One of the big holdouts on the whole family completely adopting a paleo lifestyle is breakfast cereal, pizza, and pasta. We only eat pizza a couple times a month and we only have pasta on Thursday nights. Cereal, however, is a daily staple. I may have found a solution with this recipe.
When we tried veganism, we stopped eating dairy. That was several months ago and we don't even miss it. The hardest part was getting my child on board with nondairy milk. That took a little doing. We did a taste test between almond and coconut milk. The choice was neither. So I started mixing almond milk with some organic chocolate syrup from Trader Joe's for awhile. Next I used those milk flavoring straws and eventually just plain almond milk. Never even went noticed.
Feeding your child sugar cereal, or even Cheerios, feels awful when you know it's not the best thing for them. What else can you do if they refuse to eat eggs and you want them to have a grain free, protein rich breakfast? I just gave up and kept buying cereal.
Meanwhile, I found a few recipes for grain free energy bars for lunch. Since I can't get my child to eat meat without prodding, it's not even an option for lunch. I used to pack store bought granola bars but started to feel bad about some of the ingredients. The bar recipe I tried said to refrigerate so I figured if I froze them and packed them they'd be thawed by lunch. What happened instead was a crumbly, greasy mess. Cleaning out the bento box, a lightbulb went off over my head. The mess was tasty and looked like granola. A few tweaks later, I had a granola cereal that's full of protein and fiber and has a little fat and fruit in it as well.
GRAIN FREE PALEO CEREAL
8 oz. unsalted, roasted, slivered or sliced almonds
1 cup almond meal (I used what was leftover after making almond milk, but you can use whatever nut flour you like)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup dried fruit (I used raisins)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup almond butter
Mix all ingredients well and place in an airtight container. Done!
*NOTE: The container is half gone, the recipe makes twice this much cereal.
You are welcome to adjust the ingredients to your tastes/needs. It's not a cake or a bar or anything that needs to set up solid, so the amounts of things don't really matter. This is the recipe I used and it turned out mighty tasty so I plan to make it this way again and again. I used sliced almonds and mashed them up with my handy-dandy Chop & Stir tool. You could also swap out agave or maple syrup for the honey if you want. We like this served with cold almond milk, but I bet it'd be good alone or as a topping for yogurt or ice cream too. Just go easy on your portion sizes or this is not very figure friendly.
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