“What is for breakfast?” was not a question my sisters and I needed to ask on school days when we were children. Though the breakfast menu varied on weekends and holidays, the standard fare on school days was nearly always oatmeal. My mother, operating on the belief that we needed “a good hot breakfast” that would “stick to our ribs,” rose early every morning in order to have a pot of steaming hot oatmeal cooked and ready for us when we tumbled out of bed. Admittedly, we girls sometimes found the predictable bowl of oats monotonous, but in later years after we had each been diagnosed with celiac disease and were forced to give up oats entirely, we found ourselves longing for it, especially on cold winter mornings.

My mother's folk wisdom concerning oats was substantiated in recent years by the discovery of real health benefits obtained from eating foods high in soluble fiber. (Other studies have shown that she was right about the benefits of eating breakfast, too.) The American Heart Association has gone as far as to link heart health with eating oats.¹ However, the same oats that may be beneficial for another person's heart may be harmful for the celiac's gastrointestinal and immune systems.², ³ Celiacs are left to wonder what there is that can substitute for oats.

Surprisingly, there are many hot cereals that not only are safe for celiacs but also are very nutritious. Furthermore, some of them are quite fast to prepare. Brown rice cereals, such as Arrowhead Mills ”Rice and Shine” and Lundberg “Hot 'n Creamy Rice Cereal,” cook in 5 minutes on the stove or in approximately 2 minutes in a microwave oven. Cracked buckwheat cereal also cooks rapidly and is higher in protein and fiber than brown rice cereal. “Wolff's Kasha” (medium granulation), available in San Antonio at H-E-B in the kosher section, and Bob's Red Mill “Creamy Buckwheat Cereal” are two of the available brands of cracked buckwheat. Bob's Red Mill “Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal” – a combination of brown rice, corn, buckwheat, and sorghum – cooks in less than 5 minutes in the microwave oven. The prizewinner for fast preparation, however, is Ancient Harvest brand “Quinoa Flakes.” When added to boiling water, Quinoa Flakes cook in 90 seconds! Though lower in fiber than buckwheat, quinoa is higher in protein and calcium.

When fast preparation is not absolutely essential, there are additional grains to add to the cooked cereal selections, including whole buckwheat (kasha), whole quinoa, millet, and whole grain teff. (The latter is not the same as whole grain teff flour.) These grains take somewhat longer to cook – 15 to 20 minutes – but because the grains are whole rather than cracked or milled, they have more texture and flavor than the faster-cooking cereals. Mixing two or more of them can produce interesting combinations. A good combination, for example, is equal parts of millet and quinoa. One way to enjoy these cereals but avoid the longer cooking times on busy mornings is to cook several servings of the cereal in the evening, store the cereal in the refrigerator, and warm a single serving in the microwave oven in the morning.

Adding fruit, nuts, or other ingredients to gluten-free hot cereals provides flavor enhancement, variation, and added nutrition in the same way that adding such ingredients does for oatmeal. Chopped fresh or dried fruit adds flavor, sweetness, and fiber to cereal. Nuts add flavor, texture, protein, and “good fats.” Adding one to three teaspoons of ground flax to cooked cereal adds fiber and beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Stirring 1 teaspoon of ground sesame seeds (tahini), peanut butter, or other nut butters into cereals adds flavor and makes the texture creamier.

Having found so many gluten-free grains from which to choose, my sisters and I rarely yearn for oats any more. Cold winter days now inspire us to try the new grains in different combinations and with different ingredients added for variation.