Hot Cereal Mix Recipe

Want an easy, yummy hot breakfast? Try this hot cereal mix.

I love the idea of something warm and filling on a cold winter morning and especially needed something when camping. My boyfriend loves hot cereals, but I've always detested oatmeal and most hot breakfast cereals because of their textures. This cereal mixture is my solution.

Everyone loves it and it takes only minutes to put together. This hot cereal fills you and the kids up for hours.

Eat this and have a good start to your day, whether it's starting from home or out in the woods.

It was tough to write this recipe down. I don't measure much and what goes into this cereal is usually whatever is available. Don't worry about exact proportions on this recipe, make it fit your family and what they like to eat.

The base of this recipe is Grape Nuts cereal and granola. To that I add healthy mix-ins and things to make it taste yummy. Adding some dry milk adds calcium without having to worry about having fresh milk around and adding sweetener makes it simple to pour and go.

When you first look at this cereal mixture it may seem a bit expensive. A box of Grape Nuts and a box of granola, plus all the add-ins can add up, but it actually works out to be fairly cheap.

The portions are dense and packed with nutrients, the portion sizes are small, so you get a lot of cereal and a lot of servings for very little.

I usually pour all the ingredients into a bag, like one from the produce section at the grocery store, and just mix it together like that. But other times I pour the ingredients into a large bowl and stir it together. The dry milk and the sweetener will sift toward the bottom if you shake it too much, just do it enough to mix it.

Add whatever ingredients you want to your cereal mixture. I always start with Grape Nuts and granola, then add sugar and dry milk, but everything else varies depending upon what I have available.

When I first started making this I would often be on my way to go camping and would just stop at the grocery store that had bins that sold many of the supplies per pound and I just got what I would consider enough of each ingredient, then when I went outside I would shake them all up into one bag and would shove it into my camping cook box. It was quick and easy and it always tastes great.

Base Ingredients can be:

• Grape Nuts
• Granola
• Instant Oatmeal (opt)

Pour base ingredients together into the big bowl.

Add about 3 cups of Grape Nuts and 2 cups of granola. If you want, you can add some instant oatmeal too.

The base of my hot cereal mix is Grape Nuts and granola.

Grape Nuts are a nice, solid add-in.

They're filling and nutty and add a nice texture.

They're also what gave me the idea for this cereal. I saw an advertisement for eating Grape Nuts hot in the morning and found it delicious.

Granola is always tasty and delicious.

I use whatever granola I can find and am in the mood for, sometimes I'll use a couple of varieties to make an interesting flavor. It's a great way to add a great flavor.

Organic is of course better.

Make this cereal healthier by adding nutritious add-ins such as flaxseeds, wheat germ, and Brewer's Yeast.

If you only add a touch of the add-ins you'll add lots of healthiness and your family won't even notice.

Healthy add-in ingredients:

• Flaxseed
• Hemp Seed
• Wheat Germ
• Brewer's Yeast

Add whatever add-ins you wish. About a tablespoon of each of your choices.

Flaxseed is a great source of fiber, Omega-3s, lignans, and helps stabilize blood-sugar levels.

Only use a small amount of flaxseed in the beginning if you are unused to it since it can cause gas with its high fiber content.

Use already ground flaxseed or flaxseed meal, or grind the flaxseed with a coffee grinder before using it.

Hemp seed has:

• All the known 21 amino acids
• Including the 9 essential amino acids humans need to survive
• Omega-3s
• Omega-6s
• Linoleic Acid
• Alpha-Linolenic Acid
• Lots of Protein

Get shelled hemp seed so you can digest it.

Brewer's yeast is a very easy way to add lots of B vitamins and essential minerals to your cereal. It has nearly all the B vitamins, chromium, and protein.

Only add a small amount until you are used to it, Brewer's yeast can cause some gas if you are unused to it.

Brewer's yeast helps lower blood glucose levels in diabetics, helps prevent colds and the flu, even swine flu. It helps with pms and acne and boils. Brewer's yeast even helps with diarrhea.

Wheat germ has loads of good stuff including:

• Vitamin E
• Folic Acid
• Thiamin
• Zinc
• Lots of Fatty Acids
• Lots of Fiber

It's easy to add a shake of wheat germ to the cereal and boost the nutrient level way up.

