# Just how bad is Cream of Wheat?



## Ex Libris (Jan 31, 2004)

Ds and I were bored w/ our breakfast menu, so on a whim I bought some Farina/Cream of Wheat stuff. My ds *loves* it! Are there any redeeming qualities to it? I guess it depends on your view of milk. I know it's controversial, but I'm in the camp of those who tend not to like using milk--I try to keep it to a minimum (for yogurt-making and pancakes only). I tried making the Cream of Wheat w/ water but it was not good. Any thoughts?


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## Ann-Marita (Sep 20, 2003)

I always thought Malt-o-Meal had more flavor than Cream of Wheat. Maybe you could make MoM with no milk and like it? Or oatmeal?

I also have made MoM (or maybe CoW?) with 1/2 water and 1/2 soy milk.


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## Owen'nZoe (Sep 7, 2005)

I love cream of wheat, but never knew you could make it with milk - we've always just made it with water. I do add a tablespoon or so of cream just before serving, but you wouldn't have to if you didn't want the dairy. Bob's Red Mill also sells a whole grain version that tastes good and is easy to find, so I usually get that.

My MIL uses a lot of cream of wheat, and I've learned two desert recipes from her that I LOVE - and while they have quite a bit of sugar in them, I somehow feel like they are a little healthier than other deserts, but just as satisfying. I think I'm going to have to make some for desert tonight now that I am thinking about it.


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## Wolfmeis (Nov 16, 2004)

I love cream of wheat, but I agree with PP that if you're aiming to use just water, go with the malt o meal.


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## Attila the Honey (Mar 15, 2003)

Wait. Why is cream of wheat controversial?

My gma always made it for us this way - she'd make it and then put it in a pan and allow to cool. When it was cooled she'd cut it into cubes and fry it in butter until crispy. We ate it with maple syrup on top.









Knowing my grandmother she probably made it with whole milk. Or maybe cream.









Clearly not the healthiest breakfast ever, but probably better than doughnuts. At least by a little.


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## lenore80 (May 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *momandmore2*
Ds and I were bored w/ our breakfast menu, so on a whim I bought some Farina/Cream of Wheat stuff. My ds *loves* it! Are there any redeeming qualities to it? I guess it depends on your view of milk. I know it's controversial, but I'm in the camp of those who tend not to like using milk--I try to keep it to a minimum (for yogurt-making and pancakes only). I tried making the Cream of Wheat w/ water but it was not good. Any thoughts?

Gosh, I love that stuff. My dad makes it (malt o meal too) with whole milk.









I always wondered if it was one of the products made with genetically modified grains. Anyone have any info?


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## Ex Libris (Jan 31, 2004)

I haven't tried malt o meal yet. I'll give that a shot with water. I wonder if the c of w would work if made with almond milk . . .

lenore80--I'm not sure about whether it's made with gm ingredients, but that's a really good point that I hadn't even thought of! i buy it at the Whole Foods, so I hope not.

Attila the Honey--for me, the c of w is controversial b/c it tastes best if made with milk. I've read around on both sides of the milk issue, and tend to think that it's not that healthful, unless perhaps it's raw. But even then, imo it's made for baby cows and not humans. I do use it sparingly, though, as I said in my OP. It's just that ds loves the c of w so much I'm tempted to give it to him pretty often. But all of you have given me some good variations to try using water. Of course, that fried c of w sounds really yummy, healthful or not. I just might have to try it once or twice!


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## pjs (Mar 30, 2005)

owen'nzoe- you've piqued my interest in cream of wheat desserts- care to share the recipes? Thanks!


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## KimberMama (Mar 8, 2002)

Cream of Wheat is not a whole grain, but is REFINED, being made from the endosperm of the grain only. And it is only high in iron because it is fortified.

Something to consider in addition to the entire milk/no milk subject.


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## Owen'nZoe (Sep 7, 2005)

Sure - here you go!









The first is Basbousa - most recipes I have seen for it call for Semolina, but my MIL makes it with Cream of Wheat, and it is yummy.









2 1/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 t. lemon juice
3/4 c. Cream of Wheat (or semolina)
3/4 c. blanched almonds, finely chopped
1/2 c butter
more blanched almonds for garnish

In a medium sized saucepan, bring the water, sugar and lemon juice to a boil, then turn down and allow to simmer for a few minutes, then remove from the heat. This is your syrup.
Put the butter, chopped almonds, and cream of wheat in another medium sized saucepan. Cook the mixture, stirring occassionally, until the CoW and almonds are golden brown. Turn the heat down to low, then add the hot syrup slowly while stirring constantly until it has thickened. Poor the mixture into a 9x9 baking dish and allow to cool. Once it is cool, cut it into diamond shaped bars, and decorate each bar with a whole blanched almond. Edited to add - I completely forgot that DMIL puts it under the broiler for a few minutes after pouring it in the baking dish - this gives it a nice brown color on top.

The other dish is the one I am now craving after eating this thread.







I don't remeber the exact proportions, but will look up the recipe when I get home and add them.

