For the Love of Food

As I was making my breakfast this morning, I was thinking how simple, healthy, delicious, and CHEAP this breakfast is. Why don’t more people eat this for breakfast??

I must admit that I grew-up hating oatmeal. I mean, who likes a bowl full of bugers?? Yes, that’s what I actually thought…and still think of cooked oatmeal. But, after moving to Germany I learned to eat breakfast as most other Germans: muesli. Muesli is basically some form of oatmeal, sometimes even in granola form (with lots of sugar), and other ingredients added to it such as dried fruits and nuts..and sometimes even pieces of chocolate.

For many years I bought pre-made muesli made of granola with tropical dried fruits until one day I could no longer eat sugar. A box of muesli can have a lot of added sugar in it! So, I started making my own. Throughout the winter I enjoy adding frozen blueberries and raspberries which I put together (without milk) the night before so that the berries slowly defrost and have the same consistency of the fresh berries they once were by morning. In the spring time I enjoy my oatmeal with bananas or strawberries, and in the summer I like adding peaches, apricots, or fresh blue berries. For some reason, every Fall I enjoy eating rye bread with different homemade jellies that I canned throughout the summer and generally don’t eat much oatmeal.

Not only is this a very very healthy and fulfilling meal, it is very inexpensive. For 27 cents a serving you really can’t go wrong (see my price list bellow).

And, if you think your kids won’t like it, you may be in for a surprise. I wish I could show you the look on my 3-year-old son’s face and hear the excitement in his voice when he sees his small bowl of oatmeal piled high with raspberries and blueberries. Would he rather have sugar-coated cereal that comes in a colorful box and literally cost 4 times as much (for the store brand)?? Of course – he’s a kid. But, that doesn’t mean he won’t enjoy something healthy and delicious like oatmeal in cereal form (uncooked with cold milk) 99% of the time.

So, for those of you out there looking for a way to trim off a chunk of change from your food bill, breakfast is a good place to start.

Comparison:
Homemade Oatmeal and Banana Cereal
80g Oatmeal: 4 cents
1/2 a Banana: 10 cents
236ml Milk: 13 cents
Total: 27 cents
Feed a family of 4: €1,08
1 year of breakfasts like this for a family of 4: €394,20

Store-brand Cornflakes cereal
80g Cornflakes: 15 cents
1/2 a Banana: 10 cents
236ml Milk: 13 cents
Total: 38 cents
Feed a family of 4: €1,52
1 year of breakfasts like this for a family of 4: €554,80

Your savings over a year for a family of 4 is €160,60! Now, that’s a lot of money. At first the 11 cent a serving difference doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but add it up over a year and you have saved enough money for 2 weeks worth of groceries, or a new cell phone, or round trip air fare for one to Mallorca…or…you get my point.

I know eating the same thing every morning can really bum us out.  That’s why (in our home) we eat breakfasts like these Monday through Saturday and indulge ourselves with a nice cooked breakfast home homemade pancakes, scrambled eggs, and/or homemade sausage on Sundays.

What is your breakfast routine?  And, how do you save money with our breakfasts??

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