The Cereal Challenge: High Protein & High Fibre Cereal

I love cereal and I often have a bowl for a snack, but I never find that it does a good job filling me up. Because of this I rarely have cereal for breakfast, assuming that I am going to be hungry in an hour.

Every morning Eric eats a gigantic bowl of Nature’s Path Spelt cereal, chia seeds, and raisins that holds him over for 4-5 hours. I have cereal envy! If I can make it happen, I just may have to design my own custom cereal.

So, this morning I set on a mission to do justice to the cereal bowl…

My mission was to create a bowl of cereal that had the following elements:

• High in protein (over 25 grams)
• High in fibre (over 15 grams)
• Good dose of Omega healthy fats
• Antioxidants
• Fruit
• Super Crunchy texture
• Light sweetness and an array of flavours

Is it possible? And would it hold me over all morning long?

The first thing I did was make a list of the foods that I wanted to include:

• Nature’s Path Spelt Cereal (love this cereal because it’s 100% spelt flour and just 4 grams sugar per serving)
• Raw Buckwheat Groats- For the crunch, protein/fibre + other nutrients
• Eden Organic Soy Milk– I’ve been using this lately for breakfast because it has 12 grams protein per cup! It is also organic, no additives, and uses non-GMO beans. With that said it doesn’t taste great because I got the unsweetened variety.
• Vega Choc-o-lot Protein Powder– I had the fun idea of sprinkling some of my favourite protein powder onto the cereal for an extra vitamin and protein boost.
• Fruit– For light sweetness, texture, and nutrients (Today I used strawberries, kiwi, and raisins)
• Homemade granola– for the insane crunch!
• Sweetened Shredded Coconut– just a pinch on top for sweetness, aroma, and flavour
• Chia seeds– Antioxidants, protein, fibre, healthy fats, calcium, iron, etc.

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High Protein & High Fibre Cereal

Staple Ingredients:

• 1 cup Nature’s Path Spelt cereal (or cereal of choice)
• 1/4 cup buckwheat groats (soaked overnight, drained, rinsed) *See note below
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2-1 teaspoon (not tbsp like I wrote prior) chocolate protein powder (I used Vega choc-o-lot)
• 1.25 cup high-protein non-dairy milk (I used Eden organic soy with 12 grams PRO per cup)

Before I even poured the bowl, I calculated the nutrition info to see if it was where I wanted it to be. After a couple tweaks, I was able to come up with one powerhouse cereal bowl.

Nutritional Info Per basic Bowl (above):

• 532 kcals
• 15 grams fat (1 gram sat fat, mostly healthy fats)
• 222 mg sodium
• 75 grams carbs
• 15 grams fibre
• 9 grams sugar (cereal and protein powder)
• 28 grams protein

Now add on your desired toppings!

I added:

• ~ 1/2 tbsp Raisins
• ~1 tbsp Granola (I used my favourite granola)
• A pinch of Sweetened coconut shreds
• Fruit to equal 1/2 cup (I used 3 strawberries and 1/2 kiwi)

Buckwheat Note: Apparently, raw buckwheat groats can cause GI discomfort in some people Please proceed with caution when using! Toasted buckwheat (Kasha) might be a better option for some.

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The chocolate protein powder was fun! I’ve never had it on cereal before but I loved the chocolaty and sweet flavour it brought to this bowl.

I also loved the combination of chia seeds, protein powder, soy milk, spelt flakes, and buckwheat. The chia seeds created a doughy VOO mixture at the bottom of the bowl that I loved. This was probably one of the most satisfying bowls of cereal I have had in a while. It was SO flavourful and had so many amazing textures!

But how long will it hold me over? I have my doubts, but time will tell. I’ll be sure to report my findings. :)

Are you a cereal fan?

Original article and pictures take http://ohsheglows.com/2011/04/08/the-cereal-challenge-high-protein-high-fibre-cereal/ site