
My favorite food as a teenager was cereal. Fruity Pebbles for breakfast, Cocoa Pebbles for dinner (even though my mother cooked dinner for us, I preferred cereal!..bad bad bad). But I realized I needed to cut back on my sugary cereals since I was quite overweight so I switched to Smart Start and Post Blueberry Morning. Man, I loved that stuff!
POST BLUEBERRY MORNING INGREDIENTS: Rice, Sugar, Dried Blueberries [Blueberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Glycerol, Safflower Oil, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Natural Flavor], Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Whole Grain Wheat, Degermed Yellow Corn Meal, Brown Sugar, High Oleic Vegetable Oil (Canola Or Sunflower Oil), Almonds, Rice Flour, Salt, Malted Corn and Barley Syrup, Corn Syrup, Whey (from Milk), Caramel Color, Artificial Flavor, Natural Flavor, Bht Added to Packaging Material to Preserve Product Freshness. Vitamins and Minerals. Niacinamide, Reduced Iron, Zinc Oxide (Source of Zinc), Vitamin B6, Vitamin A Palmitate, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D.
The blueberries found in blueberry muffin mixes, cereals and baked goods are just dried REAL blueberries right? NOPE! The little blue bites of tasty goodness are nothing but hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, and sugar.
"HEALTHIFIED" CEREAL
1/3 cup erythritol (or Swerve)
1 tsp stevia glycerite (omit if using Swerve)
1/3 cup crushed almonds/pecans/walnuts
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup JAY ROBB vanilla whey protein (or egg white protein)
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
1 tsp pure organic blueberry extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (170 degrees C). Combine 1/3 cup erythritol and stevia glycerite (or Swerve), 1/3 cup crushed nuts, almond flour, whey, blueberry extract and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter with fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place on a cookie sheet with defined edges or the butter will leak off. Bake for 12-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and gently stir while still hot. Let cool in the cookie tin (it will crisp up A LOT). Break pieces apart and enjoy with unsweetened almond milk. Makes 4 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Post Cereal = 220 calories, 3g fat, 3g protein, 45 carbs, 2g fiber
"Healthified" Cereal = 220 calories, 9.2 g protein, 18g fat, 4g carbs, 2 g fiber
MILK COMPARISON (per cup)
Skim Milk = 90 calories, 13g carbs, 13g sugar
Unsweetened Almond milk = 35 calories, 1g carb, 0g sugar
SWEETENER TIPS (more information in The Art of Eating Healthy)
My recipes will call for erythritol and stevia glycerite. I use these separate to help keep my costs down. In any recipe you can use Swerve, ZSweet, Truvia, Organic Zero, Xylitol or Just Like Sugar. In order to use a different product, use the same amount of sweetener for the amount of erythritol in the recipe and omit the stevia (except for Organic Zero, that is only erythritol and you will still need stevia for sweetness). TIP: Most people report that ZSweet is their favorite for sweeteness!
Note: You can click HERE to find healthy natural sweeteners.
1 cup erythritol and 1 tsp stevia = 1 cup ZSweet
1 cup erythritol and 1 tsp stevia = 1 cup Truvia
1 cup erythritol and 1 tsp stevia = 1 cup Xylitol
1 cup erythritol and 1 tsp stevia = 1 cup Just Like Sugar
1 cup erythritol and 1 tsp stevia = 1 cup Organic Zero and 1 tsp stevia
Maria can we use dehydrated blueberries or other dehydrated fruit in this recipe or can we use thawed frozen fruit as when it is thawed the juice comes out ?
ReplyDeleteYou could use fresh. Dried fruit is glorified candy.
ReplyDeleteLove the sweetner tips, exactly what has been on my mind lately!
ReplyDeletehow do you store this? airtight container on the counter?
ReplyDeleteI store it in an air tight container.
DeleteEnjoy!
Can't wait to try this!!
ReplyDeleteShould we worry about fat content? I am trying to work in healthier options, but I have always been geared to look at fat grams...often healthier versions have a higher fat count...is there a magic number to stay under for the day?
