Muesli

Here's another hearty breakfast for a winter morning. I had trouble finding a vegan cereal to replace Wheaties, which were called for in the original recipe, but which contain non-vegan sugar. Oddly enough, whole wheat flake cereals seem to be lacking among the organic brands. The closest I found were the Organic Spelt Flakes from Arrowhead Mills, since spelt is simply a form of wheat.

So in a large bowl, combine 1 cup whole wheat flake cereal (such as Arrowhead Mills' spelt flakes), 1 cup rolled oats, 3/4 cup slivered almonds, 2/3 cup dried cranberries, 2/3 cup chopped pitted dates, 1/2 cup wheat germ, 1/2 cup chopped dried figs, 1/4 cup coconut (toast it first, if you like), 1/4 cup oat bran, 2 tablespoons sunflower seed kernels, 1/4 tsp. ground ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 cup organic brown sugar.

You have several options and variants for making the cereal from this step on. First, decide whether you want to make it all at once, or keep single portions in zip-lock bags for individual use. If opting for the single serving variety, use about 6 tablespoons soy milk for 3/4 cup dried cereal; you'll have 7 servings total, and you can also make it all in one batch.

Your other option is whether to make it crunchy or creamy, like oatmeal. If you like your cereal crunchy, simply pour the soy milk over the cereal just before serving. For a more oatmeal-like consistency, add the soy milk the night before, and let stand overnight. In the morning, you can decide whether you want to eat it cold or warmed up in the microwave!

6 tablespoons soy milk plus 3/4 cup dry cereal is a serving of 370 calories.

Note: bulk bins in your grocery store are your friend for recipes like this, which call for a variety of grains, dried fruits, and nuts!

Here's the muesli in a jar with the soy milk to soak it overnight.


Cost:
whole wheat flake cereal $4.39
slivered almonds $2.69
pitted dates $1.25
wheat germ $2.99
dried figs $5.49
sunflower seeds $0.59