In fact, organic boxed breakfast cereal is the most toxic of all! How can this be? It seems that everywhere you turn, a bowl of breakfast cereal is touted as a very healthy choice for your first meal of the day.
It’s not true, folks!
To make boxed breakfast cereal in the factory, the grains first have to be subjected to such intense pressure and heat that they actually liquify into a slurry. This slurry allows the grains to be quickly and easily shaped into the puffs, flakes, and other shapes that make each cereal distinct.
The manufacturing process used to make boxed cereal is called extrusion and it is so violent and denaturing that the proteins in the grains are actually rendered toxic and allergenic by the process. This is why organic boxed breakfast cereal is more toxic than nonorganic – because organic boxed cereal is whole grain and thereby has more protein in it! The more protein, the more toxic the boxed cereal.
Sugar and Dairy Free Cereal Recipe
What is a cold breakfast cereal lover to do? Boxed breakfast cereal is considered a staple food in our society. No worries for all you healthy home economists out there – just make your own! Here’s a recipe that my family loves and that I have shared for years as a Chapter Leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation. I hope your family enjoys it too!
For visual learners, check out the two videos plus recipe on how to make breakfast cereal.
This recipe for grain free breakfast cereal is a good option for Paleos.
Sugar and Dairy Free Cereal Recipe
Recipe for a homemade sugar and dairy free cereal that your family will enjoy that will nourish and digest much better than boxed brands from the store.
Ingredients
- 6 cups flour preferably freshly ground
- 3 cups filtered water
- 2 Tbl lemon juice
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup date syrup
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbl fresh cinnamon
Instructions
Mix well and soak the flour in the filtered water plus lemon juice on the kitchen counter (covered with a cloth and rubber band) for 24 hours.
Mix everything into a batter. Pour batter into (2) 9x13 pans coated with coconut oil. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 F/ 177 C or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Do NOT overbake else the cereal will turn out too hard.
Let cool and then crumble onto baking sheets and dehydrate at 200 F/ 93 C for about 24 hours.
Take out dried cereal off the top every few hours so as not to over dry as this can also make the cereal too hard.
Store in airtight container in the fridge.
Serve alone as a snack or in a bowl with milk of choice.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources and More Information
How to Adjust to the Taste of Soaked Oatmeal
Soaked Oatmeal Benefits Without the Soaking?
How to Make Oatmeal the RIGHT Way
Dirty Little Secrets of the Food Processing Industry
Sarah Pope has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. Her work is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.
Her work has been covered by major media including USA Today, ABC, NBC, and many others.
That’s a TON of work just to make something so bland and injuring as cereal!
Thank you for this article. I usually buy the cascadian farms oats, convinced that it was healthy. Non GMO, Organic, etc. So after reading your article, I called the manufacturer (General Mills, go figure) explained in depth about why I’m calling, read sections of your article to her, and basically just going straight to the source to verify the info I read. She put me on hold for several minutes and said “I cannot discuss this with you, it is confidential”. I asked her “what can you not discuss?” she said “everything, all of your questions, I cannot discuss this”. So I told her thank you, and that she just answered my questions, and I will not be purchasing this cereal anymore. They have a lot to hide. Big business marketing to kids! Thanks again for your post. I learned something new today!
What about ezekiel cereal, air know it’s not soaked but is it at least a bit better than the other stuff?
Doesn’t that cereal have soy in it? If so, definitely a no go. I personally wouldn’t eat it. Whole grain boxed cereal is the worst as discussed in the article.
All cerals, grains and sugars are toxic. Fruit too. Don’t kid yourself. Any carbs turn right into sugar and have to be processed by the liver or pancreas. Do you know where your pancreas is and how little and thin it is? Human insulin, required to break down sugars into glucose is a toxin and creates heart disease, dementia and cancer. Atkins, paleo and South Beach are the way to go. 0 carbs per meal, 15 total per day for a month long cleanse and then no more than 15 per meal after that. are you kidding?
What about puffed rice cereal or Lumberg rice cake? Are those toxic also? Or popcorn?
Puffed rice is toxic also. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!