DIY Cereals That Taste Better Than Store-Bought

Gluten-Free on a Shoestring blogger Nicole Hunn's version of this classic breakfast cereal looks just like the original -- right down to the cinnamon-sugary milk it leaves behind. She uses all-purpose, gluten-free flour plus whole grain teff in the dough, which gives it a little bit of texture (and the teff pairs fantastically with cinnamon).Get the recipe: Cinnamon Toast Crunch

This granola from Alana Chernila, author of The Homemade Pantry, is lighter and softer than those you may be used to, but it's still got a good crunch to it, thanks to the juice of 2 oranges, which saturates the oats so they crisp up nicely in the oven. It also has cocoa nibs, which are a terrific complement to the citrus (they can be pricey, though, so you can choose to leave them out). Get the recipe: Orange Cocoa-Nib Granola

We're used to seeing super-seed quinoa in lunch salads and dinner side dishes -- but it turns out to be a wonderful warm breakfast cereal, too. Once you've cooked it (which takes all of about 15 minutes), stir in pistachios, a dash of vanilla extract, some honey and a dollop of low-fat yogurt, and you'll feel like you're starting your day with dessert.Get the recipe: Hot Pistachio Cereal with Greek Yogurt and Honey

Baker, blogger and cookbook author Shauna Sever has cracked the code on perfect-size chunks of supercrunchy granola: it involves egg whites plus a technique of spreading the cereal out thinly on the pan, and letting it cool completely in one big mass on the baking sheet after you pull it from the oven. And unlike the boxes of clusters you can buy in the store, there are endless flavor varieties; the standard add-ins are honey and vanilla, but you could also try lemon and blueberry, cranberry and cinnamon or dried banana and coconut.Get the recipe: Honey-Vanilla Granola Clusters

When it comes to recreating classic boxed cereals at home, they don't come much easier than bran flakes with raisins: Start with a cup of wheat bran flakes, add a tablespoon of the dried fruit (or try dried cranberries for a tart kick) and sprinkle sugar on top to taste. Bonus: It'll be healthier and likely cost much less than what you'd find in many supermarket brands.Next: The one weird thing you need to make for dinner