ReplyDeleteWhy don't I list the fat? The ‘secret’ is to control leptin and insulin hormones. Any diet that stops blood sugar and insulin spikes also allows the cells to regain sensitivity to the noteworthy anti-aging, weight and hunger-regulating hormone called leptin. The hardest part is to get my clients to not be afraid of fat because it is almost impossible to obtain this effect without significant amounts of fat in the diet. High protein alone doesn’t work because excess protein will also turn to sugar. Low fat, high protein diets will fail to keep your blood sugar from spiking, and will not allow your leptin hormone to increase. Ron Rosedale, MD, author of The Rosedale Diet and a pioneering scientist on the hormone leptin, states, “If you don’t get enough fat, you will likely eat too much protein, which then turns to sugar.” To read more, check out my book Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism. http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/1451555946
ReplyDeleteWow beautiful. So wish I wasn't allergic to almonds. Makes recipes SO hard!!! Love your blog and your work!
ReplyDeleteMaria, I think I am going to get your book and encourage my mom to as well! She has so much trouble with diets and losing weight while going through menopause. I just love this way of eating!
ReplyDeleteThanks girl! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant! Can't wait to try to see if my husband will eat in lieu of "traditional" cereals! Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary! You will LOVE it!
DeleteI made this today with a cherry extract. Had it tonight as a snack...I am doing the happy dance!!! Have missed cereal so much. Thank you, Maria.
ReplyDeleteThis one's a must.
I made this today with a cherry extract. Had it tonight as a snack...I am doing the happy dance!!! Have missed cereal so much. Thank you, Maria.
ReplyDeleteThis one's a must.
Thanks Susan!!!
DeleteI made this yesterday and mine doesn't look anything like yours. Mine is very dark brown and it seems kinda oily. It is not crunchy at all. It is good though. I do not see how you get 9 serving out of it. It did not make that much. I must of done something wrong. I am thinking I will mix it in yogurt. Any thoughts??
ReplyDeleteOpps! All fixed! Only 4 servings!!!:))
ReplyDeleteHappy Eating!
The butter/oil will settle out and be oily at first, but once it cools, the butter settles in and makes the product VERY crunchy.
ReplyDeleteI made it last night. It turned out quite dark (although I pulled it out after only about 10 minutes), but also, it didn't make that much- only about 1 1/2 cups total. I don't see how that translates into 9 servings unless you have less than 1/4 cup per serving. Can you help?! It tasted good, but didn't look anything close to what is in your picture.
ReplyDeleteIt is only 4 servings;)
DeleteSorry- when you first posted the recipe it said 9 servings, not 4, so that threw me off.
ReplyDeleteOh - my - Word! This is the best stuff I have put in my mouth in one year. (I have been low carb for one year now) It was even wonderful before I baked it. : )
ReplyDeleteThank you Cavie Family! You are too sweet;)
DeleteI tried it too, way dark after 10 minutes and seems almost burnt---can't figure it out, but it tastes good. Is it 1/3 cup of each kind of nut?????
ReplyDeleteSorry--see now that it was changed to 300 degress instead of 350. Thanks--can't wait to try it again!
ReplyDeleteMade the cereal this morning and am now eating it for lunch. It's DELICIOUS! I used crushed almonds and instead of vanilla, used maple flavoring. I've missed cereal so much! And now to be eating this wonderful and healthy cereal is pure joy!
ReplyDeleteNext time will try pecans, but will keep maple flavoring. Also, I'll use less sweetener.
Thanks so much for all your work, recipes, etc. You're a gem!
Mary Landis
I made this and it was amazing, but mine never came together it stayed really crumbly. Did I not add enough butter or did I not bake it long enough?
ReplyDeleteI made this this morning to put on my yogurt and it's another hit!!! Next time I'm going to convert it to choc hazelnut!
ReplyDeleteSarah
Good idea! :)
Delete