Living in a Cereal World

You know, I originally called these entries "occasional" granola reviews because they were filler in between cereal reviews. Now, though, they're occasional because I mostly make my own granola. It's not as intimidating or time-consuming as it sounds. In fact,  this is the most recent granola I made. Lasted almost three weeks. So why did I buy this one? Two reasons: I'm a sucker for new products (and just happened to notice this while browsing the cereal aisle) and 2) you know I love the way freeze-dried strawberries make everything taste like strawberry. It wasn't until I got home to check out more information on this product before purchasing that I found out there was also dried coconut. Yessss.😍 Another one for Unofficial Coconut Month. According to the ingredients this granola is entirely oat-based, but like a lot of them it crunches like there's puffed rice involved. I guess that's just the cane sugar crisping it up. And like I said before,...

Ooh yeah. 🎵😜 1. You know I have to have my tea and biscotti in the winter, so I thought I'd try this recipe for  Coconut Biscotti . This was my first time ever using coconut flour and I love it. Can't wait to use it again. Next time I'll probably try it in a recipe where it's the only flour. We'll see how that goes. As for this recipe, I think it struck a nerve, but in a good way. Now I'm on a coconut kick. I didn't even use the optional toasted coconut (honestly, I just didn't feel like taking the time to toast it) but the coconut extract and coconut flour provided plenty of coconut-y goodness. I dipped half of them in chocolate because, why not? But again, not necessary. The plain ones are good too. Just have a nice, flavorful hot drink accompaniment. 2. The last thing I baked was these  Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies . I wanted some oatmeal cookies--you know I'll put oats in just about anything--and we had too many bananas in t...

I honestly didn't know this cereal existed. I usually have an ear to the ground, keeping up to date on new cereal releases but this one somehow fell through the cracks. I just happened to spot it while looking for something else in the cereal aisle. And I'm on a coconut kick right now. Plus I love almonds. Also, I haven't had any flavor of Great Grains in ages . In fact, give me a second to see if I've ever reviewed any...yep,  Cranberry Almond Crunch and  Blueberry Morning , which is now under the Great Grains umbrella. But on to this one. I must have been in a charitable mood last week to take such glowing notes. When I opened the bag I was pleasantly surprised to see such huge flakes (seriously, like three flakes pressed together), substantial oat clusters, and big flakes of coconut. Of course you want your cereal to look appetizing, so, point for you, Post. And then you don't want to subsequently be let down by the flavor and I was not. The oat clusters ta...

Ok, everybody's cleared out, all the decorations have been put away, the majority of boxes have been unpacked...maybe now I can get back on schedule 👍. Kicking off the new year with something healthier...have you ever heard of  Grain Berry cereal? There's one grocery store here that sells it and I honestly never paid attention to it...until I came into possession of a coupon. You know how I am about coupons 😁. And I've heard of sorghum but didn't remember what it was exactly, or that it apparently has health benefits. This Honey Nut flavor is their equivalent to Honey Nut Cheerios. The O's are much smaller and darker, and don't have that slick sweetener coating. The oats themselves taste more like bran than the oats you'd be expecting and have a hint of sweetness. A cereal like this is just what I need right now (raise your hand if you also overdid it with the cookies last month 😛). ********* Speaking of Cheerios, though, if you have a craving for...

I'm still working on my picture issues but I couldn't wait any longer to share What I've Been Baking Lately: 1.  Sweet Potato Spice Loaf . This was supposed to be our Christmas dessert but we had more than enough cookies, so I made it a New Year's cake. I thought it would be more of a stiff, dry pound cake but darned if that sweet potato didn't up the moisture content. It also provided a subtle sweet potato flavor. Mainly the spices shine in this one. I hope you like allspice and nutmeg. 2.  Apple Butter Bacon Scones . Did I mention these already? Oh, well. This was my first post-move Sunday breakfast. There's a little something for everyone: apple butter, diced apple, bacon. Every bite of bacon was like a little surprise. 3.  Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Cornbread . I made this for Christmas dinner, kicking off a week of way too much squash. Seriously, I don't need any more winter squash recipes for a month. It was worth the effort, though. Baking i...