Cereal (with recipe)

            Commercial cereals are devitalized to the point of absurdity. Always use whole grain cereals – unpopped, unpuffed, and un-sugarcoated. They will give you your money’s worth as well as your health’s worth, for straight untreated grains are far less expensive pound for pound than their “enriched” processed counterparts.

           

            Whole grain non-precooked cereals do take longer to prepare; on early winter mornings this is not always desirable. Here are a few short cuts: Use the finer ground cereals ( such as buckwheat grits instead of buckwheat groats, finely ground steel-cut oats instead of coarsely ground, cracked wheat instead of whole kernel wheat); what you lose in texture you will gain in cooking time. Or use the thermos jar method: In the evening, before bed, fill a wide-mouthed thermos with hot water; let it stand while cooking ½ cup whole grain in 2 cups boiling water for a couple of minutes; then pour the water out of the thermos and pour in the cereal and its cooking water. And ½ cup raisins or currants if you like; close tightly and lay thermos on its side. Wake up to steaming hot cereal, ready to eat instantly with honey and cream.

            Toasted granola-type whole grain cereals are popular items on the health market. They can be delicious as an instant cereal or dry snack; however, if you have any digestive or intestinal problems, be sure to soak them for 10-15 minutes before eating. Bircher-muesli, the original “health” cereal, has the nutritional advantage of being made of uncooked grain. When using packaged muesli, again presoak, if necessary, to soften grain and rocklike raisins. But why not make your own granola and muesli?

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GRANOLA

6 cups oat flakes

1 cup sesame seeds, raw

1 cup wheat germ, raw

Pinch of sea salt

¹/₃ cup pressed oil

²/₃ cup honey

Optional:

½ cup shredded coconut

1 cup raw peanuts

1 cup raisins

• reheat oven to 360 degrees.
• Mix together all ingredients (except raisins) with a wooden spoon, and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until light brown – about 30-40 minutes. While the granola cools, add raisins if desired.
• Store in a well-sealed container. Granola keeps well without refrigeration – so this recipe makes a goodly amount. If it becomes a little soggy after a while, simply re-crisp it in the oven.
• Makes about nine cups of granola.

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MUESLI

1 cup oat flakes

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons honey

1 apple, grated

1 tablespoon raisins

1 tablespoon chopped hazel nuts

• Soak oat flakes in milk for 30 minutes. Add lemon juice, honey, grated apple (skin and all if it is organic), raisins, and nuts. Mix well.
• Serves three.
• Note: Any cereal flakes can substitute for the oats in muesli and granola: wheat, rye, barley, rice, soya, etc.