Bracha when there is only a small amount of mezonos

Question:

Hello Rabbi,
1. If one has rice cakes with a lot of peanut butter, what would the brachot (and order) be? What about if one adds an apple and/or milk?
2. What brachot would one say for cereal with the following ingredients?

YELLOW CORN MEAL WITH ADDED CORN BRAN, UNSULPHURED MOLASSES, WHOLE OAT FLOUR, EXPELLER PRESSED HIGH OLEIC OIL (CANOLA AND/OR SUNFLOWER), SALT, CINNAMON, NATURAL FLAVOR, BAKING SODA, VITAMIN C (ASCORBIC ACID), NATURAL VITAMIN E (MIXED TOCOPHEROLS TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS)

Thank you very much

Answer:

1. The bracha on the rice cakes would be hoadomo, and you will make a shehakol on the milk, which would remove any doubt about saying shehakol on the peanut butter. You would also say haetz on the apple.
2. Being that the cereal has oat flour the bracha rishona would be mezonos. Regarding the bracha achrona, that is not clear. The rule regarding a bracha achrona is that we can only say a bracha achrona if we ate what is called a “kzayis, b’kdei achilas pras” (lit. an olive’s worth in the time it takes to eat a half roll) which is 4 eggs worth (which is the equivalent of 8 olives). The amount of time it takes to eat this half roll according to many poskim is 4-5 minutes. Therefore we would only say Al Hamichya if you would eat an olives worth of oat flour within 4-5 minutes. Now if the percentage of oat flour is only 10%, then the bracha achronal would be Borei Nifashos, since you didn’t eat enough oat flour in the prescribed amount of time. However, if the amount of oat flour is 40%, and you ate enough of the cereal, so that you ate a kzayis worth within 4-5 minutes then you would say Al Hamichya on it.

Best wishes

Sources:

שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות ברכת הפירות סימן רח סעיף ט

עירב קמח דוחן ושאר מיני קטניות עם קמח של חמשת מיני דגן ובשלו בקדירה, מברך בורא מיני מזונות ועל המחיה; ואם עשה ממנו פת, מברך המוציא וברכת המזון; ודוקא שיש באותו קמח מחמשת מינים כדי שיאכל ממנו כזית דגן בכדי אכילת פרס, אבל אם אין בו זה השיעור מחמשת המינים, אינו מברך לבסוף ברכת המזון, אלא בתחלה מברך המוציא כיון שיש בו טעם דגן אף על פי שאין בו כזית בכדי אכילת פרס, ולבסוף על המחיה;