How to save money on breakfast cereals & still eat healthy

Can you believe the cereal aisle at the supermarket? Aren’t we spoilt for choice? So many cereals, so little time. You’d spend nearly an entire day there if you had to read through every nutritional panel on every box of cereal let alone work out what the best price was on each box. If you’re wanting to still eat a good healthy breakfast, this is how to save money on breakfast cereals and still eat healthy.

What do we eat for breakfast

According to statistics, the United Kingdom is the highest consumer of ready to eat breakfast cereals, followed by Canada, Australia, the United States then Mexico.

You might be surprised at what people from other countries eat for breakfast. Protein rich ingredients like eggs, meats, cheese feature in some countries while a simple croissant and coffee is the standard fare for the French.

Here in Australia we enjoy a range of breakfast options including ready made cereals, pancakes, hot cooked breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages etc or a simple piece of buttered toast smothered with Vegemite.

Super foods and juices are becoming all the norm these days which suits the busy person on the go and can be blitzed and drank while making your way to work.

Save money on breakfast cereals

I can remember as a child Mum would buy a variety of breakfast cereals based on what we wanted and we’d get tired of them easily then we’d get in trouble for not eating them. Luckily she knew how to use them up in baking.

But there are ways you can save money on buying the different cereals while still enjoying a variety. Here’s how.

Oats

If you buy the homebrand packet of oats (currently around $1.00 per kilo here in Australia), you can eat such a wide variety of breakfast dishes plus the come in so handy for other meals PLUS oats are a great beauty and health treatment for so many ailments.

They can be eaten as porridge by mixing with hot water, boiling on the stove or cooked in the microwave. Add your toppings like fresh fruit, stewed fruit, nuts, other grains and seeds, yoghurt or just a drizzle of honey.

They can be made into overnight oatswhere you mix the uncooked oats with milk or a combination of milk and yoghurt and put into the fridge the night before and you’ve got a thick cool breakfast treat ready to go. You can layer with more yoghurt, fruit, nuts, seeds etc as above. The choices are endless.

You can make your own toasted or untoasted muesli mixing whatever nuts, seeds or dried fruit in or make granola. Bake oats into breakfast bars, muesli bars, breakfast cups and a wide variety of different baked goods that are great for breakfast or healthy snacks.

They truly are a delicious, cheap and versatile ingredient and I always keep them in my pantry.

Corn flakes

Home brand cornflakes are another ingredient that is not only cheaper to buy than the brand names but it’s also versatile in so many other dishes.

If it’s the frosty flakes you like, just add sugar to plain corn flakes. Honey and nuts? Add honey and nuts of your choice. You can always top with fresh fruit and just about anything else you like.

Corn flakes are one of those standard pantry items I love to keep for baking like in myCrunchy Corn Flake White Chocolate Chip Cookies. There’s also a childhood favourite with Honey Joys. They make the perfect crumb coating for fish or chicken too.

Rice Krispies/Bubbles

This puffed rice treat is pretty flavourless on it’s own but wow! Doesn’t it have a variety of uses besides being a delicious breakfast cereal that the kids love.

Add sugar, fresh fruit, flavoured milk (like chocolate flavour) or anything else you like.

You can’t go past rice krispies for a favourite no bake sweet treat. LCM Bars are a standard lunch box treat for school lunches here in Australia. There millions of recipes using rice krispies and I’ve used them many times to make treats for my children.

Whichever is your favourite breakfast, always look at the homebrand version in it’sunflavoured version. Add your own flavours and toppings. Look at using the cereal for other meals and dishes. Let’s not forget about how valuable oats are for your beauty regime. I can’t image making a corn flake mask or scrub but you never know!

