snack

Because I just don’t have enough to do, I decided to make my own granola cereal. 😉

Actually, it was super-easy and didn’t take much time at all. And breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so you want to make it count! I used puffed kamut, puffed wheat and rolled oats. I added in some sliced almonds and toasted sesame seeds as well, then coated the whole mixture with a buttery vanilla-maple syrup mixture and baked it until it was nice and crunchy. The end result was a lightly sweet, crunchy, satisfying breakfast that the whole family loved.

You can make so many different varieties by adding different grains and nuts. You can also add in other ingredients after baking, like dried fruit or chocolate chips. Of course, certain additions can really rack up the fat and calorie counts, so you want to be careful what you throw in there so it doesn’t get out of control.

The way I made it, I calculated that 1/2 cup of the cereal is 145 calories and 6.5 grams of fat. I was surprised to learn that the oats actually contribute more than I would have thought to the calories and fat, so if you are interested in controlling the calories, you could substitute additional puffed kamut for the rolled oats. In that case, 1/2 cup serving would contain 125 calories and 5.9 grams of fat. Another option is to eliminate the almonds. I included them because of their nutritional value (good source of protein, among other things!), but you could skip them and substitute additional kamut, which would then bring you down to 98 calories and 2.9 grams of fat per serving! There are so many possibilities, depending on your nutritional goals.

Any way you make this, it is a delicious choice for a weekday breakfast, and great to serve your kids on school mornings!