Cream of Wheat

I'm trying to cut down on sodium in my foods. I tried making cream of wheat without sodium in it this morning. It taste very bland eventhough I added 1 T of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Does anyone else have ideas to make it taste better without adding sodium or too many more calories?

The directions call for 1/8 tsp of salt.

what about tossingsome raisens in there?  or a couple of packets of splenda?

Mmmmmmm.... i like cream of wheat.

i usually put a couple of packets of splenda and a couple of sprinkles of cinnamon.   oh.... and i also pour a little fat-free milk into it

* drool *

I forgot about raisins that sounds good. I put splenda in mine too along with the brown sugar and I could taste the chemicals in the splenda YUCK

Try a stevia based sweetener instead?

mars,

It could be the brand I used a few years ago but Stevia made me nausiated and did the same to my roomie as well. Gave us headahces too. I'm really leary about trying it again but thanks.

Next time i'm just using sugar and not splenda.

Continue to cook it without the salt and you will soon get used to its natural taste.  I like mine plain with brown sugar - very comforting in the winter and high in iron too.

I've never had cream of wheat, but I cook oatmeal with canned pumpkin.  Before I got over my fear of natural, caloric sweeteners, I would add a packet of sugar subsititute and some cinnamon to it. And it was pretty good too, the pumpkin absorbs a lot of the sweetener so its taste is much more mild.  Another good one is blueberries or strawberries, or some sliced banana and a splash of flavored coffee creamer. Albeit, you do get a smidge of salt with coffee creamer - its only about 10mg.  If you do the banana though, you get a ton of extra potassium, and if you slice some of it really thin, cook it in the bowl/pot with the wheat and stir vigorously, it whips up the banana and makes the cereal creamier.

I like to add a tsp. of peanut butter when its REALLY hot. It makes it this creamy light brown pb deliciousness

rebel chick,

I thought of the yummy banana after I posted and after I ate it but sounds wonderful and I really like your idea of adding pumpkin. Yes that would knock out the splenda after taste. Great Idea

sealion,

Mmm that sounds good too. OOOooo even with some cinnamon and the peanut butter sounds good. Yum Thanks

What's cream of wheat? I've never heard of it before :O

Did you make it with water or milk? I have a friend who makes hers with water and it is HORRIBLE I make mine with milk and love love love it! and I only need like a tsp of suger to sweeten it enough I dont like the slenda and things in the cream of wheat like you said you can taste the chems.

I used water. In my fat days (LOL i'm still fat but you know what I mean) I use to use milk. It's much creamier and better tasting with milk however I am saving as many calories and fat and sodium when and how I can because i'm at 1700 calories now and I like to eat every 2-3 hours or I feel strange (maybe it's my hypoglycemia).

The less calories the better so I can continue to eat tee hee.

merylwhite1,

Cream of wheat is exactly what it's title says. It's a very fine wheat product and has a lot of iron in it. It's a porridge. Have you ever heard of Malt O Meal? It's kinda like that. You would eat it like you do oatmeal by adding sugar or fruit or maple syrups and such.

I use to eat it with regular full milk, 2 T butter and maple syrup. I'm sure that was about 800 calories ugh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_of_Wheat

as well as all the fruits in the world, which people have mentioned (both fresh and frozen, pears apples anything, i just cut it up and boil it in there) and varied sweetners, which i noticed this morning aren't making it into my bowl anymore (i prefer honey) 

some days i like a little wheat germ, (its sweet too),

or instead of butter, (which i haven't added for years, but its a family thing so im fond of it), i was delighted to discover flax seed oil, which i now put in my mush, and its like butter, but no saturated fat and full of omega 3's. i do about a tsp as i dont want to afford a tbsp worth of the cals. 

i usually do a dash of real vanilla flavoring along with my cinnamon.

oh! you could do almond flavoring! that would be good! 

sometimes i put trail mix in my oats, if i have it in the house. 

one day i tried vanilla flavored whey protein powder into my hot cereal. i dont know what i thought of that, it wasn't bad, and it definitely sweetened things up, but i cant say it was good, it was just, weird-- in an alright kind of way. 

when i was in taiwan, one of my favorite breakfasts was rice gruel with garlic sauce. spicey! 

Are the stats on CC for 1 cup prepared or 1 cup unprepared? I used to eat the instant flavored kind when I was a kid and I liked it a lot - now I'm thinking of using it to kind of supplement my oatmeal obsession

Have you tried Kosher salt? It has a lot less sodium compared to reg salt. I find you need to use a bit more to get the same taste.. but it still has less sodium.

laughoutloud01,

It's for 1 C unprepared. This would be the dry kind that you have to cook. I cooked 1 Cup and it actually makes 2 Cups of oatmeal. So if you want 1 C only then use 1/2 C dry.

EDIT: I think Cc has stats for dry and cooked. But dry use 1/2 C to make 1 C wet and 1 C dry to make 2C wet.

ravinyze,

I have had kosher salt in the past and could not tell the difference. No I had no idea it was less sodium. Guess i'm switching to kosher. Thanks!

I second the kosher salt suggestion.. instead of 1/8 tsp of salt, try using only a pinch (a REAL pinch). This will do wonders! I make mine with light, plain, soymilk, a pinch of salt and add fresh blueberries, raisins or dry cranberries to it.. come to think of it, this is how I make my oats too! =) yummy

Original Post by clairelaine:

Continue to cook it without the salt and you will soon get used to its natural taste.  I like mine plain with brown sugar - very comforting in the winter and high in iron too.

This would also be my advice. I haven't ever salted my Cream of Wheat and now rarely add a single other thing to any hot cereals or rice. No butter, no sweetners, nothing. And ya know what, my tasters have adjusted and l now prefer most of my food simple like this, most of the time.