Mar
21
2011

Cinnamon Roll Cereal, Take One

27 comments

As a little girl, I remember, vividly, the mornings my dad and I would eat cereal together. It was kind of our thing. He would pour two bowls of Raisin Bran cereal, top each with half a sliced banana, his bowl also with extra sugar, and douse both bowls with milk. We would sit down at the table, eating our cereal and reading the newspaper together; Him with this news, me with my comics.

I don’t live near my parents anymore and I don’t eat much cereal, drink any milk, or read the paper, but I will always cherish each bowl of cereal my Dad and I shared together. It was our time to bond, if you will.

I’ve been craving cereal lately. It might be the crunchy little pieces floating in a sea of creamy milk. It might be the sweet indulgence of my favorite Cinnamon Toast Crunch, loaded with sugar but oh-so-good. It might be me missing my dad and family. It might be all of these things. AND it could be that it’s officially the start of a new week, and I don’t know about you but posting breakfast on an early Monday morning just seems right.

I eat much healthier than I ever did in those younger days of growing up. I can now substitute almost anything I crave for a much more nutritious, healthful, and tasty alternative. Dairy milk is replaced with almond milk. White sugar is replaced with dates, maple syrup, and honey. And cereal is replaced with… um… Peanut Butter Puffins? (Anyone else think that the peanut butter ones are made with crack?! Dangerous having those in the house…)

What can we replace cereals with? I’m not talking about oats or homemade granola. I’m talking about those certain “kid” cereals loaded with high fructose corn syrup and white flour. Like an old favorite such as Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

I found my solution to the cinnamony, “sugary,” problem. And I’m pretty sure it’s the easiest cereal recipe out there- besides opening the box. Plus, these are gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, and fun.

Cinnamon Roll Cereal, Take One

[because there will be many more attempts/perfections with this one]

  • 2 egg roll wrappers
  • date syrup
  • cinnamon
  • sea salt
  • raisins (optional)
  • cooking spray (optional)
  • almond milk (or other milk)
  • bowl
  • spoon
  • mouth

Place 2 egg roll wrappers on a cutting board, coating both with date syrup, one side only. Sprinkle cinnamon to your liking and a dash of sea salt across the date syrup coating.

Carefully roll each wrapper and cut into small slices (making your mini cinnamon rolls). Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Spray with a thin coating of cooking spray (or coconut oil?), and broil on high (baking at middle rack, away from the broiler coils) for 3-5 minutes. Turn each roll and bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until crisp.

Place your now crisped mini cinnamon rolls in a small bowl, topping with raisins. Pour your required amount of milk and eat.

I have to admit, these don’t taste exactly like the real Cinnamon Toast Cereal, but they are a valiant effort and still cinnamony good.

Do you have a breakfast or food memory of growing up?

What was/is your favorite type of cereal? I used to LOVE Grapenuts… anything that doesn’t get soggy and stays super crunchy is ok in my book. Now, I’m obsessed with PB Puffins… but these are coming in close second. ;)

Want a taste?

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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }

Sable@SquatLikeALady March 21, 2011 at 3:02 AM

Hahahah I love your ingredient list!! :-)

When I was growing up every Sunday my Mom would make us either homemade cinnamon rolls or homemade monkey bread…mmmmm!! Every time I smell one of those things now I remember being in my kitchen on a lazy Sunday morning at 11am =)
Sable@SquatLikeALady´s last [type] ..I screwed up

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Lori March 21, 2011 at 10:32 AM

Ah, that’s awesome! Traditions like that are wonderful. And the smells that bring you back are priceless. :)

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Erika March 21, 2011 at 3:32 AM

this is SO genious! my favorite cereal was always fruity pebbles and i remember always having numerous boxes of different cereals in the cabinet :)
do you have any ideas of what I could use instead of the date syrup?
Erika´s last [type] ..Spring Chickens

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Lori March 21, 2011 at 10:35 AM

Date syrup could probably be replaced with agave, honey, maple syrup, or even sugar. I’m working on a few variations right now… like pumpkin cinnamon roll cereal. ;)

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Kat March 21, 2011 at 3:48 AM

klhbfvkibdfipvnpoenhg HOLY CRAP. Your a genius. I have no idea how you come up with these things but wow. Gah I need date syrup!! Or I need you to just move down here and be my neighbor. I think the second one will work better ;)
Kat´s last [type] ..Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard

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Lori March 21, 2011 at 10:42 AM

“Won’tcha be my neighbor!”

hehe.

You can use anything to replace the date syrup- agave, maple syrup, honey.. but it’s yummy with the dates.

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Pure2raw Twins March 21, 2011 at 4:14 AM

Love this idea!!! I love cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon toast crunch actually used to be one of my favorite cereal as a kid, so this would be perfect!! YUMMY!!

