Simple Nutty Muesli

I've just come out of the oven-warmed kitchen and am feeling all content and domesticated this morning. I've a huuuuuuge work load piled on my shoulders right now (not literally, but it feels that way), so in times of rising stress I find myself slinking into the kitchen and turning the oven on. Often my need to be in the kitchen results in something sweet and indulgent, but today I made something healthy and delicious to nourish my family, and I am shining my halo. Go me!

Shall we talk a little about that delicious breakfasty thing called muesli? For a start off, I've only just learnt how to spell it correctly, and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I've been writing museli (instead of muesli) for all of my adult life until today. I've just had an enlightening little pootle through the interweb to find out more about this stuff, and to see how my recipe compares with others - I discovered all sorts! Don't you just love the internet for providing all this incredible knowledge?!  I've found out that the word müesli is a Swiss-German word for “mix”, gosh, I really love to have these little snippets of information tucked up in my brain.

In it's basic form, muesli is a "minimally-processed mix of whole grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and spices". It's different to granola in that no sweeteners or oils are added, and the oats are left in their natural state and not baked. I've been making and eating a simple breakfast muesli for more than twenty years, and I really do think it's a fabulous first-meal-of-the-day. I thought I'd share my recipe with you (it's very simple), and tell you that 4 out of 5 of us eat this every morning here in the Attic household. Little B doesn't much like the nuts so he eats ReadyBrek instead (a quick-cook, smooth porridge) with added fruits, but the rest of us are definitely muesli-lovers.

First up, you need 250g of nuts. I buy a bag of mixed nuts from the supermarket which contains hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and brazils. These need to be chopped up smallish, which is a bit of a chew to do it by hand with a knife, but I'm OK with putting in the time and effort for this. I leave the hazelnuts whole, break up the walnuts, chop the almonds in half and the brazils into 3 or four small pieces.

The next ingredient is 150g of seeds. Like the nuts, I buy a bag of mixed seeds from the supermarket which contains pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and golden linseeds.

Spread the chopped nuts and seeds in a single layer onto a large baking sheet or oven tray, and bake in a moderate oven (180C / gas 4) for 15-20 mins until they turn lightly golden. You'll be able to smell them when they are ready - keep an eye on them and make sure they don't over bake (blackened nuts are a no-no). Leave them on the tray to cool completely.

Now for the fruit element - I keep it simple and use 150g of sultanas as I tend to prefer piling up my breakfast bowl with fresh fruits. In the past I've experimented with all sorts of different dried fruits - dried apricots and cranberries work well, but you can use whatever takes your fancy. 

And last but not least, you need 500g of rolled oats. Lots of muesli recipes include all sorts of additional flaked grains (barley, wheat, rye, spelt etc), and I have dabbled with adding some of these in the past. But somehow I like the simplicity of just using oats - they are easy to find in the supermarket and very inexpensive, which is good, cos nuts aren't cheap are they?

Mix all your ingredients together - oats, sultanas, roasted nuts and seeds - and find something airtight to keep them in. I use a 1.9L Lock&Lock tub which is exactly the right size to hold the quantities given above. I love these containers, we have them in all shapes and sizes and they really are air and water tight - nothing gets in or out once the flaps are locked down. 

And now we are ready to get it all together - I keep an 80ml measuring scoop in with my muesli, and one scoop gives around 50g (I've just checked this, I had no idea how much I was eating until now). It doesn't look all that much in the bowl, but by the time you've added the fresh ingredients it really does make a pretty substantial breakfast.

First add your wet ingredient - this can be milk (the Teen's preference), or yoghurt. I like to use a low fat vanilla or coconut yoghurt, but Little Lady prefers plain creamy Greek yoghurt on hers. You can sweeten with a drizzle of honey if you like (I don't, cos the yoghurt I use has enough of a sweet taste for me). Mix it all up so the oats are covered in the yoghurt/milk, then leave it to sit for a few minutes so that the oats soften a little.