Just go easy until you're used to it, all that fiber can give you gas.

Good nuts and seeds to add to the cereal:

• Slivered Almonds
• Chopped Peanuts
• Chopped Walnuts
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Sunflower Seeds

Add 1/2 cup of whatever nuts or seeds you like, if you wish to add any.

I like to add several types so I get a bit more texture and some great, long-lasting protein.

Any nuts or seeds you like will work, I tend to add more almonds than anything, with a scattering of sunflower seeds and chopped peanuts. Just figure out what you like and add it.

You can make this cereal without nuts if you're allergic to nuts, though you might consider putting in some seeds for protein.

Pumpkin seeds are good sources of lots of good stuff including:

• Iron
• Protein
• Copper
• Potassium
• Manganese
• Magnesium

Buy raw pumpkin seeds so they're healthier, and make sure they are already shelled since they're a pain in the butt to shell by hand.

Sunflower seeds have:

• Linoleic Acid
• Fiber
• Vitamin E
• Several Vitamin Bs
• Amino Acids
• Folic Acid

They are supposed to help with blood-sugar and cholesterol levels.

Buy them preshelled and not toasted.

Good dried fruit to add to your cereal includes:

• Raisins
• Craisins
• Dried Blueberries
• Dried Apple Bits
• Dried Berries
• Dried Mixed Fruit Bits
• Dried Mulberries

Add 1/2 cup or more of dried fruit of your choice.

Dried fruit of all sorts tastes great in this cereal mix. I'll usually add a little bit of everything so there will be at least one meal where I'll be getting balanced nutrition.

Raisins are always good, whether dark or golden. I love dried blueberries and cranberries. Mulberries, blackberries, cherries, they all taste good. Small fruits are better since this is such a quick cereal to prepare, but if I want to something special I'll soak some of the heavier fruit overnight and toss it in. Mangos, strawberries, apples, bananas, they all taste great. Or you can also just mince up the bigger dried fruits into smaller pieces.

Raisins are always good in cereal, whether dark or golden.

I prefer the rich taste of dark raisins in my cereal.

Since raisins are very heavily treated with chemicals, organic is almost a requirement to make sure they are nice and healthy.

What dried fruit I use in my cereal varies, but I almost always add raisins because with mixing together my own cereal I can add however many raisins that I want, more than just two scoops even.

Cranberries are great for bladder and kidney health.

They have polyphenol antioxidants too, which might help fight cancer and is good for the immune system.

They also have:

• Vitamin C
• Manganese
• Fiber

Mulberries have loads of antioxidants, including resveratrol which is the famous extremely healthy one in red wine.

• Anthocyanins
• Vitamin C
• Iron
• Calcium
• Fiber
• Protein

It's best to get organic mulberries since they're often heavily covered in pesticides otherwise.

Blueberries also contain resveratrol, that good-for-you-stuff in wine and are supposed to help with cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

They also have:

• Lots of micronutrients
• Vitamin K
• Vitamin C
• Fiber

The best thing about mixing up your own cereal is that you can add whatever you want to it. Who are they to decide that you can't have raisins and chocolate chips, or blueberries, almonds, and vanilla?

Add in extra yummy flavors to make your cereal taste the way you want it to taste.

Flavor add-ins:

• Mini Chocolate Chips
• Cacoa Nibs
• Peanut Butter Chips
• Dark Chocolate Pieces
• Carob Chips
• Coconut Flakes

If you wish, add some extra goodies, about 1/2 cup.

One of the best parts of this cereal is that you can just add hot water to make it.

The key is adding powdered milk. Powdered milk makes this cereal able to be kept in the cupboard or the camping chuck box without refrigeration, and with no fuss.

How many times have you gone to make cereal and found out the milk is gone or has gone bad? You can easily just make some of this cereal instead and be ready to go.

When you add powdered milk it is re-hydrated with the water and becomes nice and milky.

Add about 2 1/2 cups dry milk.

• Dry Lowfat Milk
• Dry Nonfat Milk
• Dry Vegan Options

Milk makes the hot cereal taste better and gives you some extra calcium and is great for giving you that long lasting full feeling.

Using dry milk products means this cereal is shelf-stable and only needs water to be made. So much easier than the alternatives.

