Living in a Cereal World

See? I told you this would be next. The sprouted grains in question, in case you were wondering, are wheat, oats, barley, spelt and amaranth. When you press those all together it makes for a thick, crunchy, hearty flake that takes a little while longer than most to get soggy. There's just a hint of sweetness; I tasted it more in one individual flake than in the whole milked-up bowl. It's basically like eating a multigrain Total (texture-wise, not a vitamin comparison), which makes me wonder why there isn't a multigrain Total. You should get on that, General Mills.

Now where was I? Right, trend #2: ancient grains. You know  Cheerios  has had them since the beginning of the year; now Kashi and Kellogg's are throwing their hats (or bowls? or bowlers ?) in the ring. Kashi calls theirs Sprouted Grains, it's the same thing, though, and will probably be the next cereal I review. Kellogg's has a whole line called Origins, with cereals, granola, and oh, look--muesli. I'll be starting with the cereal, though. That's always a good place to start. I have to check on my pie now. That's an entry for another day.

Not my  world specifically, but the latest trends. Although that does  affect my world...anyway. On to my first point. Remember a few months back when I finally tried making  overnight muesli ? Well, now cereal makers are getting in on the action. First, General Mills' Nature Valley has a bagged muesli in Original Toasted Oats and Blueberry Toasted Oats. You can find it in your granola aisle. My only problem with theirs is that you're supposed to eat it within 5-10 hours. That's cutting it close for me. I don't think it'll explode if I let it go eleven hours between making it, sleeping, and getting up and dressed the next day--but it's not my first choice. That would be Kashi's Overnight Muesli. It comes it three flavors (although I'll have to pass on the cherry) in an individual-serving tub. Just add milk, leave it overnight, and eat it within 24  hours. That's the way it's supposed to work. I'll be taking another trip next month that will

There's a chance I could be going out of town this week, so you know I like to be prepared with my travel cookies. This past weekend I decided to try these  Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies  because they call for Smart Balance, which I've never tried for baking. If you like the thin, crispy, spread-wide kind of chocolate chip cookie then this recipe might be for you. If you like the buttery taste of a classic chocolate chip cookie then this might not  be the recipe for you. Smart Balance gives these cookies a funny, I don't want to say aftertaste, but a during  taste. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's almost nutty but not quite--more like it intensifies the toasted oat flavor. It was odd at first but I got used to it. The chocolate chips helped (when don't they?). Now I know when a recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips, don't substitute milk chocolate. Go for the more chocolate-y option. That sounds funny coming from me, I know, but I d

I know I haven't blogged dinner much lately but I had to mention this:  Jerk Turkey Sandwich with Pineapple Slaw . I honestly thought I'd never get to try jerk seasoning again in this house because of  these burgers  not going over well with one member of the household *cough* mom *cough* but the coleslaw topping swayed me. I made one tiny change, swapping mandarin orange slices for the regular orange for acid issues but I don't think it made a drastic difference to the recipe. The coleslaw still what it was supposed to do, which was to balance out the spicy kick of jerk seasoning. I actually could've used more seasoning than the small amount I chose to use out of fear...or respect...or courtesy, whatever. At the very least, make sure you season both sides. I had leftovers for lunch the next day. Still good cold!

I don't mean that someone invented a new fruit, just that I'd never had a nectarine before. Don't laugh. I don't know if I'm allergic to all  stone fruits, so I chose to wait until I found a recipe that involved cooking a nectarine. And involved breakfast, of course:  Fruity Yogurt and Walnut Breakfast Bowl . I skipped the walnuts because they don't agree with me and I honestly forgot the pomegranate seeds (they were on my grocery list but I still forgot to look for them!) but I did have a lime on hand, so it was more like a Fruity Yogurt Cup. And you need the lime zest. I think the nectarine and cinnamon--it's a lot of cinnamon, and that's coming from someone loves  cinnamon--would be overwhelming without the lime zest to balance it out. And you might not want to cook your nectarine to death, either. The nectarine slices in the picture look raw--if you don't want warm fruit I suppose you could just slice a nectarine over your yogurt and sprink

