I have wonderful parents, but I know, deeply, that they have scarred me in two ways:
1. They never let me have a dog
2. They never let me eat sugary cereal
In our house, the morning cereal routine was Grape Nuts drizzled with a little honey or sprinkled with cinnamon. At ten years old, that was about as appetizing as a bowl of kitty litter (the texture was about the same, too).
I remember going over to my friends’ houses and throwing open their pantry doors to reveal vast treasure troves of Fruity Pebbles, Cap’n Crunch, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, and my all-time favorite Rice Krispie Treat Cereal—not to be confused with its lamer, dowdier cousin (regular old) Rice Krispies.
Much like ice cream flavors, I could never pick just one. So, I spent loads of time (and calories) devising the perfect combination of cereals: Golden Grahams on top of Corn Pops on top of Frosted Mini Wheat creates an unparalleled flavor-texture combination, and Rice Krispie Treat cereal is even better in the milk-chocolaty wake of Cocoa Puffs.
But over the years, deprived as I was of a daily and deliciously anti-nutritious bowl of (almost) pure sugar, I got used to Grape Nuts, Cheerios, and All Bran, and inevitably used less and less honey. (In retrospect, I am thankful for this, but don’t tell my parents because I need a few more years to play the ‘I was so deprived’ card.)
And then one morning I tried to read all the ingredients on the back of the Raisin Bran box…and failed. So, I switched to organic cereal. And then I started paying for my own groceries, and realized that 12 ounces of the cereal that I like costs about $4.00 and lasts maaaaaybe a week. Now that really puts the ‘gold’ in Golden Grahams.
So, I’ve resolved to make my own cereal. Who knows if it will actually be cheaper once I buy oats and nuts and dried fruit, but its bound to taste better, and I can sweeten it (or not sweeten it) just the way I like it.
I am starting with this granola, but please pass along any good recipes you have. I am fickle about food—in other words, I get obsessed with one thing for a while and then leave it behind—so I am going to need options!
Glad to know I’m not the only one who gets obsessed with one food and then leave it behind. I’ve done that with sugar-frosted corn flakes (many years ago), Raisin Bran Crunch and currently on Fiber One. I love Pam’s Granola from her Losing Weight cookbook but it’s a special treat–not a daily option.
I was similarly scarred – we weren’t allowed any type of cereal. My mother insisted on a hot breakfast – eggs and toast, oatmeal from scratch, and so forth. What was she thinking??!! 😉
You forgot to mention we didn’t have cable either. But I always figured you’d get your fill of sugary cereals, bad TV, silly movies, and dogs at your friends houses.
And don’t worry, you can continue to use the I-was-deprived card a few more years.. or at least until you have your own kids.
Thanks so much for the recipe…I now have two kid’s of my own and have decided that I am going to try to make as much from scratch for them as possible (and considering that when my son wants pizza, he insists on my pizza..I think it is working.) I am going to see how the kid’s like this treasure! Thanks, again!
We had Grape Nuts and shredded wheat… that was pretty much it growing up. I will admit that now my PMS food of choice is a bowl of Golden Grahams OR Captain Crunch! I NEVER had anything like that as a child 🙂
Of course, now that I have children, I’m acting more and more like my mom when it comes to breakfast!
I love that this whole conversation is started! My husband is allergic to corn syrup and I don’t like sugary stuff anyway, so I’ve been making our own granola for a couple years now.
On an interesting side note, Grape Nuts is the only brand that makes a whole grain flake.
Last week I decided to try and come up with a recipe for Golden Grahams, because they are a guilty pleasure, but I’m trying to be better. They came out pretty decent. Not super sweet, and we haven’t actually tried them with milk yet, but they are quite snackable and didn’t last long.
Let me know what you guys think. I’m still tweaking and would appreciate suggestions.
Graham Cereal Snacks
2c. Whole Wheat Flour
2T. Wheat Germ
1/2t. salt
1t. Baking Powder
1t. Cinnamon
2T. Non-fat Dry Milk Powder
3T. Brown Sugar
1/3c. Vegetable Shortening (which I may be replacing with 1/4c. Canola Oil)
1/2c. Water
1/2t. Vanilla
1T. Honey
Preheat oven to 350F
1. Combine the first 7 ingredients and set aside.
2. Combine water, vanilla and honey and set aside.
3. Add the shortening or oil to the dry ingredients and blend with a fork or pastry blender until it is all uniform in texture and there are no lumps. Add the liquid ingredients and mix everything together until you have a sticky ball of dough. Divide in half.
4. Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a light coating of oil. Roll out 1/2 of dough on each until it is as thin as you can get it. Use all purpose flour sparingly, and brush off any excess before baking. Use a pizza cutter, if you have one, and cut the dough into 1″ squares.
5. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until they start to get brown. Let them cool on the cookie sheets and break apart.
Good Luck!!
Your recipe sounds great, Therese. We’ll surely give it a try.
We had the grape nuts growing up, but the other option was puffed wheat or puffed rice. Hope to try Therese’s recipe this weekend.