I’ve recently been on a mission to find something yummy for breakfast that was extremely cost effective. I’m happy to say that I’ve finally found it!

I had been using Bob’s Red Mill Hot and Tasty Breakfast cereal when I first went gluten and dairy free. Its really good! But its $4 for a small bag that lasted about a week to 2 weeks. But that’s with having very small portions. So good, but not cost effective.

I posted earlier my amaranth breakfast cereal that used whole grain amaranth. That was good but in a weird way. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked it! But I think I would prefer that less as an ‘everyday thing’ and more as a treat sometimes. The other reason I wouldn’t want to eat that too often – amaranth grains aren’t much cheaper than buying Bob’s Red Mill Hot and Tasty Breakfast cereal.

So… what to do, what to do. I was digging around in my cupboard one Sunday (two ago actually) and noticed I had a neglected bag of white rice. (I very rarely use white rice anymore, brown or wild is so much better for you!) But being the non-wasteful person that I am, I came up with this recipe. It’s pretty yummy, I must admit. And I don’t think I need to tell you how cheap it is in comparison.

The other great part is that is has a similar consistency to oatmeal. And for someone who used to eat oatmeal everyday for breakfast, that’s a pretty sweet gluten free deal!

You may never see another breakfast cereal recipe from me on this blog. THAT’S how much I love this! Except maybe when I try it with a healthier type of rice : )

Sweet Rice Breakfast Cereal

Ingredients:

2 cups white rice
4 cups water
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, cook rice and water until the water is mostly gone (essentially you’re making sticky rice at this stage). It should take about 15 minutes on medium for this stage. Make sure to stir occasionally to keep the rice from sticking to the pan.

Once its cooked, turn off the heat. Add the soy milk, pecans, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix until its blended.

Makes about 6 servings.

I use those little 1 cup ziploc containers and stick my six servings in the fridge. One for each work day and then one extra for when I feel like it. Or Saturday if it’ll last that long : )

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This post is linked to Friday Foodie Fix, Simply Hot Recipes, Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap, and Foodie Friday.

Okay, so… breakfast is a challenge for me. I’m at work by 7am every morning. And I can’t eat at 6am, my body just can’t take eating too early. Luckily I can eat at my desk, so I do breakfast while working. Although that’s limiting of course. So I’ve gotten a system down of cooking a breakfast cereal, dividing it up into 5 different mini tupperware containers, and then grabbing one out of the fridge each day. I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free ‘Hot and Tasty Breakfast Cereal’ which is yummy. I also tried a ton of different variations with grits (not so in love with any of those). But I felt like trying something different. So this week I cooked Whole Grain Amaranth to use as a breakfast cereal.

Its hard to describe. Earthy maybe? That makes it sound bad; like you’re gnawing on a hunk of sod… :D Its got a weird texture too, but its not a bad texture. Its soft but also has a small crunch feeling to it. Long story short – I liked it, but I didn’t like it plain. So this recipe is how I made it work for me. And I’ll been eating it everyday this week!

Ingredients:

1 cup whole grain amaranth
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon butter flavor extract (unless you can use real butter, that would probably be tasty!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut
5 drops liquid stevia
Chopped pecans and unsweetened dessicated coconut for ‘garnish’

Instructions:

Boil the 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan. As soon as you seen signs of boiling, add the whole grain amaranth. Once you come to a rolling boil, turn the heat down to medium. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Its actually really fun to watch it cook because for most of the time the grains are all separate. I’ll be honest, I had doubts as to whether they were going to actually fuse! But they did. You’ll know they’re ready when the water seems to miraculously disappear and you’re left with mush (oh boy, I’m really making this sound awesome aren’t I?). At that point add your extracts and stevia. Mix those in first before you mix in the coconut.

At that point I spoon the cereal out into containers, then I covered the tops with some coconut and chopped pecans. This is obvious from the recipe, but it makes about 3 cups. I find it makes perfect 1 serving amounts for my 5 containers. If you’re brave and aren’t afraid to experience a different texture for your breakfast, give this a try!

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This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free.

I find that eating without gluten, dairy, or sugar can be pretty easy when I’m only cooking for myself. But its extremely challenging when other people are involved. Not because they don’t like what I make without those ingredients, quiet the opposite really. The biggest challenge I find is making ENOUGH of something that doesn’t break my budget. I eat a very small amount of food at a time, so one or two small items usually will make up the whole meal. But family, friends, and especially The Boy eat really big portions.

Long story short, this is a quick, easy, filling, and relatively inexpensive way to feed other people for breakfast. It was about $6 worth of ingredients. And I can still eat it too! Gone (for at least this meal :-/) are the days of two different dishes, one for me and one for them. Combined with one package of turkey bacon and 8 diced/roasted potatoes, this fed 6 hungry people!

Ingredients:

2 medium green peppers
2 medium white onions
1 can of mushrooms, drained
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 eggs
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoons italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
6 or 7 shakes of black pepper

Heat saucepan on medium to medium/high with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Coarsely chop the 2 onions and add them to the pan. Do the same with the peppers, adding them to the pan as they are chopped. Sauté the vegetables for about ten minutes, stirring and flipping often. Then turn the burner down to just below medium. Add the mushrooms.

In a separate bowl, scramble the 8 eggs. Add in the garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt while mixing. Pour the eggs over the sauteed vegetables. Add black pepper to your liking. The eggs will take 10 to 15 minutes before cooked thoroughly. They need to be stirred/rotated/flipped every couple minutes; I recommended standing at the stove or working on another stove item during this time. I worked on the turkey bacon.

Serve immediately!

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This recipe is linked to Meatless Mondays by Chaya.