Hale and hearty cereals

Natural Health, March-April, 1998 by Jack Bishop

Using basmati rice, cornmeal and other complex carbohydrates, breakfast porridges give you steady energy until lunchtime.

Homemade whole-grain breakfast cereals, unlike the processed grains and refined sugars found in most boxed cereals, are packed with complex carbohydrates. Your body uses complex carbohydrates slowly, and the energy they give you burns like a steady flame through the morning. Processed grains and sugars, may be great for a morning liftoff, but they're often followed by an energy nosedive.

In addition to steady energy, these wholesome cereals supply your diet with a serious dose of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. And we're not talking dull cream of wheat or bland oatmeal. Our inventive recipes--such as Creamy Cornmeal and Pumpkin Porridge and Rosy Cracked Wheat Cereal--combine sweet fruits and berries, crunchy nuts, and distinctive spices in ways you've never seen before.

Before you make our recipes, consider these cereal-making tips:

* Toasting whole grains brings out their flavor. Saute steel-cut oats or cracked wheat in a drop of oil before simmering them in liquid. Or toast grains in the oven at a relatively low temperature (no higher than 350 degrees).

* Use a nonstick saucepan to cook all hot cereals. Porridges almost always stick and bum in conventional pots and pans. A nonstick surface ensures perfect results and minimizes clean-up time.

* Think about using flavorful liquids to make hot cereals. You may be used to eating porridge made with water, which makes it bland. juices (apple, cranberry) or milks (rice, almond, or soy) complement the flavor of most whole grains and add sweetness, making hot grain cereals seem more like breakfast and less like a sidedish at dinner. Oat and rice milks have a faint flavor of the grain they are made from and are an excellent choice in cereals using the same grain. Almond milk has a rich nutty flavor that works well in any cereal with nuts and will accentuate the nuttiness in a relatively bland cereal, such as couscous.

* Use warm, earthy spices like cinnamon and ginger to flavor hot and cold cereals. Or add dried fruits and nuts for both flavor and nutrition.

* Finally, a drizzle of maple syrup or honey will make every hot cereal more inviting.

APRICOT GRANOLA WITH ALMONDS Serves 9

Most granola is loaded with oil. Instead, I use apricot nectar boiled down to a thick syrup to bind the oats together. Dried fruit is an essential addition to granola, but it can make the oats soggy over time. To remove some of the moisture from the dried apricots used in this recipe, I add them to the granola in the oven during the last few minutes of baking.

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
for pans
2       cups apricot nectar
1/2     cup honey
1       teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2     teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2     teaspoon salt
7       cups rolled oats
3/4     cup sliced almonds
1 1/2   cups dried apricots,
        chopped