I love cereal. I can eat it all day long, from breakfast to lunch, and even as an after-dinner snack. But in effort to reduce my sugar intake a bit and pack more protein into my diet, I’ve started to switch to healthier alternatives – one being a healthy ‘superfood’ cereal.
I first discovered this recipe while browsing through Wegmens’ natural and organic food aisles a couple of years back. It was there that Nature Path’s Qi’a Superfood Cereals caught my eye. I looked over its clean ingredient list and saw that it was packed with protein, fiber, omega-3s, vitamins and minerals, and so I decided to give it a go. From that point on, I was buying those little $10 bags on a weekly basis.
Now, Qi’a has their original superfood cereal, which consists of only three ingredients – chia seeds, buckwheat groats, and hemp seeds. Despite being super healthy, it’s not the tastiest (at least, not if you’re used to eating sugary cereals like Mini Wheats), which I why switched to the slightly sweeter and fruitier version – Cranberry Vanilla – after a few weeks. In addition to the three main seeds, it also incorporates dried cranberries, almonds, and natural vanilla flavor.
Even then, that’s only six ingredients total. Plus, almost all of these ingredients you can buy in bulk for relatively cheap at the grocery store. Once I realized this, I started mixing up my own cereal at home (and saving quite a bit of money in the process too)!
I now keep big mason jars full of the seeds at home, along with one separate one with the cereal already pre-mixed so it’s all ready to go. Here is the full recipe I follow, which is almost identical to the Qi’a one. You can, of course, change it up by adding any kind of dried fruits or nuts you want. You can also add fresh berries on top when it comes time to serve it.
Chia Seed, Buckwheat, & Hemp Superfood Cereal Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup buckwheat groats
- 1 cup chia seeds
- 1 cup hemp seeds
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients together in a jar and stir (or shake) to mix everything together. Seal with an airtight lid and store in the fridge.
To prep, add about 2-3 tablespoons to a bowl, then add about 4-6 tablespoons of milk (any type of milk will work) and let the seeds soak for a few minutes.
Then it’s ready to eat!
You can also add sweetener if you’d like (I’ll sometimes add 2 tsp of agave, or a few drops of vanilla extract).
Not a big fan of cereal? You can also add this protein-packed superfood mixture to yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, or even salads!
Have you tried chia seed, buckwheat, hemp cereal? What’s your favorite healthy breakfast recipe?
