The Ultimate Snack Mix

Before I started caring about the newspaper, my breakfast reading material was the side of cereal boxes. When I was quite young, this mostly consisted of games and other child friendly fare, but when my parents did an abrupt turnaround and enforced healthy eating, the sides of cereal boxes became seriously dull; filled with facts about nutrition and vitamins. Sometimes, there would be a recipe, that even as a child I found totally unappealing. Despite this, cooking with cereal has become one of my favorite ways to whip something up in a hurry. And, unlike many prepackaged foods, I find the breakfast category of the allergy aisle respite with options. 

The japanese rice cereal is a replacement for pretzels, which are hard to find without yeast (my other allergy).

This recipe is the amalgamation of several; but do read the packages carefully to make sure the brand you are purchasing is devoid of what ails you. 

This recipe yields a substantial amount that you might not personally require. I prefer to make a large batch however, in order to have on hand when snack cravings hit. 

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups Japanese rice chips

4 cups popped popcorn (or about one microwave bag)

5 cups gluten free, vegan corn cereal

1 cup toasted soy beans

vegan chocolate chips

dried cranberries

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegan margarine or canola oil

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Grease a large roasting pan with canola oil. Add the cereal, soybeans, popcorn, and rice chips and stir together gently. 

In a small sauce pot, combine the brown sugar, margarine, and corn syrup. Stirring, bring to a boil and then leave without stirring for two minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda. Pour over the cereal mixture and coat with a wooden spoon. 

Bake this at 250 degrees for 1/2 hour, stirring every ten minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding the chocolate chips and cranberries.