What hot cereals can I cook by just adding hot water?
I eat instant oatmeal at my office desk every morning. I think I can also get instant grits and maybe cream of wheat or something, but what other hot cereals can I make by just adding boiling water? I don't like flavored stuff and I'm not looking for recipes, just a little variety in my admittedly very bland breakfasts.
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You can also prepare fine bulgur by just soaking it in boiled water. This website says to let it sit for 20 minutes, but I've done it with less. I wouldn't normally consider it a breakfast food, but if it's variety you crave, maybe you'll like it.
Couscous is another option. Most couscous you'll find in grocery stores in the US is an instant variety that can just be soaked for 5 minutes. It's not a cereal, though.
Consider also hot instant buckwheat cereal (one possibility from Arrowhead; I thought that Kashi used to have one also but it's not listed here).
Must it be instant? If not, you could try...
Go for a hands-off microwave-based preparation; boiling water with old-fashioned oats takes 5 minutes at very low power, and steel-cut oats perhaps 15 minutes at very low power (the latter is what I do most every morning...)
You could also (overnight) pre-soak grains to shorten the cooking time. Here's one example for pre-soaked steel cut oats from ATK.
Consider also making up a large batch at the beginning of the week, then heating/eating a portion each day; it will keep for several days in the refrigerator.
You can prepare semolina by adding boiling water to it. Of course, adding a boiling milk would yield better results, but that is the matter of taste.
If you try regular oats and like them, then you might try flaked/rolled barley, if you can find it.
If you have refrigeration at work (or just bring in one-day's worth each morning), you could also add wheat germ (I can't imagine having a bowl-ful of it, but adding some to your oats would change them up.)
Wheetabix or shredded wheat can also be prepared with boiling water for a hot cereal.
Late recall - "Grape NutsŪ" is another one that can be done hot, even if it normally isn't.
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