Strawberries and Cream Farina

I love Breakfast! It is probably my favorite meal of the day. We love granola, hot cereals, eggs, pancakes with homemade syrup, etc. I like to have variety in all my meals .

Over a year and a half ago, we pretty much stopped eating cold cereal. I just came to a point in my life where I wanted to eat more whole foods and less processed foods. I believe everyone is on a food journey and mine was taking me in a direction away from processed foods. I try really hard to make most of our foods by scratch. There is just something special about knowing exactly what you are eating and being able to pronounce all the ingredients names. Before this time, some may say, we were addicted to cold cereal. We were in a breakfast rut. But as I said, it was a time of change for us.

Up until that point I did not really care for hot cereal. But we have learned what we like and how we like to eat hot cereal. I can honestly say now that I LOVE HOT CEREAL!  We eat hot cereal about 3-4 times a week. We eat a variety of hot cereals. It’s not just oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar every day. That would be boring.

In Utah, there is this historic granary called Lehi Roller Mills. Maybe you have heard of it. Parts of the original movie Footloose were filmed there. Ring a bell?  Any way, they have this amazing hot cereal called Strawberries and Cream Germade. It is delicious. My family loves it, but it can be quite expensive for a bigger family like mine. At one point they used to sell it in a 25 pound bag and that is how I liked to buy it. Then they stopped and now you can only buy it in a four pound bag (I believe that’s what size it is). A four pound doesn’t go very far for a large family like mine.

Well one day, as I was lamenting over not being able to get this delightful cereal in bulk any more, it hit me that I could try and recreate it. It just so happened that I had strawberries in my fridge. I had powdered coffee creamer in my pantry. And I had farina in my cupboard. I had an idea. I made it and we loved it.  We love it even better than the stuff you can buy. It tastes so much better with real strawberries. It is like dessert for breakfast.

 

Let’s just get this out of the way. Some of you may say: What is farina? What is germade? Have you heard of Cream of Wheat? They are the same thing, only way cheaper. I buy mine in bulk. If you buy a huge bag at Lehi Roller Mills, it will be called germade. Yes, they still have the plain germade available in 25 pound bags. If you live in the West and are lucky enough to have a WinCo near you, it is called farina. I can also get farina pretty cheap near me at an Amish bulk food store. Or you can stick with the expensive Cream of Wheat. You often find it at Natural food stores. You can even find it at Walmart. It doesn’t matter where you buy it, it is all the same.

 

Strawberries and Cream Farina (aka. Germade or Cream of Wheat)

Serves 4

4 cups water

½ tsp salt

2/3 cup farina

¼ cup powdered creamer

1/3–½ cup sugar* (adjust to your taste)

¾ cup finely chopped** strawberries*** (about a 3^rd of a pound)

 

Bring water and salt to a boil in a saucepan on the stove. Slowly add in the farina and the creamer, using a whisk to mix it well, so no lumps can form.  Lower heat to a medium-low.  Stir continuously for 6-8 minutes till it is to the thickness you like. I usually add the sugar and strawberries and cook for an extra minute.  Serve with milk (optional) and

ENJOY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* You can adjust the sugar to the sweetness you prefer. The kids and I like it semi-sweet, but not all out candied. My husband prefers very lightly sweetened. Play with it and see what you like. Start with less and then add more as desired.

**I use a small food processor to chop up my strawberries to a somewhat course texture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*** We have tried many other fruits: blueberries, blackberries, peaches, nectarines, etc. We have liked them all, but strawberries have remained out favorite. Use whatever fruit you prefer or have on hand. For fruits that may not be as tart, you may choose to add a little lemon juice (l used some when I made it with nectarines).