richola granola

i traditionally really like granola, but i wouldn't say i've ever ever loved it.

well that changed.

i've mentioned that my dad is a fabulous cook. he found this fancy shmancy granola at whole foods about a year ago and decided he wasn't willing to pay $5 for a few ounces of it. so he experimented until he mastered it at home.

it's the perfect granola. i could eat it every day. with milk. over yogurt and berries. just a handful by itself. mmm...

it's a little pricey to make since it has nuts and agave, but definitely less expensive than buying even the cheapest bag/box of granola from the store. and way better for you.

and it's adorably named (by my dad) richola granola (his name is richard). love you dad! thanks for sharing!

richola granola
more than a gallon ziploc bag full

8 cups rolled oats (old fashioned, not quick)
1/2 cup almonds (whole or sliced, i like sliced)
1/2 cup walnuts, broken up
1/2 cup pecans, broken up
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (i omit - pumpkin seeds are pricey!)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, craisins, cherries, whatever you can afford!)
2 teaspoons sea salt
11.5 oz agave nectar (just less than 1 1/2 cups)

1. mix all ingredients except agave nectar in huge bowl (i use my roasting pan). add agave nectar and mix thoroughly til everything is wet and evenly distributed.
2. you can eat it raw, this way (store in ziploc bags or large tupperware containers).
3. or you can toast it - spread on 2 cookie sheets and toast at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring at 10 and 20 minutes. (my dad toasts it longer, but this works for my oven and my tastes.)

kick me in the pants and call me slacker banana pancakes

kick me in the pants and call me slacker. i haven't abandoned this blog. have you abandoned me? i have no comments!! ahh!!

hubby's new job has him working late most nights, so he eats at work. why would i cook for just me and two little kids who'd probably rather have pasta or cheerios anyway? needless to say, i haven't been cooking much.

since he's sometimes around for breakfast though i have made these a few times. they are amazing! kick me in the pants and call me slacker, but at least i'm back on the posting band wagon!

stay-tuned - i'll post some desserts that won't do you or your budget in over the holidays.

kick me in the pants and call me slacker banana pancakes
4-6 servings
modified from allrecipes.com, here

1 cup whole wheat flour (or 1/2 white 1/2 wheat)
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons applesauce
2 overripe bananas, mashed (i used really overripe that i defrosted from my freezer)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. mix wet ingredients (including banana) well. add dry ingredients and mix until just wet. batter will be lumpy.
2. heat griddle to medium heat. pour about 1/4 cup on griddle for each pancake and cook slowly until both sides are light golden brown.
3. the most important part: serve hot with a tiny layer of peanut butter spread on top and then your favorite syrup. (i used maple... my husband used berry, with no peanut butter. weirdo.)

breakfast for dinner: baked breakfast taquitos

we almost always each exclusively hot cereal for breakfast so sometimes real breakfast foods sound really good - for dinner. like scrambled eggs or cheesy waffles. so a few weeks ago i made these baked breakfast taquitos with lime chipotle dip for dinner. they were to die for! and besides, any meal that bakes something that is supposed to be fried is a winner in my book. :) these would be great for a breakfast or brunch with friends or family. very impressive, yet easy (and the main ingredient is eggs - cheap!!)!

baked breakfast taquitos with lime chipotle dip
recipe by our best bites
with a few very minor, healthy changes by yours truly

cooking spray
12 large eggs
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher/sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 cup grated pepperjack cheese
1/4 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 teaspoon hot sauce

16 6" flour tortillas
cooking spray or olive oil

dipping sauce:
1 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

preheat oven to 425 degrees. line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. spray with cooking spray and set aside.

heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. crack eggs into large mixing bowl. whisk in 1/2 cup sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. when skillet is hot, spray with cooking spray and add egg mixture to pan. using a rubber spatula, gently scrape bottom of pan and fold eggs over to scramble. remove from heat when slightly undercooked. add cheese, roasted red peppers, green onions, cilantro, and hot sauce to taste. gently fold to combine.

warm tortillas in microwave to ease rolling process. working with a few tortillas at a time, place a scant 1/4 cup egg mixture into the center of each one and roll up into a cylinder. place rolled tortillas on prepared baking sheet, seam-side down, so they are not touching each other. when all tortillas are rolled and filled, lightly spray tops with cooking spray, or lightly brush with olive oil. bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and crisp.

while taquitos are baking, coming 1 1/2 cup sour cream, lime juice, chipotle chili powder and kosher salt. stir to combine and store in fridge. remove taquitos from oven , let cool for 5 minutes, and then serve with dipping sauce.

