Cream of WHAT? My Breakfast Bowl of Blueberry Goodness

I'm a loyal oatmeal lover...well, former oatmeal lover.

I love cooking up my oats in several different ways: hot, cold (overnight oats are my JAM) and I've even mixed dry oats into my Greek yogurt. Yea, I know the last one sounds weird, but don't knock it until you try it...it's kind of like a chewy granola. Anyway, although I might consider myself a borderline oatmeal addict, I've recently swapped out my morning bowl of mush for an even more delicious alternative: cream of rice.

Yes, you read that correctly...cream of rice, not to be confused with its fierce competitor, cream of wheat. The differences are minor: one is gluten-free while the other is not, and cream of wheat has a smidge more sodium/carbs than cream of rice — but they are pretty comparable. I've tried both but tend to gravitate toward cream of rice because the texture is a little smoother, while cream of wheat seems more grainy.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and make a pretty bold claim: cream of rice is breakfast's best-kept secret. I'm not sure why I previously thought oatmeal was my only option to enjoy a hot bowl of morning carbohydrates, but cream of rice has undoubtedly taken the lead.

I wasn't living under a rock and knew cream of rice existed after seeing it pop up on several Instagram accounts, but I never thought twice about it until my trainer suggested mixing up my breakfast routine (get it, mixing up? HA) and swapping out oats for cream of rice. I gave it a whirl, and the end result blew my mind. In my opinion, it's more voluminous after it's cooked, which is another win-win. More food = yes please!

Before you buy, prepare and inhale cream of rice, I need to warn you: never eat it plain or only mixed with water. Do that, and you'll be greeted with a nice cardboard flavor upon first bite — trust me. But that's the same with any flavorless/bland foods. After all, oatmeal is pretty disgusting when you add nothing "fun" to it, so I went into my mission determined to make a flavorful breakfast bowl, which is exactly what I did! I call this tasty concoction my "Blueberry Cobbler Cream of Rice." I apologize in advance though, because this recipe is very much based on your taste preferences, so the measurements aren't necessarily set in stone. I never measure out certain spices, a.k.a cinnamon. I just shake in a ton until I feel like there's enough in my bowl! I also prefer things a bit sweeter, which some people might not like, so adjust accordingly!

Blueberry Cobbler Cream of Rice

What you need:

• 1/3 cup of cream of rice, measured dry
• Stevia (I use 4-5 packets) & cinnamon, to taste; I'll sometimes add an additional sprinkle of all spice or cardamom
• A dash of sea salt
• 1 + 1/4 cup of water 
• 1 teaspoon caramel extract (You could use vanilla)
• 1-2 teaspoons Sugar-free maple syrup (I use Walden Farms, but choose what you like!)
• 1/3 cup fresh blueberries
• Optional: If you don't like blueberries, use any fruit of your choice or raisins, nuts, etc.! The mix-in ideas are endless!

Directions:

• Mix together cream of rice, spices, sea salt and any other dry ingredients.
• Add water and stir in caramel extract
• Heat in microwave for one minute. Remove and stir (it should be watery), then heat again for another minute. Remove and stir again. At this point, it should be getting a little thicker, and I usually nuke it again for 30 seconds, then stir it with a fork to remove any clumps/make sure I scrape the sides of the bowl. (It WILL stick if you don't.)
• Stir in maple syrup and blueberries, then heat for 30 more seconds. (I find that this heat/stir/repeat method helps add volume.)
• Remove and enjoy! But be careful...it's probably hot after all that microwave work!

Please excuse the horrible photo I snapped shortly before devouring this at work.

Cream of rice is filling, delicious and healthy, so go ahead and give it a shot!

Stay sweet [sweat] and sassy,

Kat