Lastly, add your fresh fruit  - I always slice half a banana, then add whatever fresh fruit I've got in the fridge. Usually we have red grapes, blueberries and strawberries, sometimes raspberries or blackberries when they are in season. Grated apple also works well. Just recently I've been adding in a spoonful of homemade apple and blackberry compote - oh, soooo good!

Each mouthful is just delicious - the creamy oats, crunchy roasted nuts and juicy fresh fruit combine into a yummy combination of flavours and textures. It makes me so happy to eat this bowl of good stuff every morning, and I love that my older kidlets are enjoying it too. Little Lady (who is 13) is a very recent convert - it does take children time to get to grips with the very chunky, chewy nature of this breakfast I guess.

There is a tonne of stuff written about the virtues of eating an oat based breakfast (I swap from muesli to porridge in the winter months, so I eat oats all year round), but honestly I mainly love muesli for its taste rather than any health reasons. Oh, and it does keep me feeling nicely full pretty much until lunch time, which is also a Good Thing.

I'd love to know what you eat for breakfast - d0 let me know?!

x

♥ Simple Nutty Museli ingredients ♥

500g rolled oats

150g dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, cranberries, apricots etc)

150g mixed seeds (eg pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, linseed)

250g mixed nuts (eg hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, brazils)

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Comments

[Adeel]

As a quick and convenient breakfast option, muesli suits busy lifestyles, providing a satisfying and nutritious start to the day with minimal preparation.

[Marie]

Thanks for the recipe; I must try it. Sounds wonderful. This(https://www.theyummylife.com/Slow_Cooker_Apple_Cinnamon_Oatmeal) has been my go-to for such a long time that I think it's time to switch things up a bit. This recipe lends itself so nicely to variations that it's east to make the entire family happy. The only change I've made is I don't like letting the slow cooker on over night, so I just make this during the daytime and keep it in the fridge. Always looking for something new to try -- so many thanks!

[Sarena]

Thank you for the recipe. Ran out and bought all the ingredients. Burned the nuts like you said not to do because I was consumed with reading your latest post. Looking forward to trying it in the morning.

[Lucy]

Oh yes, meant to say, for cutting up your nuts, get a mezzaluna, and preferably a concave chopping board to go with it. My stepdaughter sent us one years ago and it's one of my favourite things in the kitchen, also invaluable for chopping fresh herbs. Fun to use, not expensive and doesn't take up much space, get one!

[Lucy]

I remember reading years ago, I think it was one of the gurus of the raw food thing, that in fact the plant foods you shouldn't eat raw, because they were indigestible, were cereals, and that people thinking eating plain oat muesli was a healthy choice were making a mistake. I kind of internalised this idea (probably partly because I didn't much like raw oat muesli anyway!) and only ever ate oats in porridge, or otherwise cooked into things (oat bran in dumplings is delish!).

Recently though, I've thought to question it, and looked it up, and it seems that in fact rolled oats are partially cooked anyway, being slightly steamed in the rolling process, and are perfectly safe to eat as they are. In fact, when I think about the completely whole, raw oats we used to buy for our chickens, they were hard pointy black things; indeed, even the chickens didn't care for them!

I still find them a bit like nosebag to eat mind, but in the course of my researches I heard about 'overnight oats' which one of your other commenters mentioned, and wonder if perhaps this is the way to go.

So yes, porridge once a week (I fear the health benefits may be rather cancelled out by the sugar and cream I like on it!), and DH cooks boiled eggs which we have with wholemeal bread three times a week, and the other days it's bran flakes, with some kind of fruit, dried or fresh on them, toast, juice and coffee. I love marmite but have run out and refuse to pay seven euros for a tiny jar! I like granola type cereals but they are so full of sugar, and quite expensive, so I don't often buy them.

[Julie]

Never thought of making my own muesli, very easy to make and tastes delicious - thank you!

[Cathy S.]

Delicious!

[Ileana]

Cara Lucy, per colazione in Italia solitamente si beve latte, caffè, cappuccino o té con biscotti, torte, pane burro e marmellata e brioches ( non tutto insieme, eh!). Recentemente si sono aggiunti muffins, pancakes e waffel con succhi di frutta e yogurt.
Che bello leggere le colazioni di tutto il mondo!😄

[Charlotte.]

