"A New Look at Home-Made Whole-Grain Breakfast Cereals"

©1983 A.H. Grossman

A New Look at Home-Made Whole-Grain Breakfast Cereals

To begin an active day, there is nothing more delicious and satisfying than a steaming bowl of whole-grain cereal topped with our favorite dried fruit, seeds or nuts and a dollop of kefir, soy milk or yogurt. It's nutritious and inexpensive -- costs only 8¢ to 10¢ per serving when you buy the grain in bulk. Why not make it yourself?

Packaged breakfast cereals are notoriously expensive. If you have ever attempted to buy an unadulterated - without sugar, salt or other additives or preservatives - you know there is very little variety available. Granola is usually loaded with sweeteners; puffed grain cereals, though they may contain no additives, have little food value per ounce.

A whole-grain breakfast gets us off to a good start on a hectic day. My husband, a middle-school teacher, maintains his sense of humor and energy from 7am until noon on one serving. Cereal grains are perfect combined with milk products, brewer's yeast, or seeds and nuts for complementary proteins. These combinations increase the usable protein by surprisingly large percentages depending on the combination and amounts used.

Since we don't like to use a lot of eggs, I've had to stretch my imagination to discover vegetarian breakfast alternatives. When we purchased our grain mill - and even before with a blender - I was able to make cream of whole-wheat, brown rice, rye, millet or triticale by following several seemingly endless steps: first washing, then toasting, followed by grinding, and finally roasting the grains and storing enough for several days in the refrigerator. I'd boil water and combine about 1/4 cup grain powder to one cup boiling water. However, until I discovered the whisk, this process was not foolproof by any means. Sometimes at the crucial moment of boiling water, in would go the cereal and, as quickly as I might stir, a mess of almost inedible lumps would result. Ugh! I often found myself resorting to the old standby - oatmeal - while yearning for a better way. 

One morning I heated the leftover brown rice from dinner the night before along with about 1 1/2 cups of water, then blended it in the blender until smooth. i returned the rice to the pot, added pieces of dried peaches from last summer's harvest and about 1/4 cup sunflower seeds and topped it off with kefir. This concoction tasted just like the more time-consuming cream of rice I'd made from rice powder but had cost me infinitely less time and anguish.  

Not certain of having enough leftovers each morning, I've devised a system to ensure we'll have our usual hearty breakfast grain. While pressure-cooking beans or grains for dinner - which I generally do for several days at a time - I included two cups of whole-grains - rice, rye berries, wheat berries, or triticale berries - and four cups of water, in a small steel bowl right in the pressure cooker.  I bring the pressure up to about 15 pounds, then lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes or 25 minutes if I am cooking soybeans. This is enough time to ensure soft grains and beans. I store the grain in the refrigerator and, in the morning, use enough for each person, blend with additional water, milk or soy milk (to the desired consistency) and reheat. This process takes very little time and makes a very satisfying balanced breakfast which is even appealing to my three-year-old.

There are endless ways to achieve variety and even more nutritive value. On a ruched morning I may just add some dried fruit, a couple of tablespoons of nutritional and kefir, milk or yogurt. Weekend mornings I'm more apt to experiment. Her's an example of a weekend sweet cereal. 


Carob Surprise Cereal
1 cup cooked rye berries
1 cup cooked brown rice or wheat berries
2 cups water, milk or soymilk
3 T carob powder
1/4 cup raisins
4 chopped dates
1 chopped apple
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds


Blend rye berries (1/2 cup), rice, liquid, carob powder and dates. Pour in pot. Add remaining rye berries for texture, raisins and heat. Just before serving add chopped apple and toasted sunflower seeds. 


Other favorites include several dates or a banana blended with the grain and shavings of coconut added just before serving. Your favorite nuts, raw sunflower seeds or peanuts add crunchiness and flavor as well as protein. Raisins, figs,  dried apples, pears or applesauce are delicious, especially with cinnamon and cloves. Toasted sesame seeds combine especially well with cream of rice. Toasted wheat germ adds a distinct flavor and even more protein. 


We also enjoy an Indian-style cereal made with sweet spices. 


Coconut Banana Porridge
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 1/2 cups water or milk
3 cloves
3 cardamon pods
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 t ground coriander
1 large banana
a few raisins
1/2 cup ground coconut
1/4 cup roasted peanuts


Boil or pressure cook brown rice with four cups water, cloves, cardamon pods, and cinnamon. Remove spices. Blend rice with 2 1/2 cups milk or water, coriander powder, banana, butter or ghee. Return to pot. Reheat. Top with chopped peanuts and a few raisins. Serve with yogurt or kefir. 


Another possibility for variety is adding leftover popcorn or Bulgar wheat. Remember, mixed grains are different and delicious. Experiment to discover your favorites. I just refrigerate leftovers and add them to the cereal before or after blending, depending on the consistency I want. Whole-grain crackers which have lost their crunchiness and cornbread, whole-wheat, or rye bread crumbs make welcome additions to the morning repast. I've found some vegetables to blend nicely with the daily breakfast cereal - pumpkin, butternut squash and leftover sweet potatoes or even carrots make fine additions. 


We also make a very hearty breakfast cereal from soy beans.


"Go" (Soybean Porridge)
1 cup soybeans
4 cups water for soaking
2 or more cups water for blending

Merely soak the soybeans overnight. blend with the tow cups of water until you have a smooth batter-like liquid. Place in pot. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, and simmer for 15 minutes on a medium-low heat. Take care not to allow the GO to boil over for cooking soybeans will rise suddenly. Add more water if it becomes too thick to stir easily. You can store GO in the refrigerator for several days, adding water when you want to reheat. if you enjoy a savory breakfast, add a dash of tamari soy sauce, sauteed onions, crumbled toasted nori seaweed or dulse, ground sesame seeds, peanuts, leftover vegetables or chopped parsle. Expect to feel no hunger pangs for quite a while after this heartly breakfast. Don't be afraid to experiment. Enjoy.

NOTE: 
See Ellen B Ewald's Diet for a Small Planet, revied edition; New York: Ballantine Books,  ©1975 for further information about protein values of various grains and complementary protein combinations. 

See Williams Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi's The Book of Tofu, Kanagawa-Ku, Japan: Autumn Press, ©1975 for further information about soybean products and protein values of various foods.