Living in a Cereal World

Ugh, wow, it's been over a week. 👎 One more trip, just one more, and then I hope to stay put for a month. I have three new cereals in the queue, and I should be getting to all of them next week. Plus this summer's Smoothie List, since last year's version was surprisingly  popular . In the meantime, I've been eating these  Quinoa Breakfast Bars all month. How does a bar hold together with no flour? Very carefully. Actually, if you use dried fruit instead of the fresh blueberries it might hold its shape better. And I'm still on the fence about buying pumpkin cereals this year. 😲 I know, I know, but it's pumpkin! Plus cereal! I am not on the fence about baking with pumpkin, however. When Fall comes, I want those Fall flavors.

...because sometimes I have all these little items that don't warrant a full blog post: In breakfast breads, Dave's Killer Bread  has a new raisin bread that I'll be trying soon. I'm hoping it'll be a gateway bread to some of their other breads. Also, Thomas' had to go and make a S'mores  English muffin. Well, if you insist...😛 You know I haven't mentioned any dinners since last summer? So here's two: Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp Packets , which I served over orzo (and a note: because I didn't divide the shrimp mixture evenly, some packets took longer to cook than others); and Pork and Noodle Bowl . Super simple and super-filling. I know you're wondering, where's the cereal reviews? Probably not 'til next weekend. I have two in the pipeline, and some Memorial Day baking. We had a sneak preview of summer weather last week, so I think my body's getting acclimated. Seasonal pies, anyone?

I did it; it's done. I went how long without cereal? Six weeks? (Basically; for organizational purposes my weeks are "off" here.) But yeah, here's how it ended: Monday: Blueberry Pie Oatmeal . I'm glad this was the last week of Lent because it's getting a bit too warm for my hot cereal tolerance. This oatmeal, though--totally worth taking a few extra minutes to cook down some blueberries. Tuesday: Peanut Butter, Oat, and Banana Smoothie . Like I said before, I'll be taking a break from peanut butter for the rest of the month. This was a delicious smoothie, though. I went ahead and used a whole banana (for one serving). Wednesday: I decided to try these Feta Eggs  because I had a little bit of feta that I didn't want to waste. I'd never had tomatoes in scrambled eggs before--but maybe a couple of times in restaurant omelets--so I must say I was surprised by the sweetness. Maybe more feta would've balanced that out. It wasn't bad, thoug...

Well, it's almost over and I must say, it's gotten easier as the weeks go by. I should wait until my post-Lent wrap-up to cover What I've Learned, though. So last week: Monday: Still working my way through the Damn Delicious Overnight Oats . This time I had Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake. And maybe blue yogurt and berry seeds aren't the best thing to eat before going to the dentist but I wanted something light. Tuesday: I made two more pancake sandwiches . That recipe made a lot of pancakes. I can still make one more meal out of them. Wednesday: Two more Banana Oatmeal Cups (see previous link). Again, it made enough to last several weeks and they're still delicious. Thursday: Something new-- Broccoli & Parmesan Cheese Omelet . And filling. I really can't eat that many eggs. Not with toast on the side. I had to share that omelet. Friday: Another new one-- Crunchy Peanut Butter Bulgur with Berries . I thought I'd try it because it had all the component...

You didn't think I'd get through a list without a making a Pearl Jam reference--just kidding. I guess I'm upbeat because there's only two weeks to go. It has been getting easier, though. Monday: more leftover oatmeal cups . These have really come in handy. Tuesday: I started with this recipe for yogurt and blueberry parfaits  but then decided defrosting my blueberries in the microwave would have to do. I made these cranberry granola bars for my sister and crumbled one over my parfait. It was basically the same amount I would've used of regular granola. Also, they're quite good. See? Sort of. I keep forgetting not to take pictures on foil. Wednesday: Cinnamon Toast PB&J . When all this is over, I don't think I'm going to touch peanut butter for a month. That being said, this was a nice treat. I haven't had cinnamon toast in the oven since I was a kid. Whenever we had a family hot cereal day my mom would always make cinnamon toast go with...

Surely you didn't think I'd get through this list without dropping an NKOTB reference, did you? Although I'll be honest, back in the late '80s I was a kid and didn't get what all the fuss was about boys. It was just the popular music of the time to me. So anyway, breakfast: Monday: I used the leftover skillet apple from the Peanut Butter Toast  to make Apple Pie Overnight Oats  (yeah, so going in order isn't going to happen after all). I have a feeling that made it even more delicious than it would've been otherwise. Leftovers! 🎉 Tuesday: I finally had a day to make Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches . I've actually wanted to try this for a while. And since I wanted one on Tuesday, I actually ate an unfrozen breakfast sandwich. I would imagine the reheated ones had lots of melty-cheese goodness, though. Wednesday: Leftover Banana Oatmeal Cups (see last week's entry). I found that after reheating them they got a bit crumbly with a fork and would work...

