Homemade Grape Nuts--Eating Healthy Makes Cents!

My recipe fills a two quart mason jar

Hi Everyone!

It's been a while since I shared a "Eating Healthy Makes Cents" recipe!  I think I need to go back and write down which recipes I have already shared here, or I am going to start sharing the same ones over and over again! ;)  Which I suppose is not the WORST thing, but not exactly how I want to spend my limited blogging time!  

Today's recipe I KNOW I have not shared before, because I just recently found it while looking for something else on-line, and then tweeked it to our tastes/preferences.  The original recipe had one cup of sugar in it--um, no thank you!  If I want one cup of sugar to the ratio of other ingredients in this recipe, I can just go buy a box of fruit loops!  But that is the beauty of making food homemade--you can add or subtract according to your preferences.  :)  

All in all, I really do like this recipe.  It kind of does remind me of the name brand Grape Nuts cereal, but not exactly the same.  I had to laugh when I read the reviews on the site where I found the recipe, because some people were saying how it tastes EXACTLY like the "real" Grape Nuts cereal, and then right after them someone else would say that while they liked the recipe, it tasted NOTHING at all like the "real" Grape Nuts!  So just goes to show you that we all tastes things differently!

But on to the recipe!  It is simple, and much less expensive than purchasing commercially made cereal.  This batch will make and fill up to the top a two quart mason jar that I store it in.  

Homemade Grape Nuts

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup brown sugar (a bit more if you want it sweet--original recipe calls for 1 cup)

2 cups water

2/3 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all ingredients together.  If it is too dry, add a tablespoon or more of water.  You are wanting it to be like a thick cake batter.

Spread mixture onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Remove from oven.  It will look like a heavy cake.

Let cool completely--this is hard to wait for when you want to make your recipe! ;)

Once cool, break into large chunks and grind in a food processor until it is like crumbs.

Return those crumbs to a cookie sheet or a large baking pan.  I use my lasagna pan because it has sides on it, and this helps me not spill the cereal when I am stirring it.

Bake in a 250 degree oven for one hour or until crisp, stirring every 15-20 minutes.  

In my oven it is NEVER crisp after only one hour, so I will bake the crumbs for an hour and a half or so, then turn off the oven but leave the cereal in there to finish drying completely. I like to make the recipe in the evening and then leave it in the oven (turned off) over night.  In the morning, the cereal is ready for breakfast!

Baked cake-like cereal on left, crumbs on right

Some variations if you want to add them include adding in some vanilla, or cinnamon or coriander.  Making food yourself, you know exactly what is in it and you can add in your favorite ingredients! And no long ingredient list filled with names you cannot even pronounce, let alone know what they are!

My favorite part--eating it!

And now you have another healthy inexpensive recipe to help stretch those grocery budgets.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

~Susan