Six years ago, when I was first figuring out how to eat
gluten free, if you had spoken the words gluten free and multi grain in the
same sentence, I would’ve looked at you as if you had three heads. Not anymore!
I’ve since learned that the options for gluten free grains are plentiful. And
when the gluten free grains dance together in my breakfast bowl and keep my
hunger at bay throughout the morning, I am one happy snappy camper.
The hunger thing. Long before I was diagnosed with Celiac, I
was hungry ALL of the time. I would eat huge amounts of food that would dazzle
and baffle anyone who knew me. “You’re so
skinny! How do you do it?” And then there was the one time I asked my internist
if he would run some tests that might get to the bottom of my constant hunger.
He told me to just eat candy. I kid you not. He is no longer my doctor.
I made the first iteration of this cereal in 2008 in a
crockpot, inspired by the Gnowflins blog. While the originator of this recipe
made it for her whole family, I reduced the ingredient amounts and made it for
just little ‘ol me. I blogged about it again in 2009, calling it Hearty Four
Grain Gluten Free Hot Cereal, adding oats to it and making it instead in my
pressure cooker. Today, two years later, I’m still amazed at how much I love
this cereal. I’ve made some
further changes to the recipe by adding flax and chia seeds (giving it a good
omega boost), vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Breakfast perfection in a bowl!
I used to be one of those people who wouldn’t go near a
pressure cooker because I remembered my mother (or maybe it was my
grandmother?) having a pressure cooker that blew up and splattered its’
contents on the ceiling. Can’t tell you why except that something about the
pressure cooker intrigued me. Maybe I was determined to find ways to make
gluten free cooking easier and in some cases quicker. I pressed on and guess
what? My Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker is a workhorse that produces outstanding
results every single time I use it. I wouldn’t be without it.
Gluten Free Multi
Grain Cereal
1 tbsp millet
1 tbsp oatmeal (make sure it’s gluten free)
1 tbsp quinoa
1 1/2 tsp amaranth
1/2 tsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp flax seeds
2 tbsp dried cranberries, rinsed
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp maple syrup
pinch sea salt
1 c. soymilk (or other alternative milk of choice)
1. Rinse the millet, oatmeal, quinoa, and amaranth in a
strainer.
2. Add the grains and the remaining ingredients to a
pressure cooker.
3. Bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure and then
immediately lower the heat while maintaining the pressure cooker’s internal
temperature. Cook for 4 minutes and then allow the pressure to come down
naturally. After you remove the lid, if you decide that you prefer the cereal
to be a little thicker, heat it on medium heat for an additional 45 seconds,
stirring constantly. Alternatively, the next time you make it, increase the
high pressure cooking time to 5 minutes.
After being diagnosed with celiac disease, Ellen Allard became the
Gluten Free Diva. She is a popular gluten-free recipe developer, food writer,
food photographer & food videographer who writes about gluten free, dairy
free, and plant-based recipes on her gluten free blog as well as for numerous
print and online publications. Ellen also teaches gluten free cooking and
baking classes that inspire, encourage, and empower people to change their
diets and improve their lives. Visit her at the Gluten-Free Divafor more gluten-free breakfast ideas.