I guess Mother Nature is having a change of heart. By next weekend it should be in the 60s and the snow will be out of here. I hope. Anyway, breakfasts. The only good thing about last week's cold weather was the need for hot breakfasts. Monday: leftover Spanish tortilla  and fruit with granola. I realized I have to make a conscious effort to eat fruit with breakfast everyday since it's not on my cereal. Tuesday: I started with this Strawberry and Yogurt Parfait  recipe but made some changes to accommodate the vanilla yogurt I needed to finish. Wednesday: Oh, this was a good one. I took four banana oat pancakes (see last week's entry) and made two little sandwiches. Here's exactly what I did: I started with four small pancakes--I made them small for this purpose--and toasted them according to the recipe reheating instructions. Then I microwaved them anyway, and they didn't fall apart like I thought they would. Next I spread roughly a teaspoon of almond butter ...

I'm gearing up for this next round of snow. I really thought we were in the clear--Spring's like, ten days away!--but no, Winter's not through with us yet. 👎 At least there's more hot breakfasts on the horizon. So, here's Week 2: Monday: Chai Spice and Pear Oatmeal , which I've made before . The other half of my pear (from the previous Friday) was still good, so of course I couldn't waste it. Tuesday: Peachy Keen Granola Parfait , wherein I learned I'm not allergic to thawed frozen peaches. Yay! Wednesday: I made a wrap with peanut butter, fruit spread, strawberries and granola. It was kind of a combination of several recipes. Thursday: Cheese Frittata in a Cup. I can't find the exact recipe but there's plenty of other versions out there. It's just two eggs, cheese, a tablespoon of milk, salt and pepper. Mix in a mug, microwave for a minute, stirring every 20 seconds. I'd never micro-cooked eggs before so I erred on the side of...

Also, happy blogiversary! Yes, I'm still here after five years. I can't help it; they keep inventing new cereals. Anyway, Lent is really late this year, so I've had plenty of time to prepare. In previous years I've given up: white flour and sugar, and discovered other grains and sweeteners; flavored yogurt, and learned how to flavor my own with different fruits (and I still eat all the recipes I tried that year!); processed/packaged sides, and learned to make my own. So there's basically only one difficult thing left to give up. No, not blogging. I get antsy if I miss a week. Nope, I mean... Cereal. I know, I know, that's the purpose of this blog, what am I going to do for six weeks? Like I said, I've had plenty of time to prepare. I have enough recipes to try--at least I hope so. I'm not one of those people who can eat the same thing for breakfast every day. I read other blogs where people have smoothies every day or eat oatmeal every day. Th...

You remember Picture Day, right? When I was in school I think it was usually around the third week of September. So I'm a little late for my blog picture day. But anyway, here's the updated posts: Cheesecake Swirl Carrot Bundt Cake (check out that swirl!) Strawberry Layer Cake  (with slightly runny icing) Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls  (also taken post-eating. What can I say, we were hungry) ********* Back to reviews next month!

It's been a few days, hasn't it? I was sick all weekend and am still working on getting better. So I thought I'd use today's entry to list some of the foods I've made recently. 1. Sally's Favorite Cornbread . Is it mine too? I don't know yet. But I will say that I made it last week to go with one dinner, and then I ate it for breakfast...and then I ate it for breakfast again. That reminds me, there's still some in the freezer. I added blueberries because, why not? Even though plain buttery cornbread is absolutely fine--especially this one, which is moist and cake-like. You'll want to eat more than you should. 2. Beef Chimichangas . I got my first issue of Eating Well and marked this page immediately. I made this while my brother was home and everybody loved them. I don't think they even noticed the mushrooms. This was also my first time having fresh salsa. Definitely worth it. 3. I made these garlic pita chips  yesterday and they got a lit...

It's my blogiversary! The real one, I mean. Usually I celebrate on the 28th but I actually started this blog four years ago today. Why? Because I love cereal and didn't want to be ashamed of it anymore. Of course, I've also stretched the parameters to include baking and cooking other meals but this will always be first and foremost a cereal blog. And with that I get to today's entry which is not about cereal. Heh. But I made these Healthy Peanut Butter Chunk Oatmeal Bars  over the weekend because I wanted something that wasn't a cookie. Let me just say first of all: I forgot the vanilla extract. I got distracted by a skin break on my finger and had to cover it up right away--nobody wants blood in their dessert--and when I went back to the recipe I skipped right over the vanilla step. I didn't realize this until the bars were in the oven and I was cleaning up. That said, they're still full of peanut butter-y goodness. And chocolate chips. I probably shou...