Cream of Wheat Dessert:
Before you start, you will need to take a mild white cheese (this is an Arab recipe, so we use Nablusi cheese or Halloumi, but I've also used fresh mozzerella when I couldn't find either of those, and it worked fine) and soak it in clean water for a few hours at least. This will draw the salt out of the cheese and make it "sweet." Once the cheese is sweet, cut it into 1/2 inch squares. Then basically, you make a syrup similar to the one in the basbousa recipe above. In a separate pan, toast the cream of wheat (I would guess it is a similar proportion of CoW to syrup as in the last recipe. Once the CoW is golden brown, pour the syrup over it and continue to cook. Do NOT stir the mixture until all of the water is absorbed and, as my MIL says, it all becomes one.







If you stir it too early, the cereal will be lumpy. Once the syrup is completely absorbed, stir the cheese into the cereal mixture. The cheese starts to melt and is gooey and stretchy, and the taste of the sweet cereal combined with the unsweetened cheese is just heavenly! You can serve it with chopped toasted nuts on top as well, if you like.


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## Jasmyn's Mum (May 24, 2004)

Wheat and dairy are 2 of the most common allergens. Many people do not digest either very well. I'd also like to mention wheat and GMO


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## Samjm (Mar 12, 2005)

When I make Malt O Meal I use half milk and half water. You could try the same with CoW and slowly change the ratios till you're using only (or at least mostly) water.

You can also stir in a little cream or milk just before serving to give it a creamier taste. You only use a tiny bit for this, so you'd be using much less milk than making the CoW with milk.


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## Yin Yang (Jul 9, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jasmyn's Mum*
Wheat and dairy are 2 of the most common allergens. Many people do not digest either very well. I'd also like to mention wheat and GMO

I love CoW but I feel ALWAYS sick after eating it. I feel like my temperature is going up and I start sweating and just not feeling well at all. The combination of milk and weat just kills me.
If I have any type of cereal with soy milk I am totally fine. As soon as I put milk in it, I am totally sick.

But I SO love CoW!


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## melissa17s (Aug 3, 2004)

I eat CoW almost every morning. I put coconut milk and maple syrup in mine.


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## Nature (Mar 12, 2005)

mmm I love cream of wheat..


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## Yin Yang (Jul 9, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *melissa17s*
I eat CoW almost every morning. I put coconut milk and maple syrup in mine.

That's a great idea!


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## Attila the Honey (Mar 15, 2003)

I've always heard the GMO foods are soy, corn, canola and cotton (as in cottonseed oil). I haven't heard that wheat is commonly GMO *yet*. Is it?

As far as milk goes, I think it'd be just as tasty with almond milk or made with water with maybe a little extra earth balance or other non hydrogenated margarine to make it a little creamier. There's always soy milk, too. (Talk about controversy.







)


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## ctdoula (Dec 26, 2002)

We love CoW made with water, served with butter. That being said, it's not the healthiest breakfast choice. It's not whole grain, so oatmeal, etc is much better for you. We eat it for a change once in a while. I craved it big time when I was pregnant w/ds.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

If you're going to make it with water instead of milk, then you'll probably want to add some other stuff for flavor- such as brown sugar or maple syrup, or cinnamin and sugar, and maybe a little margarine or butter.


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## Guest* (Aug 5, 2004)

Nothing to add...just wanted to say that I haven't had Cream of Wheat in years, but now I'm totally CRAVING it...I liked to put lots of butter and sugar....yum...I'm pregnant so I may have to indulge in this one or go cuckoo!


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## Heidi Murdoch (Apr 5, 2014)

I do love Cream Of Wheat and make it with raw whole Milk. I am going to switch to Bob's Red Mill variety. I already have an email sent to Bob to consider getting products containing hard red winter wheat which is very low in gluten and is also non GMO. Raw milk is not the cause of most milk allergies and the fault lies for the most part with processing. Heart disease comes from homogenization (giving mechanically broken down molecular shards of butterfat access to the blood stream causing abrasion, inflammation and build up of ones own cholesterol as a healing agent) and intolerance comes from Pasteurizing (killing) the good bacteria that allows you to digest it. There are rare individuals with casein B intolerance who just need to stick with casein A cows (Jersey). I don't buy that cow milk is only for baby cows as there are many dairy probiotics in fermented, aged or cultured products that are essential for good digestive health. They can not be derived from vegetation. I do however use vegetable rennet in cheese products I make as I cant bring myself to use veal or rennet from baby calves. My local dairy farmer does not do these kinds of inhumane things and only keeps about 30 head of cattle that are also free of BGH. I get to say hello to the cows every week.  We make our own Maple syrup that I use for sweetener for my Cream Of Wheat. It and raw honey are about the only two alkaline healthy sweeteners you will find that are compatible with an anticancer diet. I will be happy to get the Bob's Red Mill version to make breakfast even more healthy. Thanks for mentioning it.


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## Polliwog (Oct 29, 2006)

I think Trader Joe's has one, too.


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