Breakfast, well…that can be sometimes kinda problematic for us celiacs. No more raisin bran, no more cheerios, no more Great Grains cereal.  What to do??  Well, there are a number of options, the Chex Family comes to mind for me: Rice Chex, Cinnamon Chex (my personal fav) and Chocolate Chex which is surprisingly good.   Not many other mainstream GF cold cereals.  I do hear that Special K is coming out in a GF version in a few months; can barely stand the wait; loved that cereal.  Maybe they will even make a version with freeze-dried strawberry slices.  I would be in GF cereal heaven!

Anyway, back to reality; there is one gf flaked cereal I have found that floats my boat, Nature’s Path Organic Mesa Sunrise.  It contains corn, flax, buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth.  The flakes are crunchy and hold their own in milk for a few minutes, less sog than any other flakes I have tested. I buy them at Frey’s Better Foods, $9 for a big 26.4 oz bag, yes, that is a lot of moola but it is basically a double sized box making it $4.50 a box which is about what most gf organic cereals cost.  I like it with hemp hearts sprinkled on top and some one percent milk poured in.  The hemp hearts are nutty and crunchy, kinda like a less hard sesame seed.  I keep them in the freezer so they stay fresh.

I also prefer my homemade granola with pecans to any I have purchased since going gluten free.  I love it sprinkled over applesauce and over organic yogurt.  It is much more flavorful and it is not hard like pebbles as most GF granola seems to be.  Not sure why they can’t make a decent gf granola to sell but I just make my own every few months and freeze most of it to eat later, stays fresh in my freezer.  I made some today actually, do try it; you will not be disappointed.  The recipe is in my archives.

Hot choices: a few weeks ago I posted my new recipe for quick oats made out of GF rolled oats.  I like it even better than the commercial Ancient Grains Oatmeal by purely elizabeth.  Don’t get me wrong, I like their cereal but I think my own oats are toastier and fresher and I like the pure oat flavor as opposed to their blend of oats, quinoa, amaranth and chia.  I also make old fashioned oatmeal the same way I have for years: boiled in lots of salted water which is drained off before topping with walnuts, dried cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup: a superb combination of flavors.

Last weekend I made some buckwheat pancakes.  GF, yes; buckwheat is not wheat.  It is not related at all.  Actually in the same family as rhubarb, but you don’t eat the stems like rhubarb, the seeds are what manufacturers grind into buckwheat flour. The cakes were hearty and flavorful with maple syrup and a glass of milk. I also have a great recipe for cinnamon GF waffles which I often make for company, pretty much as good as wheat ones.

I make a bunch of different muffins, apple walnut, banana nut, carrot and raspberry coconut. They are all great for breakfast and can be frozen for a few weeks; just heat them in the microwave: instant breakfast.

Of course, you can go for eggs. I like them soft boiled, scrambled, over easy and in an omelet.  Last Sunday I made an omelet and stuffed it with two jumbo shrimp leftover from the night before, chopped them in chunks, draped them with a slice of provolone cheese which melted over it all.  Wicked yummy that was!  No toast needed either.

Sometimes I make grits and stir in a handful of cheddar cheese when they are cooked and top it with a couple of over easy eggs sprinkled with green hot sauce.  To kick it up even further; top it all with some sauteed peppers slices and a couple of slices of crisp bacon. Now that is some tasty meal, even grit haters might go for that combination!

So don’t skip breakfast; there are some great gluten free options out there.