Weet-bix Breakfast Cookies

Do you know where I get a lot of my recipe inspiration from? The supermarket. There are so many new ‘ready made’ products coming on the market and I can’t believe that people actually buy them when they are so easy to make at home with your basic pantry ingredients. These sort of things have been on the market for a while but I nearly ‘flipped my lid’ when I saw them. Breakfast biscuits (cookies)! Like what? Cookies for breakfast? Now that’s something I would really like and I’m sure my kids would too. (In fact I think their father buys them but I wouldn’t buy them in a ‘pink fit’.) The latest company to now make cookies for breakfast, believe it or not, is Wee-tbix. Weet-bix are already a biscuit if I’m not mistaken. We used to have them as a kid, smothered with butter and jam. Oh well. It gave me inspiration to make them and they were a hit with the kids.

You can pretty much add anything to the base recipe. Things like chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts or even other leftover cereal (how ironic).

Once you’ve got the dry ingredients mixed together, it’s just a matter of mixing the wet ingredients

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together and combining.

I used my small ice cream scoop to place small amounts of mixture onto the baking pan and I was expecting them to spread a bit more than they did. Next time I’ll flatten them out a bit. These were a real hit with the kids for breakfast, lunch boxes and afternoon tea but I don’t think, personally, that I can go past a good old bowl of Weet-bix and milk (for breakfast, lunch or dinner).

Weet-bix Breakfast Cookies
(based on the recipe from the Sanitarium website)

• 4 Weet-Bix, crushed 
• 2/3 cup rolled oats 
• ¾ cup plain flour 
• 100g brown sugar 
• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup 
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 
• ¼ cup boiling water

1. Mix together Weet-Bix, rolled oats, flour, and sugar until well combined. 
2. Place butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan and heat gently until melted. 
3. Mix bicarbonate of soda and water together then pour into butter mixture. 
4. Add to dry ingredients and stir to combine. 
5. Place tablespoons of mixture onto baking trays lined with baking paper. 
6. Bake at 160°C for 15-20 minutes. 
7. Cool on trays before serving.

Note:  Add things like chocolate chips, chopped dried fruit or nuts to the dry mixture before mixing with the melted butter mixture.

5 ways to use up breakfast cereal

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I don’t know about you but I have these grand plans thinking that my kids will eat breakfast cereal and go and buy a couple boxes but, as usual, they fail me and prefer toast for breakfast instead. My son is pretty good and will sometimes have Weetbix or Rice Bubbles but he soon loses interest. I think it’s more the point that they’re lazy and hate lifting the spoon to their mouth! I always end up with 4 or 5 boxes of cereal, taking up room in my small pantry, so I usually use them up in other ways. These are my top 5 ways of using up breakfast cereal instead of letting it go stale and having to throw it out. At least my kids will eat these things.



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 1.  Rolled oats/oatmeal

It’s not like these are ever leftover really as I always have them in the cupboard for baking. My favourite recipe of all is Anzac biscuits or my Chocolate Chip Oat Slice or Breakfast muffins but they’re also really good to use in a crumble/crisp mix, like my Apple, Cherry & Walnut Crumble. They’re great to to make your own granola which can be eaten as a snack or as a topping with fresh fruit and yoghurt.

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Granola Mix

Using whatever nuts, LSA (Linseed Sunflower Almond) or grains you have on hand, mix together with 2-3 cups of rolled oats, 1 tbs cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of maple syrup, golden syrup or honey. Mix well until ingredients clump together. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for approx 30 mins or until golden. Remove from oven and break up any large clumps. Allow to cool. Stir through any chopped dried fruits you have have on hand like apricots, apples, pineapple or banana. Store in an airtight container.

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2. Rice Bubbles/Crispies

This is another cereal I like to have on hand as it’s better used in our house for baking rather than breakfast cereal. There’s the usual Chocolate Crackles which can be made with copha or just melted chocolate but the Chocolate Crackle mix can also be spread on a slice as a topping. You could do a no bake slice base as I used in my Chocolate Peppermint Slice and then spread the Choc Crackle Mix over the top. Or even mix in some nuts, marshmallows and jellies to create a No Bake Rocky Road Slice. Another great thing to do with them is dip strawberries in chocolate and then roll them in the bubbles, like this. But the easiest and best way to use them up for a great kid’s lunchbox treat is LCM Bars (whatever LCM stands for, seems nobody knows). You can top them with choc chips, 100’s and 1000’s, sprinkles or coconut for a change.

