Into the clearing

It is so satisfying to make your own muesli because when you choose the ingredients you can turn breakfast into a real meal. One that is good for gut, brain and steady energy. My recipe is high in nutrients and rich in prebiotic ingredients as it includes around 10 plant based foods and insoluble fibre. It has no sugar except what naturally occurs in the dried fruit. I make a big batch every 10 days and it only takes 10 minutes.

When you feed your family nutrient dense food two things happen. Their bodies and brains can function at their peak, and, they are satisfied so they stop constantly foraging for snacks! This muesli is so dense that 1/2 a cup of it fills us right up! We are a dairy free home so we have it with oat/almond or soy milk.

When we travel I even take some with us in a ziplock bag!  We never buy factory made cereals because they are so processed and if you look at the labels you will see they have 25 to 40% SUGAR!  The day I read those cereal labels was the day I started making our own muesli, more than a decade ago.

THE ULTIMATE MUESLI RECIPE 

Ingredients (you can vary any of these quantities to your own preference).

• 1 bag of Rolled Oats  (most bags are 750g each).
• 2 cups of mixed seeds and nuts of your choice for each batch. For example; pepitas, almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, chia seeds, sesame seeds). I look out for seeds and nuts on special and stock up ahead. Pepitas are my current favourite.
• 1 cup flaxseed and/or flax meal (very healthy and cheap ingredient – I use some of each if I have them).
• 1 cup coconut dessicated/shredded/flakes
• 1 cup dried cranberries or sultanas
• 1/3 cup cacao nibs (optional but a great addition)
• 2 tablespoons Mixed Spice for health and delicious flavour (or use cinnamon and cardamon).

Method

• Put everything in a big bowl or 10 litre pot and mix with a big spoon.
• Store in airtight containers. Tip: put a 1/2 cup measure in the container for easy portion serving as it really is filling.

Extra Tips

• Extra toppings. Feel like you need a little luxury today? Add berries, coconut yoghurt, or a finely chopped apple!
• Turn it into porridge. This muesli makes AMAZING porridge: put into a pot 1/2 cup muesli per adult, 1/3 cup per child. Add water (around 2:1 ratio water:muesli and cook until smooth. We also add finely chopped apple. My husband makes this each morning through winter. 
• Turn it into  granola. If you bake muesli then it is called granola. It is crunchy and delicious but does need more time. If you want to take this extra step line some oven trays with baking paper. Then spread the muesli over the trays. Melt some coconut oil and drizzle over. Bake the muesli at 175C for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Do pull the trays out half way and stir the muesli around a bit. Let it cool for 40 minutes before putting into containers.
• Shopping for ingredients. Every time I shop I look out for seeds, nuts, oats and cranberries at good prices. I keep all my muesli ingredients collected together in a basket in my pantry. When it’s time to make a batch I get my 10 litre bowl and pour in the oats first and all else on top, then stir.
• Variation. We eat this beautiful muesli everyday, however I do vary the ingredients or spices a bit from batch to batch. It is only recently that humans expected 5 options or cereals to choose from each morning so I don’t have any qualms about only having one breakfast cereal option. Once I showed my kids the sugar quantities in the shop cereals, they were glad I made our own from then on. We eat it as muesli in summer and porridge in winter. Always around 1/2 to 1/3 cup per person. We also occasionally add berries or coconut yoghurt. And on occasion we do break out and have eggs or a smoothie instead!
• Allergies. Any of the ingredients could be skipped if you were allergic to them or didn’t have them at hand. You can also vary any quantities to preference. This is cruisy ‘cooking’! Just throw it in and stir.

Now you can start each day knowing your  family had an amazing meal for breakfast! You can also stop wasting money on the sugary cereals from the supermarket that give your kids an energy high, then a crash just when they need to concentrate in school. Plus now you only need one container in the pantry for cereal! Extra joy for minimalists!

Happy breakfast time,

from Siobhan