I hate having to drag regular milk along while camping or worry about having it in my fridge all the time.

If you are vegan add a vegan dry milk powder to your cereal instead or regular dry milk.

It should exchange with regular milk powder just fine, but since I haven't tried it I'd suggest trying the soy milk powder before adding it directly to this cereal mixture.

It may not mix up the same as regular milk powder so you may need to add more or less of it to your cereal to have to taste right.

Use whatever sweetener you are comfortable with. I prefer sugar, so that's what I use, but if you would rather have something lower in calories or more natural, feel free to add alternatives instead.

Suggested sweeteners:

• Sugar
• Stevia
• Truvia
• Sweet'n'Low
• Powdered Agave
• Granulated Honey

Add whatever sweetener you use, I use sugar about 3/4 cup but your how much you use will depend upon your chosen sweetener and how sweet you like your cereal. I like things pretty sweet.

If you're really unsure, just leave the sweetener out and add it at the table.

Sprinkle some of these honey granules into your cereal mix for a lovely taste and the sweetness of honey.

A natural sweetener is always nice, and granulated honey is wonderful to use.

They're so much simpler to use than regular honey too.

The hot cereal is inherently vegetarian, but you can even make it vegan by leaving out the dry milk and any honey and choosing mix-ins that come from vegan sources.

There are several additional spices and flavorings that are nice to add in. What I choose varies with my mood and the seasons. I adore pumpkin pie spice in the fall, and vanilla would be so good at Christmas.

• Cinnamon
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Ground Cloves
• Powdered Vanilla Extract
• Powdered Peanut Butter

Top the cereal with spices if you wish, sometimes I'll add a bit of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice or powdered vanilla extract to give it a nice flavor.

About a couple of teaspoons is about right depending upon how much flavor your granola already has.

I think the next batch I'm going to try the powdered peanut butter I've been hearing about. Probably a couple of tablespoons of that would be good.

I haven't tried it added to the cereal yet, but powdered peanut butter would be great to add some flavor that will spread throughout the cereal.

It's also a good source of added protein and nutrients.

Part of the reason I like this cereal so much is that it really makes a food start to the day and gives you energy to keep going for hours even on cold days.

This powdered peanut butter is low in calories and high in protein and a perfect thing to add to cereal or a smoothie to have alongside your cereal.

Not a normal ingredient in my cereal, simply because I rarely have it around, but powdered vanilla is a great way to add vanilla flavor to the cereal.

Yum! Vanilla is so tasty and a refreshing flavor.

Just sprinkle a small dusting in to the mix and enjoy.

This cereal is easy to make organic since most of the ingredients are readily available in organic versions.

Pour the cereal mixture into airtight storage containers.

For camping I usually just use a ziplock bag, but at home I have some nice cereal storage containers. This cereal mixture makes a lot and lasts a while, so if your family likes it it's worth investing in some storage containers.

This cereal mixture doesn't need to be stored in the refrigerator, I just leave it in the cupboard since it's shelf-stable, but if you take a long time to eat it or your house is very warm you may want to keep it in the fridge.

I have had problems with getting weevils coming in from the nuts and stuff, so lately I've been keeping it in the fridge more often.

The next morning you want a filling and warm breakfast, pour about 3/4 cup or so of the cereal mix into a bowl. The cereal is very filling, so don't overestimate how hungry you are.

Heat some water until just above comfortable drinking temperature. Pour about 1/4 cup over the cereal mixture. You want enough to moisten it without making it too soupy. This isn't the breakfast cereal where you have to fill the bowl with liquid, though my boyfriend adds quite a bit to his.

Stir the cereal so it gets evenly moist and let it sit for about 20 seconds so it can get wet. Then enjoy!

The milk re-hydrates, the sweeteners melts, and the spices release their flavors.

This cereal is warm and filling and great on a cold day, though you can also have it cold any time.

The picture above shows the cereal after hot water was added and it soaked for a few seconds.

I usually make a little extra hot water so I can easily make some hot tea as well.

Cold days are perfect with a bowl of hot cereal and a cup or warm, sweet tea.

Love hot cereal on a cold morning? Do you like healthy cereal? Homemade hot cereal? Gonna make this and try some on your next cold morning? Leave a comment down below and let us know :)