Cereal (Got Nuts?)

What I eat almost every morning.

Several months ago, I realized I was probably not getting enough protein, at least during my breakfast.  I was always famished around 9:00 AM when arriving at work (I usually eat breakfast around 6:00 AM).  When a friend told me about how she increased the nut content of her diet for protein, I was impressed, and thought I'd give this a try to boost the nutrition and staying power of my cereal bowl.    I am obsessed with cereal for breakfast -- any other breakfast leaves me feeling unsatisfied emotionally and, now, with the addition of nuts, I'm happy until a late morning snack or lunch.  (Note: Snacks to me are not a "four letter word" -- I don't mean a bag of chips or danish, I mean a handful of nuts, a half banana, a "raw" veggie cracker.   I try to follow my body, not the clock, and that sometimes means having a bowl of vegetable soup at 3:00 PM.)

Now and then I may try Shredded Wheat, Life (guilty pleasure), or some kind of "O" cereal, but nothing pleases me as much as the Wheetabix brand.  I love it, and I find the mushy nature of it is very compatible with my GERD, in the same way grits and other soft foods seem to "go down" well.

As noted, I need to eat small portions, so when I decided to add 1/4 C. nuts to my bowl, I decided to reduce the portion of Wheetabix by half -- one biscuit instead of two.   I add a handful of raisins, the 1/4 C. of chopped/ground nuts, and sometimes a handful of blueberries or a half banana.  

Just before adding the almond milk...

My milk of choice is Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze.  Eating this concoction slowly while reading the paper, or just focusing on the morning breeze, is a calming way to start the day for me.


RECIPE:  BREAKFAST CEREAL (GOT NUTS?)


1 Wheetabix biscuit, crumbled (you can substitute any low-sugar, high-fiber, mostly unprocessed cereal; just use half of the serving size)

1/4 C. ground nuts (I always use walnuts for the nutrition value.  Sometimes I also add pecans -- my favorite -- or chopped/sliced almonds)

1/4 C. raisins (optional)

Other fresh or dried fruit additions as you wish: 1/2 banana, a handful of blueberries, sliced fruit as you like; very occasionally I'll add a few spoons of my homemade granola but that is definitely a treat...

1 C. almond milk (I use Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla; you may prefer soy or rice milk -- unsweetened is suggested.  There's some evidence almonds help reduce heartburn, so this may be a good choice for GERD diets.  It's my personal favorite, and I dislike soy milk, so that's all I use.)

Mix dry ingredients.
Mix in fruit additions.
Pour milk over it all and enjoy.
Remember to eat slowly, breathe, let the morning unfold.

GO EVEN MORE NUTS!

My Cranky Gut's granola recipe focuses entirely on nuts -- you can easily substitute walnut oil for the ghee/butter.