LCM Bars

4 cups rice bubbles (or any other leftover breakfast cereal)
125g butter
3 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup brown sugar

Boil sugar, honey & butter for 3 minutes. In large bowl mix in with other ingredients combining well. Press mixture evenly into slice tin. Cut while warm.

There is also another recipe using store bought marshmallows (or you could make your own marshmallows).

200 g of home-made marshmallows (or 2 x 100g packets of marshmallows)
80 g butter
4 cups rice bubbles

Measure rice bubbles and place them in a large bowl. Line a lamington/ swiss roll tray with ovenbake paper. Melt marshmallows & butter over low heat, stirring so it doesn’t burn. Alternatively melt butter in microwave, add marshmallows and microwave on high for another 30 seconds. Pour the marshmallow and butter mix onto the rice bubbles. Mix well. Tip into lined tray and press down. Cut when cooled.

3.  Weetbix

This is another one I love to have on hand for baking. It adds a lovely crunch to slice bases as well as being an excellent thickener for rissoles or meatballs. My sons also likes to eat them as is topped with butter and jam, like I did as a kid. Besides adding them to my Breakfast Muffins at times, you can’t go past a basic Chocolate Slice which takes no time at all to whip up, ready for the kids for after school. This was a staple in our house growing up and it’s another quick one to pop in the oven while it’s on cooking the main meal.

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Chocolate Slice

3 Weetbix, crushed
3 tbs brown sugar
3 tbs cocoa
1 cup coconut
1 cup plain flour
125gm butter, melted

Mix dry ingredients together, pour over melted butter and mix until all ingredients combined. Spread in a slice tin and bake in 180 deg C oven for approx 20 mins. Cool and top with chocolate icing and sprinkle with coconut, if desired.

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4.  Muesli

Muesli is great just on it’s own, sprinkled on yoghurt for breakfast or use as a trail mix for snacking on. The best way, I find, is to make them up into Muesli Bars. Ideal for another lunch box treat. (Omitting the nuts if your school or kindy as a ‘no nut’ policy.

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Muesli Bars
(recipe courtesy of http://www.taste.com.au/)

3 cups toasted fruit muesli
1 cup chopped dried fruit
1/3 cup shredded coconut
125g butter, chopped
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Grease a 3cm-deep, 16cm x 26cm (base) slice pan. Line with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang on long sides.

Combine muesli, dried fruit and coconut in a large bowl.

Place butter, honey, peanut butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened. Add to muesli mixture. Stir to combine. Press mixture into prepared pan. Smooth top. Cover. Refrigerate overnight or until set. Cut into 12 bars. Serve.

 

 

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5.  Cornflakes

 

Probably another pantry favourite to have on hand as it’s so versatile but it’s not one that I’m partial to, eaten as a cereal with milk. A great way to use them up is to use a crumb coating. Just put in a ziplock bag and beat until a fine crumb forms (or whizz in a food processor). Flour, egg and then crumb your chicken, fish or whatever for a lovely golden coating. Honey Joys (or Cornflake Crackles) are a great one for the kids to make. The best way I like to use them up is Cornflake Biscuits, a great memory from my childhood.

 

 

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Cornflake Biscuits

 

125g butter
3/4c sugar
1 egg
1c sultanas (and/or chocolate chips)
1c SR flour
cornflakes (crushed) for rolling

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well. Add sultanas, then flour and mix to combine.Roll into balls of 1-2 tablespoons (small icecream scoop) then roll in cornflakes to coat. Put on tray and bake at 180 deg C for approx 10-15 mins or until golden.

All your ‘novelty’ type cereals like “Fruit Loops” or “Cheerios” can be used in just about any of the above examples. Waste not, want not is the motto around here. If there’s a way to use something up, I’ll find it. Make do with what you’ve got and you’ll come across some exciting new treats to create.

 

Check out the Kellogg’s web site, for more fantastic ideas.