This Viral Dietitian-Approved Hack Will Make Your Cereal More Satisfying—and More Delicious, Too

Cereal can be a simple and healthy choice for breakfast, but sometimes it can leave you hungry by midmorning. This could be because you're using a plant-based milk alternative that has significantly less protein than cow's milk.

If you're looking for a solution that will give your preferred milk more staying power, Liv Kinkade, M.S., RD, has an easy hack. And it will make your bowl of cereal not only more filling, but more delicious, too. Read on to find out what the registered dietitian mixes in her alternative milk to give it both more flavor and more protein.

In Kinkade's viral TikTok video, she asks the question that we're now wondering ourselves: "Why are you not putting peanut butter milk in your cereal?"

That's right: Kinkade mixes powdered peanut butter with her favorite plant-based milk to give it a comparable protein content to what you would find in regular milk.

"You can hypothetically use regular peanut butter for this, but I think the viscosity would make it a lot harder to blend with the milk," she explains. She adds 2 tablespoons of the powdered peanut butter to almond milk and mixes the ingredients together with her milk frother.

If you prefer a nondairy milk drink, Kinkade explains that milk alternatives can be a fine swap as long as you're not completely omitting the nutrients that regular milk provides in your everyday diet.

"These milks are fine [as is], but they're not really going to contribute to our satisfaction from that meal," she said. "They [don't have] a lot of calories, and they contain next to no protein."

Then, Kinkade prepares her morning meal by choosing the cereal of her choice. She decides to mix together Whole Foods' Organic Peanut Butter & Cocoa Balls Cereal (which she calls a Reese's Puffs dupe) and Harris Teeter Honey Oat Cluster Crunch with Almonds (which she notes is similar to Honey Bunches of Oats). We completely agree that generic-brand cereal can taste just as good as name-brand options.

Kinkade suggests also adding fruit to your bowl for more fiber, and she adds strawberries and bananas to her own.

"Bonus points if you want to add something like coconut chips or nuts for some healthy fats because that peanut butter powder has most of the fats taken out of it," she adds before sprinkling coconut on top of her fruit.

After pouring in her milk, Kinkade shows the final result: a gorgeous bowl of cereal that would make us want to eat breakfast for lunch and dinner. Kinkade has one final message to wrap up her video, and it may be the most important tip of all:

"If you want to get your Fruity Pebbles and vibe out, I support that," she said at the end of the video. "Do what's best for you and support to your lifestyle. Just because it works for me doesn't mean it will work for you."

We're fully supporting the "one size does not fit all" mentality that Kinkade preaches. At EatingWell, we believe that any food in moderation can be included in a healthy eating pattern. By choosing a cereal with less added sugar to pair with this protein-packed hack, you can enjoy cereal for a healthy and actually satisfying meal.

Up next: Healthy High-Protein Add-Ins to Make Your Oatmeal More Satisfying