This low carb banana-flavored cereal is the breakfast recipe you’ve been waiting for! Totally grain-free, it’s made with almond meal, hemp seeds and flaked coconut. Dig in!
If I suggested that you make your mother some cereal for Mother’s Day, would you think I am crazy? I mean, this is Mother’s Day, right? Surely I could come up with something more special than a bowl of cereal! Maybe you would think I don’t care for mothers or motherhood very much. Or maybe I had a bad experience in my childhood on Mother’s Day and I’ve been scarred for life, so I try to minimize the celebrations. Maybe I am really, really stingy or really, really cheap and all I want to spend on anyone is the price of a box of cereal. Just call me the Mother’s Day Grinch.
Or maybe, just maybe, there is a method to my madness. Picture this, if you will. A mother, a kind, generous soul who has given her all to her sweet children, who works tirelessly for their welfare, has recently gone on a low carb, gluten-free diet. It’s the best decision she ever made for her own health. She’s lost weight, she’s gained energy, her myriad health issues have decreased, she looks and feels like a million bucks. But she also feels a little deprived. Heretofore, she was used to pouring herself a quick bowl of cereal in the morning while the kids were getting ready for school. She loved the ease of it, the crunch of it, the way the milk took on the flavours and sweetness. This mother really misses her cereal.
Now a bowl of cereal for Mother’s Day breakfast is starting to look pretty good, isn’t it? Just the thing to make the new healthy mom feel truly special. And the kids can even bring it to her in bed!
I had a lot of fun creating this cereal and I certainly think it’s special enough for Mother’s Day. I wanted something granola-esque, with lots of healthy ingredients to boost your morning nutrition. I had a bag of hemp seeds from Bob’s Red Mill that I wanted to try out, as I’ve heard wonderful things about the flavours and nutrition of these little powerhouse seeds. They are low in carbs (yay!), high in fiber (yay!), and have a moderate amount of protein. Plus, you know, plenty of those other nutrient thingies like Omega 3s and magnesium. So along with some Bob’s almond meal and flaked coconut, and some chopped nuts, they made a great healthy base for a tasty banana nut cereal.
Oh, and did I mention it’s really easy to make? Score some points with mom AND have a little time for yourself. Win win, I would say.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Banana Nut Hemp Cereal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Bob's Red Mill almond meal
- 1 cup Bob's Red Mill hemp seeds
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 cup Bob's Red Mill unsweetened flaked coconut
- ⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon butter melted
- 2 teaspoon banana extract
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond meal, hemp seeds, nuts, coconut, sweetener and salt.
- Stir in butter, extract and egg until mixture begins to clump together. Spread mixture out onto prepared baking sheet and press down to help it clump together.
- Bake about 25 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times, until beginning to brown. Turn off oven and let cereal sit inside for 5 to 10 minutes more.
Nutmeg Nanny says
My mom is a total cereal lover too! It doesn’t matter that she isn’t low carb or GF because this cereal looks amazing for all eaters!
Kim Beaulieu says
Now this is a cereal I can wrap my head around. So much good stuff in one place! I bet the smell is out of this world.
Samantha says
I love the addition of hemp in this recipe! Perfect with a cup of coffee!
Donna says
Thanks Carolyn. I’ll give it a shot.
Barbara says
Carolyn, I just finished making this and the smell is divine and the flavor sublime !! I had a teaspoonful after it came out of the oven. I’m sure my husband will love it as well, and if not, well, more for me !! I subbed hazelnut meal, toasted some whole hazelnuts, also added some pecans and chopped them all up. I’m thinking a coffee extract next !
Carolyn says
All sounds great!
Donna says
Carolyn,
Can you recommend a substitute for the egg?
Thank you,
Donna
Carolyn says
You could try a flax or chia egg but I make no promises it will work.
Cookin Canuck says
I would be thrilled if my family presented me with a bowl of this cereal on Mother’s Day! This is one I am making very, very soon.
Michele says
Hi Carolyn,
I just made a double batch of this and it is wonderful! It is a great way to get hemp seeds in your diet. I used Honeyville almond flour. I was also thinking of using maple extract with pecans next time for some variation. This recipe is a keeper!
Barbara says
Michele, I make my own granola and Carolyn has a maple pecan version with maple extract. Totally yummy !! Love the flavors.
Michele says
Thanks for the tip Barbara. I looked it up and will be giving the maple flavor a try!
susan says
Any suggestions on a substitute for coconut?
Carolyn says
Sliced almonds (not slivered but the thinly sliced ones) would be a good replacement.
heather | girlichef says
This is definitely special enough for Mother’s Day. I love crunching through little bowls of cereal like this any day, though!
Ragini says
Hi Carolyn, I made this cereal just now.
It does taste good, but after reading the nutrition facts I realize that it is very high in calorie even if I have half a cup of it a day.
Right? Hope to hear from you back
Ragini
Carolyn says
Of course it’s high calorie. I don’t really make much that isn’t. But it fills you up and keeps you going for quite a while so you won’t be snacking on any junk later. That’s kind of the point of a low carb diet.
Martha @ A Family Feast says
This looks delicious! We make homemade multi grain cereals all the time (much cheaper and less sugar) – but I ‘ve never used hemp seed. Must try!
Sherry says
Carolyn,
I couldn’t wait for Mother’s Day…I’ve got a batch in the oven right now and it’s smelling delicious! I love your recipes. Thank you.
Lana | Never Enough Thyme says
I would love to have a bowl of this on Mother’s Day! In bed. With a rose on the tray, please 🙂
Christine says
This sounds delicious. Love love love your photos.
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
This is absolutely perfect! I love hemp seeds so much and I can’t wait to make this!
Janice says
Is this supposed to be crunchy?
Carolyn says
Yes.
Kathy says
does the banana extract (and other extracts) have any carbs?
Carolyn says
No, most of them don’t. Even if they use sugar to distill it (a few vanillas do), it’s so minimal and you use it in such small quantities, it might add .000001 carbs! 🙂 The brand I used here has 0 g carbs per tsp.
Malainie says
This looks great! Thanks, Carolyn. I was just craving some kind of banana cereal!
Ellie Kaufman says
Is it possible to use chopped almonds instead of walnuts or pecans?
Carolyn says
Of course!
Ellie Kaufman says
Awesome! My mom loves the vanilla almond cerial at Trader Joes, but she hasn’t been able to have that. I was going to try to make her some with this recipe; hopefully it will work out. Thank you! I’m excited to try this. 🙂
Carolyn says
Great idea!
Beverly C. says
Are almond meal and almond flour the same thing? If not, can you use almond flour in this recipe?
Carolyn says
I used the coarser meal for a more chunky approach but I think almond flour will work fine.
Victor says
How many ounces would be considered a serving size?