please cheat

please cheat on your diet with this to-die-for stack of simple carbohydrate goodness. i never imagined pancakes could taste so amazing. i'm not much of a pancake person, but i could eat these every day (but i don't... that would be a bad idea!). and don't drink the syrup... or do.

spicy apple pancakes with cider sauce
from my dear friend lulu (and family)
4 servings

2 cups bisquick

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 1/3 cup milk

3/4 cup grated apple (1 apple)

mix all ingredients accept apples together until moist - don't over mix. fold in apples. batter should be fairly thick - do not thin! cook pancakes on griddle or stove as you usually would until cooked through.

cider sauce (enough for 2 batches of pancakes)

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 cups apple cider or apple juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup butter

put in dry ingredients first, add lemon juice & apple cider/juice, stir on medium/hot, boil for one minute while stirring, take off the stove and add butter. stir until melted.

banana snack cake

this banana snack cake was just like banana bread, but you didn't have to wait an hour for it to cook! no white flour and it was completely delicious. both times i've made it it failed to last 24 hours. try it for yourself!

banana snack cake
modified from recipe at zimbio.com (here)

1 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour (toss some oats in your blender!)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoonbaking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup mashed, ripened banana (i use 4 smallish bananas)
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk (original recipe called for 1/2 cup sour cream - this would be great too!)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips


preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray a 9x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

in a large bowl mix together sugar, eggs, and applesauce. add bananas, soy milk (or sour cream) and vanilla. beat again until smooth.

add the dry ingredients slowly. the batter will be thick. fold in chips.

pour batter into pan and bake for 25 to 28 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

cool completely on a wire rack. cut into 16 pieces.


and coming friday - a new skinny bovine feature! five ingredient fridays. at the request of my friend katja i will post a recipe every friday with five ingredients or less! thanks for the great suggestion, katja!

recipe of the week: oat bran muffins

i was looking for a good fiber-ful muffin once and came across these. i love them! that's all i have to say! mmm.....

oat bran muffins

modified from "oat bran muffins" at allrecipes.com

12 muffins

wouldn't it be fun to wake up to muffins on your windowsill?

1/2 cup brown sugar (or a little less)
1 1/2 cups oat bran (it's a hot cereal, red box, it was hard to find the first time!)
a little less than 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup chilled unsweetened applesauce
4 tablespoons fat free yogurt (i usually use plain or vanilla, but anything should work!)

a dash of cinnamon (optional)

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees f. grease 12 muffin cups.

2. blend together brown sugar, oat bran, flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. add eggs, chilled applesauce, and yogurt. mix until well-blended. spoon batter into muffin cups. let stand 10 minutes.
3. bake at 400 degrees f for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

recipe of the week: pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

i totally have a thing for pumpkin this time of year! i don't know what it is, but i crave pumpkin everything during the holidays! and since i'm kind of muffin crazy, here's a fun butter-less, oil-less recipe with no white flour. mmm....

pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

18 muffins

8 oz (fat free or low fat) vanilla yogurt (generic brands are often 8 oz)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup oat flour (run oats through your blender!)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chocolate chips (you could leave these out, but they are pretty yummy!)

1. cream butter,vanilla and sugar. add eggs and pumpkin and whip until combined.

2. add all dry ingredients and stir until combined.

3. stir in 1/2 cup water until combined. then stir in chocolate chips.

4. pour batter into 18 greased muffin tin spots.

5. bake at 350 about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

this is my cute daughter eating dinner and posing with the muffins. i love that face!

spicing up hot cereal

so back when i started this blog i wrote a lengthy diatribe about the benefits of eating hot cereal for breakfast (cheap, healthy, more money for the rest of the day's food, etc. click the link to read more). sometimes hot cereal gets boring, so we've tried to switch it up at our house lately. here are a two hot cereals we've been gobbling up and looking for more. the first is my spin on a tradition in my husband's house growing up and the second is my version of a classic.

corn meal mush and toast (we call it "cornlaw", my mother-in-law called it "gruel and toast" and my sister-in-law calls it "grandma's special corn meal breakfast" - you pick!)
2 servings

1 ½ cup water
½ cup water (or milk if you prefer - i'm allergic so i use water!)
½ cup corn meal
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 – ¼ teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons white sugar

2 slice of your favorite bread, toasted
toast toppings of your choice (i do a tiny bit of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, my husband does no cinnamon and sugar and just drenches the whole thing in butter. ewww.)

1. bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. add 1/2 cup water from the tap then turn heat to low. slowly stir/whisk in 1/2 cup corn meal, a little bit at a time to avoid clumps.
2. when all corn meal is added, add salt, sugar and vanilla and stir thouroughly. either let simmer on very low heat until thick or turn off heat if it seems to be thickening quickly.
3. break your toast, prepared with desired toppings, into small pieces into the bottom of a bowl. top with corn meal mush and eat!

apple cinnamon oatmeal
2 servings

1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced into small pieces
½ tablespoon butter
½ tablespoon white sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup oats (quick or regular)
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla

1. melt butter in a sauce pan. sautee sliced apples in the butter 4-5 minutes or until a little bit soft and then add white sugar and cinnamon. stir until completely combined.
2. while sauteeing the apples, bring 2 cups water and the salt to a boil. add oats, stir and reduce heat to low. when it is about half way done, add sauteed apples, brown sugar and vanilla. continue simmering until desired thickness is reached. eat and enjoy!

snack time

i'm sure i'm not the only bovine who is getting hungry between meals so let's talk about snacks. there are definitely good and bad things to snack on, so what is the difference:

bad snacks:

• anything full of bad carbs - this can be store-bought granola bars, cereals, chips, etc., etc., etc.
• anything with lots of sugar - as much as we love it, we all know that snacking on leftover dessert from sunday night is a bad idea
• anything full of bad fat - anything fried like chips and anything with lots of butter like almost all crackers (sadly this includes our favorites like ritz, chicken in a biscuit, etc. even saltines aren't very good! ahhh!)

good snacks:

• fruit - keep lots of it around. shoot for 2-3 a day. it isn't hard - eat a banana with or after breakfast and an apple after lunch. don't want it plain? put a little bit of peanut butter on your apple and you may change your mind. this is still better than snacking on the apple cake you made last night (i made one last night... i'm trying to remind myself of this too...). a glass of orange juice is even a pretty decent snack
• veggies (with some fat free/low-fat salad dressing if you don't like to eat them plain)
• homemade granola bars (i'll post mine some time)
• yogurt - healthy and a great way to sneak in a serving of dairy
• nuts (sometimes they are expensive, but if you watch for sales these are good snacks!)
• hard boiled eggs (read more on eggs)
• whole-grain, low-sugar cereals (by the handful - i'm not talking about a bowl of cereal). i like to munch on my daughter's cheerios on occasion.
• and a good snack i've discovered will often quell my insatiable sweet tooth... muffins and quick breads made (made with no oil or butter and packed with good flour, fruits and veggies and with some added nutrition through wheat germ and flax seed)

you're probably noticing a trend - things are generally more healthy and less expensive when you make them yourself! this is something that we all know, but sometimes it's good to get a refresher!

i created these yummy snack loaved the other day for a number of reasons. 1 - i had brown bananas i didn't want to waste! :) 2 - i wanted a little bit of a sweet snack with no oil, butter or white flour in it. 3 - traditional sized loaves seem to get dry on the outside while the inside is waiting to cook, so these snack loaves are moist all the way through. yum. and 4 - a piece of a normal sized-loaf is often too much if i just need a tiny snack to hold me over.

my husband definitely prefers bread like this with white flour in it but he loved this one! it's light, moist and pretty good on the healthy snack scale! hope your health-resistant husband likes it too!

cinnamon banana snack loaf

2 snack loaves

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 smaller bananas for me!)
*1 cup oat flour (stick some oats in the blender)
*1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup warm water
*for an extra healthy touch decrease oat flour and wheat flour to 3/4 cup and add 1/4 cup each of wheat germ and milled flax seed

1. beat together sugar and applesauce. add vanilla and eggs and beat well.
2. stir in bananas and mix well again.
3. add all dry ingredients and combine until moist throughout.
4. add water and mix again until combined.
5. pour equal amounts into 2 large, greased loaf pans and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees (check frequently!). (the "snack loaves" will fill about 1/2 of a large loaf pan, but you could make small loaves if you have the pans.)

don't let me catch you with this in your kitchen!

each of you raise your right hand and say - "after reading this post, i promise the skinny bovine that i will rid myself of any and all vegetable oil in my kitchen! yuck!!!"

you promised, now here are the reasons why:

