Category: Breakfast

They say you can tell a lot about a person by looking in their pantry. Well, what about their cereal cabinet?

My Cereal Addiction

My shelf is currently stocked with 9 different types of dry cereal…all open, and all just for me. This is in addition to a container of oat bran (from the bulk food section) and some rolled oats.

While I do appreciate the sticking power of oatmeal, cereal is my true love. I tend to eat oats most days of the week only because they fill me up  for hours…whereas an equally calorie-dense bowl of cereal will leave me wanting to snack away the morning. But that doesn’t stop me from buying multiple types of cereal every time I go to the grocery store. A girl’s gotta have options — especially when a typical bowl means a mixture of at least 3-4 different types!

So what do we have in this cabinet? From left to right:

Front row: Grape Nuts, my two absolute favorite varieties of granola: Trader Joe’s Just the Clusters Maple Pecan and Just the Clusters Vanilla Almond, and 3 varieties of Bear Naked cereals: Bear Naked Fit Vanilla Almond Crunch, Cranberry Raisin cereal, and Banana Walnut cereal. In the back, we have Barbara’s Shredded Oats, Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls, TJ’s lowfat Honey Almond granola,  rolled oats, and a container of oat bran.

Here are a couple pearls of my cereal wisdom:

Go to Joe’s

Not only does Trader Joe’s have an amazing selection of delicious cereals, but they typically have the best prices. The Just the Clusters granolas were under $3. And I typically find the Barbara’s cereals in bigger boxes at a lower price (compared to a regular supermarket). If you live near a TJs, you should definitely check out their cereal selections – and experience first-hand how hard it is to limit yourself to buying just one (last trip it was all I could do to stop at 5)!

Get Bear Naked

(The cereal, I mean…)

Bear Naked Fit Granola boasts less fat and sugar than typical granolas. Per serving, it contains 2.5g of fat (no saturated or trans fat) and only 4g of sugar. I have seen a lot of bloggers raving over Galaxy Granola, but honestly I like this better. I find it a lot more flavorful, which is probably due to the fact that it’s sweetened with brown rice syrup and cane juice instead of fruit.

As an added bonus, the Bear Naked company has a really cool packaging project: The Bear Naked Sustainable Packaging Project. Basically, the company is trying to collect its empty cereal bags in an effort to effort to cut down on how many end up in landfills. The used bags will then be made into new products such as umbrellas, shower curtains, and tote bags. All you have to do is collect a certain number of bags and send them in to get cool gear (each size bag is equal to a different number of points). I’m almost a third of the way to a new reusable grocery bag, just with the cereal in my cabinet right now.

The only downside is that it’s a little pricey. I think this bag cost me somewhere around $5, and it’s not very big.

Bear Naked Cereals are much more reasonably priced. I love them because they are jam packed with goodies! I love cereals that have more “add-ins” than flakes. And these bags are also part of the company’s Sustainable Packaging Project.

An Ode to Oats

But, as much as I love my cereal, most days I just use it as a topping for my oats. As I mentioned earlier, oatmeal just sticks with me for so much longer. I know this is nothing novel in the blog world, but I figured it was worth mentioning my typical weekday breakfast.

I’m a creature of habit. which means that most mornings I have some variation of the same, semi-boring mixture:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats (old fashioned, not instant!)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup water
• Ground flaxseed
• drop of vanilla
• huge sprinkle of cinnamon

Sometimes, I’ll add fruit (typically frozen mixed berries or half a banana…or fresh strawberries if I have them), and if I’m feeling really adventurous, cocoa. The toppings are what I like to have the most fun with.

Oats in a Mug (OIAM)

When I eat hot oats, my favorite thing to do is have them in a mug (or, because they should have a cool acronym: OIAM). The mug keeps the oats warmer longer because it’s small and insulated. I like to layer it like a parfait: a layer of nut butter, granola, and fruit; then a layer of oats; another layer of granola/fruit; another layer of oats; and then topped with more nut butter/granola/fruit. This way you get goodness with every bite.

I probably should’ve used a clear mug to give you a better picture!

And every morning, I have my breakfast along with a cup of coffee and a cup of water.

Ready When You Are Oats (RWYAO)

But now that it’s getting warmer, I find I’m craving warm oats less and less. In this situation, it seems like the most common solution is to make overnight oats. However,  I’m not much of a planner when it comes to doing things the night before. Even though I know it’ll make my life easier, I rarely pack my lunch or lay out/iron my clothes the night before, instead choosing to run around in the morning like a crazy person. So it goes without saying that overnight oats is not something I eat very often.

The good news? You don’t have to wait all night for your oats to get soft and creamy! All you need is a few minutes, and you’ve got yourself a nice refreshing bowl of cool oatmeal. Just mix up your ingredients, set it on the counter and go about getting dressed. Once you’re ready, your oats will be too!

This really is the simplest breakfast you could ever make, besides pouring yourself a bowl of cereal. I generally use oat bran, because it’s smaller than rolled oats (and so becomes softer quicker). All I do is combine 1/2 cup of oat bran and a very generous 1/2 cup of milk (I usually use almond), plus a big sprinkle of ground flax, a little vanilla and cinnamon. Mix so that the oats are covered and walk away. It only takes 5 minutes for the mixture to get creamy, though you could give it longer for good measure.

Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Topped with Bear Naked Banana Walnut cereal and nut butter.

Of course when I have extra time in the morning or am looking for a treat, I try to mix up my breakfasts with fun meals like pancakes, or banoatcakes, or stuffed French toast.

As you can probably tell, all of these meals have a good amount of calories, and contain fat and fiber to keep me full. I’m not going to spend time drilling the benefits of breakfast into your head, since I’m sure it’s nothing you haven’t heard before. However, I will say this: not only should you eat breakfast every morning, but it should also be something substantial. A great breakfast will jump-start your metabolism after a night of not eating. Plus, when you stay full longer, you’ll be less likely to snack during the day.

So eat your breakfast!