Hot Cereal

• Many types of cereal, especially whole grain cereals such as bran, brown rice, corn and almond cereals, work just as well as hot cereals as they do cold cereals. Cook whole grain cereals with two to three times the amount of boiling water until the grains turn soft and the cereal has a creamy texture. Add your favorite nuts and berries to the mix, spice it up with cinnamon or nutmeg, and sweeten the cereal with honey, brown sugar or maple syrup.

Trail Mix

• Turn favorite cereals into dry snacks by using them in homemade trail mixes. Make sweet trail mix by mixing the cereal with nuts, pieces of dried fruit such as raisins, pineapple chunks, coconut flakes and banana chips, and sweet morsels like marshmallows or candies. Toast or cook the mixture with ingredients like sugar, honey, vegetable oil, pudding mix, peanut butter and cinnamon. For spicy trail mixes, add seeds, nuts, pretzels or dried vegetable chunks and flavor with seasonings such as salt, cayenne, taco seasoning, dried herbs or jalapeno juice. Spread cooked trail mixes on wax paper to dry and bag in plastic bags for snacks to munch on morning, noon or night.

Berries and Juice

• Add moisture and fruitiness to a bowl of dry cereal with fresh berries. Combine cereal with up to the same measurement of juicy, ripe berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or boysenberries. Smash the berries and cereal together with the back of a spoon to release the juice from the berries and moisten the cereal for a healthy breakfast that has the same pleasing blend of soft and crunchy textures that cereal in milk does. For a bit more moisture, add a splash of orange or apple juice.

Cereal Bars

• Create more convenient snacks out favorite cereals by using them in homemade cereal bars. Choose from a wide assortment of ingredients to combine with cereal, including nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruits and marshmallows. Bring out the flavors in nuts, seeds and grains by toasting them with salt in a hot pan. Mix all the ingredients with a heated combination of vegetable or coconut oil, honey, apple sauce, vanilla and any other desired ingredients or flavorings and spread the mixture in a pan, using a spatula. Place the pan in the refrigerator until the mixture becomes firm and chewy then cut out small, rectangular bars.