• it has no redeeming nutrional value. it is terrible for you. we all know oil has fat, but vegetable oil has all of the wrong kind of fat.
• you can use olive oil instead for cooking. despite the extra cost, your arteries will thank you later.
• you can use substitutes in baking too. does your brownie, cake or muffin recipe call for 1 cup of oil? be honest with yourself - that is gross. use yogurt or applesauce instead. and yes, your baked goods will still turn out moist and delicious!! if you're one of those who can "taste" applesauce and are opposed to it in baked goods, try yogurt and you won't taste it! i usually use plain, non-fat yogurt, but you could also use vanilla yogurt and use a bit less sugar in your recipe.

i've been on a muffin kick lately - or i guess i should say my husband is on one. my freezer is full of muffins he can take to school with him to snack on. so, here's a yummy one to try - its one of my favorites because it sneaks in a few veggies too!

zucchini carrot muffins

24 muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup oat flour (put oats in the blender and voila! oat flour!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup white sugar (or brown or 1/2 brown, 1/2 white - whatever you prefer!)
3/4 cup honey (if honey is a budget buster right now, use more brown sugar instead)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees. lightly grease 24 muffin cups.
2. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. in a separate bowl, beat together eggs, applesauce, yogurt, sugar, honey, and vanilla. mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture. fold in the zucchini and carrots. scoop into the prepared muffin cups.
3. bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

zucchini carrot muffins modified from "zucchini yogurt multigrain muffins" from allrecipes.com

recipe of the week: yummy banana muffins

here's another way to apply the principle of "waste not, want not" (see previous post). i love these muffins and they are a great way to use up over-ripe bananas and of course, they don't have any oil or butter in them. if you're not into whole wheat yet, try using 1/2 white flour and 1/2 wheat flour. ease your way in. :)

yummy banana muffins

makes 12 muffins

1 egg (or 1 egg white if you want to eliminate a few more calories)
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (a little bit less is still yummy if you want to make them extra healthy)
1/3 heaping cup applesauce (or plain fat free yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (expensive and definitely optional!)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F. lightly grease one 12 cup muffin pan.
2. in a large bowl, combine egg, banana, brown sugar, applesauce and vanilla. in a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. gently stir flour mixture and oatmeal into banana mixture. fold in walnuts (optional). pour batter into prepared muffin cups.
4. bake in preheated oven or 15 to 20 minutes, or until light brown. remove muffins from pan and place on a wire rack to let cool before serving.

up next - my adventures in cooking for a family of 5 for a week! lots of recipes and just good plain fun (a hilarious 4-year-old, sous-chef was involved - how could it not be fun?)

recipe is a modified version of "seminary muffins" from allrecipes.com. photo is from the same.

the incredible, edible egg

since i'm nursing a baby, exercising and am a generally insatiably hungry skinny bovine, a quick, protein-rich snack is a must in my day. for me, that protein/energy fix is usually a hard-boiled egg (salted, of course!). here are just a few reasons eggs are skinny bovine-worthy:

• they are good fat, high-quality protein and not as linked to bad cholesterol as researchers used to think. (for more on the health benefits of eggs click here.)
  
• soooo cheap! on average they are less than $0.20 per egg - on sale they're even less!
  
• so many different ways to eat them - hard-boiled, scrambled, over easy, etc, etc, etc. keeps it interesting so you don't get bored of them.
  

make a batch of hard-boiled eggs to try for a quick snack at your house. my mom taught me how to make perfect hard-boiled eggs. here are the steps:

1. arrange eggs in the bottom of a large pot.
   
2. add cold water just above the top of the eggs.
   
3. bring to a boil on the stove and then turn down so it is barely at a rolling boil.
   
4. leave at rolling boil for 15 minutes.
   
5. remove from heat, drain hot water and run cold water over eggs. let eggs sit in the cold water until they are cool.

------

i don't particularly like the usual "breakfast for dinner" scenario, with syrup, orange juice and the like - something hearty is better in my book. that's another fun thing about eggs - they are hearty enough to eat for dinner. when i was a freshman in college my best friend maggi taught me to make "cheesy waffles". she liked to top them with syrup, but i like to put eggs on mine and eat them like a sandwich. so in honor of my maggi, we'll call this recipe "cheesy waffles and eggs" and a bonus of "quick breakfast cobbler".

cheesy waffles and eggs & quick breakfast cobbler

cheesy waffles and eggs
2 eggs - cooked your favorite way
waffle mix, made as per directions
cheese (sharp cheddar is yummiest, but whatever you have will work!)

