Nice To Meet You Muesli
Never in a million years would I have thought that I’d be excited about muesli. Muesli? Who on earth is excited about muesli. Well, today, I was.
I’m doing the Daniel Fast until the end of the month. During the fast, I can have fruits, vegetables, whole grains and …water. Yup, that’s it. No sugar, meat, dairy, preservatives, refined grains and whatever else is out there. I’m five days in and today I was craving cereal and then I was craving something sweet and dessert-like.
After some research and aisle browsing at Whole Foods, muesli was the best option. All of the granola had sugar (or agave or molasses or coconut sugar or stevia or another name for sugar), even the ones that said sugar-free. So, those were immediately out. Muesli was the only option. I picked up a box along with bananas and coconut flakes to add to it and I was on my way (I was actually there for an hour with an extensive meal planning spreadsheet and corresponding shopping list).
I was so excited to get home and have a bowl of muesli with some unsweetened almond milk (I tried a new brand, Malk, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is.) I’m not going to lie, muesli isn’t great and I probably won’t have it cold again, but it did satisfy my craving. I’ll probably eat another bowl or two cold and then eat the rest of the box like oatmeal….You know what, as I thought more about this I realized that muesli’s actually better than I’m giving it credit for and I would indeed eat it cold again after the fast ends, with a little honey though.
Oh, I just realized that I’ve been rambling on like you know what muesli is. Muesli was created by Swiss nutritionist Maximilian Bircher-Benner in the 1900s. In addition to rolled oats, it has dried fruit, nuts, seeds and grains and is normally eaten cold. It’s touted for its nutritional impact. It’s low in sugar, high in protein and fiber and minimally processed. Apparently, I’m also now a part of the converted.
Egads, I really didn’t mean to write a whole post about an unsweetened, whole grain breakfast cereal, but I had more to say than I thought. Next time maybe I’ll actually get to my shopping list for the fast as well as some of the meals that I’ve been experimenting with.
In the meantime, if I’ve somehow convinced you to give museli a shot, below is what you’ll need to make your own at home. You can also pick up a box from Whole Foods/Amazon.
HOMEMADE MUESLI
Old-fashioned rolled oats
Toasted chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, etc.)
Dried fruit (raisins, dates, etc.)
Flax or sunflower seeds
Coconut flakes
Combine all of the ingredients in a large jar that can also be used for storing.
When ready to eat, pour the desired amount in a bowl and top with almond milk. Some people also use orange juice. Instead of eating it cold, you can also have it warm like oatmeal.
Optional. Drizzle with a teaspoon of honey.
*This is the simplest recipe ever. I didn’t bother with portions because you can combine it any way you’d like. It’s foolproof (not that you’re a fool). More oats would be ideal.** When picking dried fruits, try to stay away from ones that have added sugar. One of the things that I’ve realized on this fast is how many things have sugar added to them. I LOVE sugar and sweets, but a lot of the things I’m finding it in is just simply unnecessary.
*** Also chop the dried fruits and nuts.
Now that you’ve been properly introduced, happy healthy cereal eating to you.