Low Carb Chia and Flax Cereal

Low Carb Chia and Flax Cereal is a mash-up of chia seed pudding and more traditional nut based low carb cereals. It's creamy from the chia seeds but has some extra crunch and nutritional benefits from the addition of flax and almonds.

Although I am a huge fan of basic chia seed pudding, lately I have been wanting a bit more texture in my morning bowl. To accomplish this, I started adding flaxseed meal and nuts to the chia seeds. I find it makes a huge difference in terms of texture and makes it slightly more reminiscent of oatmeal or cream of wheat. From there you can mix it up any way you like. Fruit is the perfect addition to sweeten everything up. I also love adding nut butter, yogurt, cinnamon, or nutmeg.

The other great thing about this low carb cereal recipe is that it is a warm option since sometimes on a cold morning all you is something warm. Plus you can make all kind of flavor combinations by using different nuts, spices, seeds, and fruit. I am including some of my favorites below:

Low Carb Cereal Recipe Ideas

• Apple Cinnamon: Once warm, add in 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce and extra cinnamon to taste. If you can fit in more carbs, microwave some chopped apple for 1-2 minutes until soft. Stir into the warm cereal.
• Cinnamon Almond: To kick up the almond flavor, add a touch of almond extract to the milk.  To complement the almond, consider adding a touch of nutmeg as well.
• Super Seed: Top the cereal with all kinds of seeds  - hemp, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds are the ones I use most often.
• Cinnamon Roll: Mix together one tablespoon of cream cheese with Stevia until it tastes sweet. Microwave until just melted and swirl on top of the cereal. Add extra cinnamon if needed.
• Chocolate Almond: Top the cereal with chopped almonds and your favorite low carb chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
• Coconut: Use canned coconut milk instead of almond milk and top with unsweetened shredded coconut.
• Triple Berry: Top with raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. 
• Chocolate Peanut Butter: Top the cereal with a dollop of peanut butter and your favorite sugar-free, low carb chocolate.
• Pumpkin Pie: Add 1/4 cup canned pumpkin to the cereal before heating it as well as some pumpkin pie spice.
• Muesli: If you want more of a muesli style cereal, add as many chopped nuts and seeds as you can find. Since dried fruit doesn't work for no carb, leave that out.
• All the nuts: Go crazy with the nuts and add cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, and any other nuts you love.

Meal Prep Low Carb Cereal

If you want to meal prep your low carb flax and chia cereal, there are a few things you can do to make things faster on a busy morning.

• Measure out individual servings of chia seeds and flax seeds and place them in individual containers. That way you aren't measuring in the morning. Usually, I keep them in a container that is big enough for the milk, so I can just pour into the milk and microwave.
• Add a bunch of your favorite nuts to a food processor to chop them quickly. Toss in some seeds and store for a quick and easy nut and seed topping for your cereal.
• If you will be using fruit, slice it ahead of time so you can just throw it on top when it is time to go.
• It is an option to mix the chia seeds, flax, and milk before and prepare it similar to chia seed pudding or overnight oats. The texture will be thicker since the chia seeds and flax have much more time to soak up the milk and expand. To serve, add a touch more milk and microwave until warm.