1. pour waffle batter into waffle iron (the thinner the waffles, the better!). top with cheese as seen in picture below. (top with cheese before you close the waffle iron.)
2. while waffles are cooking, make your eggs as desired.
3. top waffles with eggs. cover in syrup, more cheese, eat with a fork, eat like a sandwich - whatever you'd like!

quick breakfast cobbler (1 piece of fruit serves 2 people as a side dish)
1 ripe peach or nectarine
3 tablespoons oats
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

combine all ingredients. heat in microwave for 1 minute.

waste not, want not

one of the biggest money-wasters in my kitchen has been wasting food, whether it be from food spoiling or not using food because you don't know what else you can use 1/2 a can of crushed tomatoes for. in order to combat this nasty, expensive vice, i try to implement a few, simple habits:

• check your cabinets and refridgerator once a week. if you have foods that are almost expired, use those first. this almost always includes fresh fruits and veggies and can often include dairy products like cheese, milk and eggs.


• plan a weekly menu. this can definitely be a struggle (especially for me!) as it is often easier to fly by the seat of your pants when preparing meals. but planning ahead can keep you from wasting food, making multiple trips to the grocery store or even letting some ingredients go unused. you'll be glad you did when you only have to make one trip to the grocery store instead of 3.


• plan meals strategically. if you're going to use 1/2 a can of corn in a recipe on monday, find another recipe you can put corn in later in the week or have it as a side dish to something else. one of my favorite ways to do this is to use the "ingredient search" on allrecipes.com. (http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx if you're interested.)


• don't waste even the smallest amount. if you have a tiny bit of cheese left, mix it into some sauce and put it over pasta. be creative. one of the yummiest dinners we've ever had was when i used just 1 piece of fresh deli turkey, skillet-grilled with onions, garlic and eggs, topped with cheese and then wrapped up in tortillas for breakfast burritos. just 1 slice of turkey make a delicious dinner and didn't go to waste.


• use the bad, make it good. now, clearly you can't make something "good" out of spoiled milk, but some foods you can save right before they're bad (or right after they're "bad" - the expiration dates on food are often overly cautious) and turn them into something yummy. it's always fun to use brown bananas for something so here's a yummy recipe i like to use.

whole wheat banana bread

ingredients
1/3 applesauce or non-fat plain yogurt
1/4 honey
1/4 cup brown sugar + a little extra
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
a dash of cinnamon (optional)

directions
1. preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. in a large bowl, beat applesauce/yogurt, honey and brown sugar together. add eggs, and mix well. stir in bananas and vanilla. stir in flour and salt. add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then add to batter. blend in chopped nuts and cinnamon (optional). spread batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
3. bake for 45 to 60 minutes. check often - different ovens have different cook times! cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour before slicing.

some of these tips may seem simple, but the pennies saved from implementing them in your kitchen count. so plan ahead, prepare and push your tiny budget farther than it has gone before.

thanks to allrecipes.com for the picture

recipe adpated by yours truly from "whole wheat banana nut bread" on allrecipes.com

start your day with sense, for cents

if you are cooking on a budget, every meal counts. why not make your first meal your cheapest one and leave the rest of your alloted daily food cash for your bulkier meals? despite how cheap the "8 for $8" cereal sales or generic-brand bagels are at the local grocery store, these foods disappear too quickly (and aren't inexpensive enough) to really be considered "cheap".

hot cereal is the way to go for a truly discount and healthy breakfast. what makes hot cereal skinny bovine-worthy?

• variety. oatmeal, farina or germade (name brand=cream of wheat), 9 grain and cracked wheat are some of my favorites. buy quick oats in bulk basically anywhere, farina or germade at your local grocer and 9 grain and cracked wheat in the bulk foods of any whole foods market.
  
• more variety. just a few suggestions of many possibilities for toppings: brown sugar, white sugar, honey, milk, butter, fresh fruit, frozen fruit, canned fruit, seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc.), sour cream and salt and pepper. adding fruit or milk are especially good as you knock out an additional food group or two by including them.
  
• hot cereal is CHEAP!!! you can feed your whole family for literally pennies. the topping you put on it or the glass of milk you drink with it may be cheaper than the cereal itself.
  
• hot cereals are healthy. bagels and cold cereal are full of white flour and nothing with any substantial health benefits, but hot cereals are good carb grains full of fiber and other things from which your body benefits.
  

i'm a convert to hot cereal. my husband got me hooked - his mother fed all nine members of their family hot cereal for just pennies each morning when he was growing up. so for the sake of nostalgia, our pocketbooks and our health, let's start our day with sense for cents with hot cereal.

for cooking instructions on bulk-type hot cereals, simply search "how to cook cracked wheat", etc. on google... don't you love google?