This is basically the Nature's Path version of Raisin Bran Crunch. I've been meaning to try it for a while but I finally thought to buy it last month. And, fair warning, it's not pumpkin-flavored. But it has pumpkin seeds. Not a lot, but enough. In fact, the best thing I can say about the cereal that the ratio of flakes to raisins (to seeds to oat clusters) is just exactly where you'd want it to be. The flakes are on the small side, round and concave from the pressing with little bits of flax seeds in there, too. If you don't like whole flax seeds you might tolerate this better. The oat clusters are sweeter than the flakes but on the whole it's a bit on the dry side. That didn't really bother me, though, since I like to drown my raisin bran in milk anyway. Overall, a worthy addition to my raisin bran lineup. ******* In other, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" news, my brother got his package in time after all (after a nudge to the post offic...

...before I try overnight oatmeal. Which is exactly what happened. It's officially summer and I just can't deal with hot oatmeal this time of year. I've heard of so-called "overnight oatmeal" in the last year or so but it sounded gross and weird to me. So what changed my mind? I found this recipe from Eating Well for  Raspberry Overnight Muesli : vanilla yogurt, rolled oats, fresh raspberries, almonds. I have all of those things. Okay, I'll try it. And it was actually pretty good. It's not quite like eating cold oatmeal--the visual idea of which totally turned me off--but more like eating yogurt with really soggy granola. This is why the raspberries balanced that out texture-wise for me. I can't imagine substituting blueberries; my mind and tongue just can't handle it. And the crunch of the toasted almonds also helps. I'd actually eat this again. Now I'll have to go back through my recipes and see if I clipped/printed any overnight oatm...

1. Putting berries in your yogurt is really, really easy. Extremely easy if you prefer individual containers. Rip lid, add berries, stir, add granola. 2. Berries [or insert fruits of choice here] are filling. I don't eat as much as granola anymore; it just isn't necessary. 3. I especially liked making my own pineapple-coconut yogurt over the packaged kind. More intense flavors. 4. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to kiwi. I knew it was a possibility but I had to try it to find out. 5. This is definitely a challenge I can maintain for the rest of the year. I have no idea what I'll give up next year but I can wait 'til next year to worry about that. Off to make up for my other challenge: printing out recipes!

This week's Lent challenge yogurt is  Pina Colada Yogurt Parfait . I buy the pineapple coconut and toasted coconut vanilla flavors of my yogurt occasionally, so obviously I was going to try this one. And I have to say, it is so much better . The pineapple is more intense, the toasted coconut doesn't lose its toasted flavor once it gets yogurt-soggy, and the vanilla of the yogurt still  manages to come through. It's worth it to take the five minutes to toast the coconut. After Lent is over, this is becoming a regular option for me.

Two weeks ago I woke up early one morning and realized what I should give up for Lent: flavored yogurt. I was so excited I couldn't get back to sleep. I know, food nerd. And the kind I eat doesn't even have that much sugar but still, I like to challenge myself. I combed my recipe files for ideas and also searched online and I decided to start with this one:  Orange Yogurt . Now I've learned that I can't really eat a whole tub of yogurt. I'm better off buying and combining singles to make half of a recipe. Also, I can tell the difference between orange-flavored yogurt and what I made, which tasted like a real orange (of course) and wasn't as sweet. Instead of following the thickening instructions I just bought Greek yogurt, which I guess wasn't readily available when this recipe was originally written. I also didn't add the raisins because I didn't want them sitting in there all week; I just added some to each serving. I'm sure now that I'...

French Toast Crunch  is back.  Why no exclamation point? Because I was never a big fan. I remember being really excited about it the first time around and then disappointed in the actual product. I think the issue was that it didn't taste like my mom's french toast. But why should I have expected that? It wasn't Cerealmom's French Toast Crunch. I think it more closely resembles restaurant-style french toast, which has more of a crispy, almost puffy exterior. And at that point in time, believe it or not, I'd never had french toast in a restaurant (I have since then, at Bob Evans and IHOP). Keeping that in mind, I may have to try a box. Not a priority, though.

So last night I attempted to finish off the blueberries with a  Blueberry Iced Tea  but my brain just couldn't get the recipe to line up with the box instructions. So I basically had to wing it. I think my tea was too weak and I didn't have enough blueberries plus  the recipe doesn't mention any sweetener and I didn't want everybody to have to do it themselves so I added a little bit of sugar. Probably not enough sugar. But I drank it anyway. So did my brother. So there. In other news, I'm almost ashamed to say I only got 17 of 21 right in this  Breakfast Cereal Quiz . I'll tell you right now, Smart Start/Wheaties and Honey Smacks/Golden Crisp are hard to tell apart. How many can you name?

Even though I haven't blogged all the side dishes yet, I still thought I'd wrap this up today. The most important thing I learned is that with a little planning, you don't have to rely so much on boxed sides. This plays to my strengths of plans and lists. Lots of lists. It's a great opportunity to try more grains and eat more vegetables. I hadn't anticipated that part. And since it ended up being not that hard, I don't see a reason to give it up. There's still so many recipes out there--I couldn't possibly get to them all.