Make Your Own Dried Breakfast Cereal; Not a Granola

     My husband loves certain brands of boxed cereal.  They are his "default meal" for breakfast and in the evening either before or after dinner several times a week.  He loves it with his raw milk and honey.  I won't disclose which brands or flavors, but those boxes of cereals are expensive and he goes through a lot of it and I did not like the ingredients lists ...even the ones that claimed were "healthy".   So, I decided to see what I could do to replace those cereals with something healthier for him and certainly cheaper and even tasty.  Another quality I wanted  was that it would store well for a while. 

      I know how the industry produces boxed cereals in a general way and I thought I could replicate that process only better.  

First of all, they take raw grain ( most of it is GMO and has herbicides infused) and they pressure cook it hot and fast keeping the phytic acid, a known nutrient blocker and they mix in high-fructose corn syrup and other sugars and flavors and then they "extrude" it ( high pressure- straining into certain shapes) then they dry it quickly and perhaps coat it with more sugars and add some freeze-dried or dehydrated fruit, and a lot of other un-food ingredients and then package it and ship it.  Like I said, this is just a general idea but none of it is how grains were supposed to be treated for food.   

My process:  I measure out 12 ounces of dry grain and crushed legumes in a 2 to one mixture ( a pulse) and soak all of it overnight in a pot with measured 36 ounces of water 

( a 1  to 3 ratio).

  I add a TBS of some kind of acidy liquid like whey, kefir, milk or ac vinegar.  This acid helps to reduce the phytic acid.  Next day I cook it.  It starts off at med. heat to speed the cooking and after about 10 minutes I reduce it to low or just warm and cook for another hour and 15 minutes.  It is necessary to be around it to stir once in a while.  It needs to have a lid but tilt it to allow steam escape or it will boil over in a mess. ( I've done that a few times)  During the cooking process add salt and some fat. For sweetner, I add some chopped raisins but you can add some honey or maple syrup.  This makes about 6 servings.  I usually take 2 servings out to eat immediately or to store in a bowl with cover in the fridge for him to heat up in the morning.  The rest of it I dehydrate and store as his dry cereal.   

RECIPE:

This pulse is for a blood type B

In a pint size glass measuring container

measure out  8 ounces of a combination of any 2  or all of the following;

cracked spelt

whole millet

cut or rolled oats

Add to the grains 4 ounces of crushed legumes; 

navy beans and split peas

12 ounces of dry food in all.  Soak dry food in water overnight.  Water should be 3 times the amount of dry food. 

During cooking add 1 1/2 tsp. Real Salt and 1-2 TBS of butter or coconut oil.  

Optional additions:  raisins, cranberries, apples or blueberries.

Nuts and seeds can also be added for greater protein and essential oil nutrition.  Flax and chia seeds are good additions for all 4 blood types. 

For blood type Os use;  8 ozs. combination of  any 2  or all of the following;   amaranth, oats, brown rice, quinoa and buckwheat

and 4 ozs. crushed blackeyed peas and adzuki beans. 

Walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds and  almond pieces are good add-to options.

For blood type As use; 8 ozs. combination of any 2 or all of the following;  amaranth, oats, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet and  rye.

and 4 ozs. of crushed adzuki beans, black beans, blackeyed peas, pinto beans or lentils ( not necessary to crush them as they are small enough to cook up with the grain). 

Peanuts, walnuts, pecans and almond pieces, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds are good add-to options.

For blood type ABs use;  8 ozs. combination of any 2 or all of the following;  Millet, oats, brown rice, rye, barley, quinoa, cracked spelt and amaranth.

and 4 ozs. of crushed navy beans, split peas, lentils or pinto beans. 

Peanuts, pecans, walnuts and cashews are good add-to options.  

To dehydrate;  It is not necessary to grease the flexible clear sheets that come with your dehydrator because the cooked cereal has the fat in it and that will suffice.  I use my fingers to spread out the cooked, cooled cereal on the sheets.  Wet the counter top under the clear sheets to keep it from sliding all over the counter as you work.  One pot of cooked pulse 

( mush or porridge) minus 2 servings filled 8 of my dehydrator sheets.  It took a day to dry it all, at abut 110 degrees.  You could dehydrate this in your oven also at warm on large cookie sheets but keep the door open.  

Use a scrapper to get the cereal off the sheets when dry and put those on a large cloth  to catch the "flying" bits.  Store in a clear container so you can see what is left.  When my husband soaks a serving of it with milk, he says it swells about twice it's volume.  He adds honey to it and some fresh fruit.  It is very tasty and soft enough to chew easily.  I think this is a success.