"I Care" Breakfasts

Granola

(Baked)

2 cups quick rolled oats

1 cup toasted wheat germ
3 T sesame seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
 ¾ cup slivered almonds
¾ cup raisins
½ cup chopped dates
 ¼ teas cinnamon
Dash cloves
Dash ginger
1/3 cup canola oil
¾ cup honey
½ teas vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients together. Coat a ¾ cup measuring cup with the canola oil and empty any extra into a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Add the canola oil to fill the 1/3 cup measuring cup and add to the granola. Now fill the ¾ cup measuring cup with honey and add to the granola. This is a trick to easily add a sticky ingredient such as honey, molasses, maple syrup, etc and allow it to all slide out of the cup easily. Add the vanilla and mix well.

Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes depending on how crisp you want the granola. Stir well after 15 minutes and after 30 minutes. After you remove the granola from the oven, stir well again.  Stir after cooled 10 minutes. You do not want the granola to cool and stick to the pan so stir periodically until cool enough to store in an air tight container.

Granola I

Serve the Granola with milk like cereal.

Granola II

Alternate Granola, lemon yogurt or lemon Greek yogurt, and fresh blueberries.

Gourmet Oatmeal

1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
¾ cup water
½ apple, chopped
1 heaping T raisins
 ¼ teas cinnamon
¼ teas salt
Pinch of ginger
Pure maple syrup

In a small bowl for a microwave, stir together all ingredients except maple syrup. Microwave at 50%, covered with a piece of wax paper, for 5 – 6 minutes or until the oatmeal has absorbed all the liquid. Serve with maple syrup and milk as you like.

Oatmeal & Quinoa Hot Cereal

(Prep the night before)

½ cup dried fruit (dates, cranberries, cherries, etc)

½ cut old-fashioned oats
½ cup rinsed quinoa
¼ cup raisins
1 teas salt
½ teas cinnamon
¼ teas cardamom

Bring all ingredients and 4 cups water to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit over night. In the morning, heat covered until heated through and the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.  Serve with maple syrup and milk as desired.

Simple Hot Oatmeal

(Fast before work)

Stir in a microwave safe cereal bowl: ½ cup quick cooking oats sprinkled with a heaping tablespoon of raisins, and 1 cup water, Cover with wax paper. Microwave for 1 ½ minutes on high. Let sit one minute. Serve with brown sugar or maples syrup, and milk as desired.