BREAKFAST

In another lifetime (when we had one child), our family was asked to stay with a family in our ward while the parents went to Europe for 2 1/2 weeks. There were 5 kids, and they were awesome. Before they left, the mom showed me where the cold cereal was. I was shocked, there must have been 30 boxes. The thing that shocked me even more was that by the time the parents came back, I think it was just about gone. Cold Cereal is way expensive, and to be honest, not that great nutrition-wise...so here's a few ideas for breakfast, food-storage style! Granola: Buy it, or make your own (if anyone out there has an amazing granola recipe, I would love to have it! leave it in the comments! Oatmeal: Add cinnamon and cut up apples, diced peaches, nuts, raisins, craisins, any fruit your family loves! Cracked Wheat: A nutty taste--I love it with honey 6-grain rolled: Gives a variety of whole grains with the texture of oatmeal--Probably my kids' favorite 9-grain cracked: Gives a variety of whole grains with the texture of cracked wheat Muselex: An oatmeal-y texture with raisins and nuts When we started using whole grain for Breakfast, I would bribe my kids by saying if they ate 4 days of "whole grain breakfast," they could have any cold cereal they wanted on Friday. At first they picked the sugariest, yummiest ones they could get their hands on. Over time, they went to more the raisin bran/corn flakes type, until today when I have a few kids who don't like cold cereal at all (but a few that still beg for fruit loops). WinCo Grocery Store (Located in San Marcos or Temecula) is a great resource for these awesome breakfast items. They have all of them (and more!) in their bulk section, so the cool thing is that you can get a little bit of each and see what your family likes. I picked up some cracked wheat the other day for $.46 a lb. I think I can make breakfast for a week with just a pound or 2! If you find something you love, you can order a big bag or box from WinCo and store it at home so that you never run out. Sprouts also has some of these in their Bulk Section. Think of what you can save by eliminating most of that cold cereal! And, these are all grains, so they fall under that "store 400 lbs per person--it's not all just wheat! This week's challenge: Try one or 2 types of "Hot Cereal." Find one that your family will eat at least once a week. Tell me about your experience!