You know how I love to stick oats in my baked goods. Even if I get the occasional "What's these white things?" *eye roll* I still do it for the texture and of course, the fiber. I had a taste for blueberries this weekend so it was the perfect time to try this  Blueberry Oatmeal Bread . Also, fresh blueberries are at their peak this time of year; I had to make use of them. Ok, the bread itself: just a little chew to it but otherwise moist and pretty sweet. The berries themselves actually offer a bit of a tart counterpoint to the sugar in the bread. And that loaf was loaded. I was worried as I folded the berries into the batter that 1 cup wasn't looking like enough; I don't know why I can never seem to judge that. All in all, the outcome was definitely worth the effort. ******* And this morning I found out that I can tolerate the differing textures of blueberries and Mini-Wheats. Good to know.

Well, Kashi's gone and done it: they've figured out how to put sweet potatoes in cereal. Yes, sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes.  I know it sounds weird but stay with me on this. First I gave it the usual sniff test (open box, insert nose): it smelled like Thanksgiving, like the whipped sweet potatoes with broiler-toasted marshmallows that you shouldn't eat but once a year. Then I examined it in the bowl: big flakes that looked like sweet potatoes darkened by molasses--there's brown rice in the flakes, too--and then of course I had to eat one. And another one. Oh, sweet potatoes. Is there anything you can't do? To sum up: save the casserole for the holidays and get your sweet potato fix with this cereal for the rest of the year.

Okay, so it's not new like the other cereals I have waiting in the wings, but it's new to me. After I raved about  Shredded Wheat Crunch  (okay, not really raved, but layered with maple brown sugar Mini-Wheats? Is. The. Best.) I looked up the other flavors and thought Honey Nut sounded interesting. However, it was really  hard to find. My local Wal-Mart just expanded their cereal aisle in the last week or so which made shelf space for this particular Shredded Wheat. And now I know the difference between Shredded Wheat and Frosted Mini-Wheats. Shredded Wheat--the "spoon size"-- is more of a puffy wheat square while Mini-Wheats are a little more rectangular wrapping of wheat. And the honey nut flavor wasn't exactly what I expecting; when you think "honey nut" you think "Cheerios," right? I thought these would be a little sweeter and...nuttier, I guess. Looking at the ingredients list it seems there's almonds in there somewhere. I still like

I finally made cinnamon rolls! That's been on my list of things to try for years . I've been collecting recipes for years but they either 1) make too many; or b) require a stand mixer/dough hook. So earlier this month I found the perfect recipe for a first-timer:  Cinnamon Rolls  by Fleischmann's Simply Homemade bread mix. I make their breads often enough that I trusted the outcome. I have to say that the dough was really easy to work with. It wasn't too sticky and rolled out with seizing back up. I used real butter for the dough and Smart Balance for the filling, and not quite all of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. So what I need to work on for next time is rolling the dough up more tightly and cutting evenly. My rolls were a bit misshapen and some were bigger than others but nobody really cared. It's cinnamon rolls! As for texture, it wasn't the soft, bread-y cinnamon roll I was expecting, like, say Entenmann's. It was almost like a coffee cake cin

I've been saying it for years: Special K needs a second granola flavor! Now they've finally listened! It's Special K cranberry granola! I'll stop using exclamation points now. It has the same sweet sheen/coating as the original Touch of Honey but not the same flavor. I really do think there would've been a honey/cranberry conflict there. So it's more generically sweet with lots of little dried cranberry bits. Lots . I had cranberry in every bite. So thanks, Special K. I hope you come out with another flavor in the next three-to-five-years. ******* Brief cereal update: the restocking has begun. I have three new cereals to review, one of which I actually opened yesterday but didn't get enough to form an opinion. There's two more I have my eye on in the next two weeks. I think I'm getting my second wind.