The Ready Brek Way - Recipes and More!

There is something very nostalgic about Ready Brek, the "central heating for kids" advert with the children heading out in the cold surrounded in a warm glow immediately springs to mind and makes me smile. I am not sure why, but up until now I had never thought of giving it to my kids so I was more than happy to get involved with a Ready Brek campaign and put it to the test with my three little monkeys. They were very excited when they saw the box as it features one of their favorite books, "Going on a Bear Hunt" on it. Along with three boxes of Ready Brek we also received recipe cards, place settings and a bunch of ingredients including maple syrup, honey, nuts, raisins, cinnamon and jam so were definitely all set to start the day the Ready Brek way!

Starting the day the Ready Brek way!

The kids couldn't wait to try Ready Brek for breakfast the next day and spent ages discussing what "magic" ingredients they were going to add to make it their own way.

Zoey went for maple syrup, Zachary insisted on honey with nuts and banana and Ben couldn't decide between syrup and jam so had a little of both with blueberries mixed in. I have to admit it made me feel like I was setting them up well for the day with a warm bowl of nutritious goodness and they definitely enjoyed it.

Healthy Option

Out of interest I decided to do a bit of googling on the nutritional value of Ready Brek in comparison to other breakfast cereals on the market and time and time again I found Ready Brek listed as one of the best breakfast options for kids and adults alike due to it being low in sugars and salt, that is as long as you don't decide to add heaps of sugar of course so opt for fruits such as bananas and strawberries to sweeten it up and keep it healthy. It is also rich in Calcium, Vitamin D and high in oat fiber so seriously good for you.

Getting Creative with Ready Brek Recipes

Our Ready Brek fun didn't stop there though as I decided it might be a good idea to try baking with Ready Brek. I started off with a modified version of cupcakes which made a fantastic after school treat.

To make them I adapted my normal cupcake recipe which meant a bit of guess work with the quantities but it worked out and got the kids definite seal of approval.
Chocolate Ready Brek Cupcakes Ingredients: 
1/2 cup Plain Flour
3 tbsp Ready Brek
1 tsp Baking Powder
15 tsp Caster Sugar
3 tsp Cocoa (I used drinking chocolate as had none)
1tsp Baking Powder
1 Egg
1/4 cup Milk ( I used semi-skimmed milk)
1/4 cup Sunflower oil
1 tsp Vanilla essence
Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C.

• Sieve flour, Ready Brek, baking powder, cocoa powder and sugar in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl mix egg, milk, vanilla essence and oil.
• Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture.
• Pour The mixture evenly into 12 cupcake cases.
• Bake in the center of the oven for 15-17 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. 
• Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Yummilicious Ready Brek Cookies The twins love to help me baking so we decided to whip up some cookies after school with our new special ingredient, Ready Brek.



They were by far the best cookies I have ever made. It was a total experiment on my behalf where I modified a bunch of other cookie recipes I have used in the past so I was relieved when everyone ooh'ed and ahh'ed over the results. They have a lovely crumbly texture which I think is due to the Ready Brek,  taste "seriously yummilicious" (Zachary's words) not to mention they do look quite tempting...

Here's how to make them:
Ingredients: 
1 cup Ready Brek
1 cup Caster Sugar
3/4 cup Self Raising Flour
1 egg yolk
2tbsp Cocoa Powder (I used drinking chocolate)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
150 ml Sunflower Oil
Chocolate (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 160°C. (Make sure hands are extra clean before you start as for this recipe you will need to roll the dough into balls to form the cookie shape)

• Mix sugar and oil in bowl.
• Add in the egg yolk and mix.
• Add in all the dry ingredients (flour, Ready Brek, baking powder and cocoa) and mix until it starts to form a dough (it may be a little crumbly but don't worry).
• Using your hands roll balls out of the dough mix. You can do smaller cookies and make more of them if you wish but lower the cooking time. 
• If you wish to add chocolate flatten the dough ball out and place a piece of chocolate in the center and then roll it back into a ball.
• Place dough balls on a cookie tray lined with baking parchment - make sure to space them out well as they will flatten and spread.
• Bake in the center of the oven for 15 mins. Allow to cool for 5 mins on the baking tray before transferring to a wire rack. 

Our Verdict

It goes without saying that I am very pleased to have discovered a healthy breakfast option for the kids which I know sets them up well for the day and gives them lots of energy for school but the added bonus is the discovery I can use it for other snacks and treats too. Until I started working on this Ready Brek campaign I had never considered using it as a baking ingredient and I am so glad to have discovered it really does make for delicious cookies and cakes with the added bonus of the health benefits of it being rich in calcium, vitamin D and high in oat fiber. I am looking forward to experimenting more with Ready Brek and trying out Ready Brek pancakes and breakfast bars so watch out for more recipes on the way.
Ready Brek is available from all good supermarkets and food stores with packs of Ready Brek Original Porridge 450g priced at £2, so why not get hold of some and put our recipes to the test along with starting the day the Ready Brek way!