Food Storage Friday: Cracked Wheat Cereal

The holiday busy-iness is catching up to me so I'm late with my Food Storage Friday post.  Before I get started on this delicious recipe, Hannah and I would like to wish you all a very

 

Merry Christmas!  

Thanks for being such wonderful readers and we'll see you all after the New Year!

A while ago, I discovered a great new blog Word of Wisdom Living.  The author, Skip Hellewell, writes about the importance of healthy living and shares a few great recipes. For those of you not of Mormon faith, this blog would be a great resource to help you understand what that Word of Wisdom thing is all about.

The recipe, Breakfast Compote, is basically a cracked wheat (hot) cereal, and let me tell you, it's delicious and easy to make.

Start the night before by putting hot water and the cracked wheat in a pot.

I bought my cracked wheat from a specialty baking store, but I know you can get it at natural food stores and in some grocery stores. If you have an old school wheat grinder, you can adjust the stones (that grind the wheat) to grind it only slightly, making cracked wheat.

Cover your pot and leave it to soak overnight.

This cereal can be eaten very simply with just brown sugar, which is how my kids eat it, or you can gussy it up.

Turn the stove on high heat and bring the wheat/water mixture to a boil.

And add the oatmeal,

Stir and turn off heat, and let it sit for 5 minutes. That's it! You're done cooking. Even faster than oatmeal (not instant oatmeal of course!).

Nuts (pecans are delicious, these are walnuts), ground flax, apples, orange juice

If your kids are like mine, they like simple simple, without a lot of mix-ins. And so they eat their cereal with just brown sugar, like they eat their oatmeal. But I love the add-ins that Skip suggests in his recipe. 

Toast the nuts by putting them in a pan and having the heat on low, shaking every so often. It doesn't take too long, but toasting the nuts pulls the bitterness out of them, which (I think) is very important for walnuts.

Add the flax to a bowl

And the brown sugar (I only need a teaspoon for this cereal)

And spoon the hot cereal on top

Add your toppings: chopped apples and toasted walnuts, divine!

Squeeze a little orange juice for the top, this is a great use for the tangerines you bought that you thought were seedless clementines.

Pour a little juice over top and mix it all together.

What you have is a delicious and healthy breakfast alternative to oatmeal. Absolutely yummy.

Be sure to make this after the holidays when you have eaten too much sugar and just want something healthy in your tummy.



Cracked Wheat Cereal
Word of Wisdom Living

2 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup cracked wheat
1/2 cup oats

optional toppings: brown sugar, ground flax seed, toasted nuts, chopped fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice

The night before, put hot water and cracked wheat cereal in a pot and cover. In the morning, bring the mixture to a boil and add the oats. Turn off the heat and let sit for five minutes.  Divide cereal into four bowls and add the toppings and sweeteners you wish. ENJOY!