Puffed the Magic Wheat Cake!!!!

by Pam Hadder

I don't know if this is a Canadian prairie phenomenon, but I grew up with puffed wheat cake.  Puffed wheat, like puffed rice is a breakfast cereal - it is air puffed and very low in calories, so its good for you (woot!). 

I remember my Mom dipping our cereal bowls into a huge bag of the stuff in the mornings, and cutting fresh banana slices over top.  My Mom really made sure we got a good nutritional balance and for that I am so grateful - I recognize now that my parents never had a lot of fancy stuff, but we always ate really well. They really invested in our wellness and our appreciation of healthy, wholesome foods.

I actually calculated the total calories of this recipe by analyzing all of the ingredients in this recipe in my Weight Watchers app, and even if you eat 1/8 of the whole huge pan it is only 5 points* on the WW weight loss plan. AND it tastes so amazing - the combo of the chocolate, peanut butter, natural vanilla and toasty wheat flavour brings back a lot of childhood memories, and it's a great PMS sweet tooth satisfier without the sugar overload and calorie guilt.  Best of all, there are no hard-to-find ingredients and it takes just a few minutes to make. Hope you will try this easy recipe and enjoy it - maybe it will be the start of a new tradition in your home.

(*small bag of licorice Nibs is 7 points and has very little food value - which would you choose!)

Old Fashioned Puffed Wheat Squares (VEGAN)

Ingredients:
7 cups Puffed Wheat cereal (I buy Safeway brand)
1/2 cup golden corn syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder (baking cocoa, Dutch cocoa - not hot chocolate mix)
1-1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract
1 tsp. vegan margarine, or Pam spray
Optional: vegan chocolate chips for garnish

Method:
Prepare a 9" x 13" cake pan by buttering it with vegan margarine or spraying it lightly with Pam or other cooking spray.  Measure the cereal into a large mixing bowl.  Measure the remaining ingredients, with the exception of the chocolate chips if you are using them, into a medium sized saucepan.  Stirring constantly, heat the ingredients in the saucepan over mid-high heat until it starts to bubble.  Continue to stir, allowing the mixture to bubble, for one minute - you may have to reduce the heat slightly; be careful not to burn the caramel mixture.

Remove the caramel mixture from heat and quickly drizzle it over the pre-measured cereal, stir in quickly to combine and evenly coat all of the cereal.  Dump the mixture into your prepared pan and press firmly down with a spatula - I find that my silicone spatula works best, as nothing sticks to it :)  If you are using the vegan chips, sprinkle about 1/3 cup over top and pat down again - if the cake has already set, you can microwave it for a few seconds so that the chocolate chips soften slightly and adhere to the cake.  Enjoy xox!