Oh-So-Wholesome Muesli

Why make muesli? For starters, muesli is just about the easiest kind of food prep there is so you'll be patting yourself on the back for weeks to come over having fed yourself wholesomely.  Second, making bulk batches will save you money over the store bought varieties. And finally, it gives you the freedom and control to choose your ingredients. If you've got nut allergies for example, or other food sensitivities, this is a must. 

Consider the recipe below as your baseline and expand your ingredients list from there. I eventually added dried cherries and hazelnuts to this batch because I found them loitering in the pantry. I top my muesli with chopped or grated apples and bananas as a way of getting fruit into my diet. Fruit typically isn't of interest to me unless it's battered and fried, paired with cheese or coated in chocolate. I have however, found other, less obnoxious ways to enjoy fruit and muesli is one example.

Adapted from: http://www.gatheranddine.com

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats 
• 1/2 cup barley flakes
• 1/2 cup rye flakes
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (I used whole)
• 2 T sunflower seeds
• 2 T pumpkin seeds

For Serving

• 2-3 cups of yoghurt (1/2 cup per serving)
• fresh fruit of choice
• honey or jam to top

Method

Combine dry ingredients and store in an airtight container. To prepare, combine the yoghurt and muesli in a bowl and mix well to ensure the yoghurt coats all of the muesli. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve the following morning with fruit. and top with either jam or honey as desired.

Cinnamon Apple Quinoa Parfait

To stay or....

One of very few breakfast recipes I've made in the last year, but if you're on the go a lot, this breakfast is worth a try. It's easy to carry with you and keeps for a week. I just ate the last of them yesterday and it tasted as good as the first.

I pulled this recipe from www.PreventionRd.com because of its use of quinoa; the super grain. Packed with amino acids, fiber, protein and magnesium, this little gem will help you stay in the game. Magnesium-rich foods help your muscles relax and I've been honing in on this mineral to help my muscles do just that. Kids will love the layered simplicity of this dish, and if plain yoghurt doesn't cut it for you, throw in a flavoured yoghurt of your choice. This isn't just food, this is high-octane fuel.

To go!

Adapted From: http://www.preventionrd.com

Ingredients

Oat Crumble

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 T sunflower oil
• 2 t granulated sugar
• 1 t ground cinnamon

Apple Compote

• 4 apples, cored and chopped
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 T granulated sugar
• Handful of nuts (walnut pieces & almonds went in mine)
• 1 T water or more for cooking

Quinoa

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 2 cups greek yoghurt (I used plain 2% greek yoghurt, but feel free to get a richer or leaner yoghurt if you prefer)

Method

Cook the quinoa according to package instructions adding the cinnamon to the quinoa after it has cooked. 

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine all the ingredients for the apple compote, mixing well. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Partially cover the mixture until apples are soft and any liquid in the pan becomes syrupy, approximately 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary. When cooked, remove from heat and let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients for the oat crumble and distributed on a baking sheet. Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

To assemble, place a 1/4 cup of the yoghurt, 1/4 cup of the quinoa and a 1/4 cup of the apple compote in layers in a bowl or jar. Repeat the layers and top with the oat crumble. Serve! 

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

• 
  
• 
  
• In the interest of using up the canned pumpkin from my pumpkin pudding experiment, I threw it into a pot with some oats, spices etc. and savoured every bite of it. I discovered this idea last year when surfing for other pumpkin recipes and thought this was marvellous. Chopped up walnuts, hazelnuts and dried fruit would spice this recipe up even more.
• 
  
• 
  
•     ·      1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

·      3/4 cup water, or as needed

·      2 T milk 

·      1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

·      1/2 t cinnamon

·      1/4 t cardamom

·      1/4 t ground ginger

·      1/4 t nutmeg

·      2 T maple syrup

·      Handful of nuts (I used almonds)

·      Yoghurt to top

• 
  
• 
  
• Mix the oats and water in a pot on medium heat letting the oats absorb the water. Add the pumpkin puree, spices, nuts and syrup, stirring well. If dry, add a the two tablespoons of milk to moisten the mixture. Top with yoghurt and a few more nuts.
•