At this time we are eating whatever is left in the pantry. When the stores are stocked again I want to try this. It may be another week or so because many are stil without electricity. My family and I are safe but have various types of damage to property. Hurricane Irma was terrifying.

[Toni]

I have oatmeal every day. I guess you'd call it porridge? If I'm at work I have instant with real maple syrup and a bit of salt. If I'm home, we have old fashioned with frozen blueberries. I like Meusli too but I've never made it!

[Geovanna Conejo]

Hola Lucy, muy rico tu receta, alguna vez la voy a intentar hacer. Aqui en Costa Rica, desayunamos un poco diferente.

Nuestro desayuno es :

1 huevo
cafe
pan
a veces natilla
y pínto (que es arroz y frijoles se revuelven con especies )

es delicioso,
pero tambien es delicioso probar otros desayunos

Saludos

[Tina]

Try soaking your müsli-mix in orange juice before adding the yogurt and fruit. Yummy!

[Beth in Maryland]

Thank you, Lucy, I'm going to try this!

[Sheryl]

Overnight oats with milkadamia (macadamia milk), chia, ground flax seed, any kind of nuts, fruit (usually blueberries). So easy to throw together the night before and dig in to the next morning.

[Carol]

Similar to my breakfast, but I love my coffee with it!!

[SUSAN K BUETTNER]

I'm the odd one here, I eat leftovers from the night before for breakfast. Other times I drink a bottle of Ensure or have a tuna sandwich. I've also been known to eat a can of sardines for brunch. It's one of the perks of being single.

[Teresa Kasner]

That looks delicious! I just have a bran muffin with my morning coffee, or a granola bar, zucchini bread or toast. But yours looks much healthier! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[Susan Smith]

Thanks for the Muesli recipe. I've seen others, but sometimes they are a lot more complicated. I usually have porridge for brecky, but do like muesli as a change a couple of days a week, so will possibly give this a try. My blueberry bushes are just starting to flower, so fresh ones will be here by Xmas, though I've still loads frozen. Take care.

[Regina]

Müesli does not mean "mix" - Müesli is the diminutive form of the word "Mus"= puree, e.g. Apfelmus = apple sauce, Pflaumenmus = plum puree ... and yes, I know because I am Swiss, born and bread ... :-). And that's where it all started - he "invented" the Birchermüesli:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Bircher-Benner.

My very early breakfast consists of oats soaked in plain yoghurt and fruit. Always enjoy reading your blog!

[CJ]

I'm a big muesli fan too. I have oats, cashews (whole) and a little dried apple, apricot or occasionally cranberries. I soak it all overnight in unsweetened soya milk then in the morning I add Greek yoghurt and just take the chill off of it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Then I mix the yoghurt in. It is the most delicious meal of the day, I absolutely love it. Especially if I get a little peace and quiet in which to eat it... CJ xx

[Astrid]

It sounds/reads delicious.
Because I follow a diet , Icann't eat oats.
So my breakfast contains , fresh yoghurt , nuts ,
and fresh fruits , and I love it every morning again.

[Peita]

Wow that sounds yummy Lucy! I eat cooked oatmeal with a tsp of sugar and 4 or five Orange Essence Prunes sprinkled on top. No milk or yogurt. And this also keeps me full until lunch time. I usually have a little handful (4 or 5 pieces) of natural almonds in the late afternoon to hold me over until dinner.

[Drusilla]

As I do it but add grated fresh ginger. Umm

[Deb Lee]

ooh that's exactly how I make it. Hubster prefers granola so I mix all the same ingredients with some honey and coconut oil then bake the whole lot after mixing.

[Bela]

This looks wonderful. I adore nuts, etc., but I suffer from IBS-D and can't have a lot of fibre so it would make me very unwell, unfortunately. I'm one of those few people for whom the more 'refined' a foodstuff is the better.