What's for Breakfast?

I know that some of my friends find this odd, but I don’t buy cereal anymore.

I stopped buying cereal when I realized that my kids could eat a box of it a day.  They weren’t just eating it for breakfast, they ate it all day long.  Sometimes I wondered if they ate anything BUT cereal.  I know my brother lived on it for many years.

Cereal companies seem to know this.  Cereal prices are rarely cheap.  I could find a favorite variety on sale now and then, but never consistently.

Then, one day, I looked at the ingredients.  Those that were lower in sugar were packed with artificial sugars with names too complex to pronounce.  Those high in fiber were packed with sugars (real and created).  Anything that was marginally healthy was NEVER cheap or appealing to my kids.  My kids were becoming cereal junkies before my very eyes.

So I quit buying it.

“What do your kids eat for breakfast?!” asked many that heard the shocking news.

Actually, my kids eat great breakfasts, many of them quickly made (and I mean quickly, less than 15 minutes) and much cheaper than a box of cereal: pancakes, bacon, fried potatoes, eggs and sausage, oatmeal, and French toast, to name a few.  If I get up earlier, they get biscuits and gravy, homemade waffles, blueberry muffins, or Egg’s Benedict.  If we are in a big hurry, it’s peanut butter toast on homemade bread, some of those extra waffles reheated in the toaster, or yogurt and granola.

My granola recipe is probably forty years old, handed down from my mother, acquired from her good friend Kay, with some modern day modifications.

I stir fry my granola in a 14” cast iron skillet over medium heat.  It’s one of those processes that requires full attention or you get burnt granola.  It’s not difficult, I just have to be prepared and have all ingredients at hand.  If I have to step away, I remove the pan fully from the heat, rather than turn off the burner.

Kay’s Granola

3 c. thick cut oats

1 c. flax seeds

1 c. wheat germ (I use raw wheat germ)

1 c. unsweetened coconut (Bob’s Red Mill sells this.  I have used sweetened coconut and reduced the sugar)

1 c. finely chopped nuts (I use walnuts or pecans)

½ c. canola oil

¾ c. brown sugar

1 T. vanilla

Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl.

Heat a large fry pan over high heat.

Reduce the heat to medium and add oil.

Pour dry ingredients from the bowl into the fry pan and stir fry, stirring constantly.

Watch to be sure that the heat is not too high.  The flax seeds should be popping.

When the mixture has toasted to a light brown, stir in the sugar until it is completely incorporated.

Add the vanilla and continue to toast the ingredients until the vanilla has evaporated.

Allow the granola to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container. 

Served with yogurt and some berries, it hits all four food groups and gives a kid (or a parent) plenty of fuel for the day.