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steph March 21, 2011 at 5:14 AM

these look so good!! you’re so creative with the egg roll wrappers lol!
steph´s last [type] ..green

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chrysta March 21, 2011 at 6:37 AM

omg, this is the coolest idea! aahh your recipes are always so inspiring. My husband loves cinnamon rolls. Its his fav. So now I have to make this. I cant wait..Looks so good!! Happy Monday!
chrysta´s last [type] ..Eggplant Rollatini and Nacho Mama

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tea-bag March 21, 2011 at 6:41 AM

hmmm…. i remember going on road trips and eating my mom’s cinnamon rolls. as i grew older she confessed that they were merely pillsbury crescent rolls with cinnamon! :)
my fav cereal was kix. never had much of a sweet tooth and i guess i still don’t. i prefer my oatmeal plain and i won’t touch pancakes that have any maple syrup! weird kid, weird adult!
tea-bag´s last [type] ..Turkey Muffins

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Lindsay Cotter March 21, 2011 at 6:56 AM

you are so creative! I love puffins too! A little too much. I might have to give this a shot!
Lindsay Cotter´s last [type] ..A Successful Runner……

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Alisa Fleming March 21, 2011 at 7:11 AM

That looks like such a fun recipe really! I can’t say I miss sweet cereal at all, it wasn’t so much my thing, but this version looks good!
Alisa Fleming´s last [type] ..Win a Year’s Supply of Probiotic Chocolate!

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Alisa Fleming March 21, 2011 at 7:16 AM

Oh my gosh, your header changes, how cute!
Alisa Fleming´s last [type] ..Win a Year’s Supply of Probiotic Chocolate!

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Lori March 21, 2011 at 11:07 AM

Hehe. Thanks! I like the changing header.. :)

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Melissa March 21, 2011 at 7:46 AM

oh my this cereal looks amazing! I was never a huge cereal person as a kid but oatmeal crunch was a favorite in my teen years:)
Yes, I hate when cereal gets soggy. I usually can’t eat it at that point:(
Love the little story about your and your pops:)
Melissa´s last [type] ..Animal rescue of loyal pal in Japan

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april March 21, 2011 at 9:26 AM

What a neat idea!! Now if only I had that amount of patience! :)

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Katie March 21, 2011 at 9:44 AM

Egg roll wrappers are gluten free?!!? How did I not know that? T his is genius!!

There was a cinnamon roll cereal I loved growing up. I can’t remember what it was called….love the story about your dad. :)
Katie´s last [type] ..Book lust

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Alyssa @ Life of bLyss March 21, 2011 at 9:49 AM

what a COOL idea, Lori! I’m so fascinated. I’d never think of doing this!

and it made me smile that you, too, would read the comics while your dad read the paper at breakfast. :)
Alyssa @ Life of bLyss´s last [type] ..Post-Race Ouchies

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Ela March 21, 2011 at 1:29 PM

Wow, you are doing so many amazing creative things with those egg roll wrappers! I love the concept of cereal, but it’s never really been a big feature in my life, not being much of a grains person.

I love this creativity and look forward to the next version.
love
Ela
Ela´s last [type] ..Breaking through the Chrysalis-or Having your Hike and Writing it Too

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Natalie @ will jog for food March 21, 2011 at 1:36 PM

That cereal looks REALLY good! My fav when I was little was cocoa pebbles…I could only have it on saturday and I enjoyed every second of it!

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Kelly Michelle March 21, 2011 at 3:37 PM

ahhhhh OMG PB PUFFINS ARE CRACK!!! They are, I can’t even go near a box and I don’t even like cereal….

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Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons March 21, 2011 at 3:50 PM

DUH I want a taste! you are so innovative girl! it rocks! =)
Jenn L @ Peas and Crayons´s last [type] ..March 2011 Coupons for Real Food

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Chuck March 21, 2011 at 8:22 PM

Wow- mad props on that concoction! Looks really cool. My brother and sister and I would always make our dad leave us a DWF- daddy’s world famous- bowl of cereal. It would be oats, granola, something wholesome like shredded wheats or multigrain chex or raisin bran and then all topped with raisins, bananas, and sliced nuts

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Amber Shea @Almost Vegan March 23, 2011 at 5:58 AM

What a cool idea!
Wow, I haven’t thought about Cinnamon Toast Crunch in ages…I loved that stuff.
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan´s last [type] ..P90X Weeks 5-8- February leftovers

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Christin@purplebirdblog March 24, 2011 at 5:17 PM

Sweet jesus, lady!!! What a brilliant idea! And yes, the PB Puffins are made of crack and unicorns…. you should see the huge container I have packed full of them to eat for breakfast at work in the morning!
Christin@purplebirdblog´s last [type] ..My First Peanut Butter Attempt

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Anne March 24, 2011 at 6:05 PM

Stopped buying puffins because they are made with friggin’ Puffin Crack! (Very dangerous… Toucan Sam has apparently taken up the habit…) NOW – for a Captain Crunchberries alternative to feed my husband. ReadySetGo!
Anne´s last [type] ..So this vegetarian married a meat eater…

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