A Quick and Easy Bircher Muesli

Many of my clients have been buying the bircher muesli from the supermarket to have for breakfast. Either the one that is already made up and ready to eat or the dry mix that you need to soak yourself.  While some of these options are healthy, some are not!

Often untoasted (and unsoaked bircher) muesli contains sugar and/or oil (check the ingredients list to see if yours does).  Neither of these are necessary in a good tasting muesli.

The ready to eat bircher muesli can also work out to be very expensive.  With a little forward planning you can easily make it yourself and here is my favorite and very easy recipe so you can do so.

This recipe can be varied as much as you like.  Instead of blueberries, add any other fresh or frozen berries.  In place of walnuts, use any other or a mixture of nuts, or for a nut-free version use pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds.  As this version does not contain dried fruit (although feel free to add some if you like) you can add the best of whatever seasonal fruit is around at the time.  My current favorite is mango.  So have some fun experimenting with this recipe to find out what your favorite combos are.  Regardless of what you choose to use, this is a super-healthy, delicious and filling way to start the day…and can also be eaten as a snack (although you would most likely have a smaller portion!)

VARIATIONS:

• For a dairy free alternative, use soy, oat, coconut milk, coconut water or any type of nut milk or 1/2 coconut yoghurt and 1/2 coconut water
• For a low FODMAP version, omit the apple and replace with banana or just more blueberries or strawberries

Per Serve (with low fat milk and topped with walnuts and honey): 1605 kJ or 382 calories; P 13g Fat 14g SFat 1.2g CHO 49g Fibre 7g

Per Serve (thicker version with low fat yoghurt and topped with walnuts and honey): 1731 kJ or 412 calories; P 16g Fat 15g SFat 1.2g CHO 50g Fibre 7g

Did you know?

Despite nuts being high in fat, studies have shown that they don’t contribute to weight gain.  Some of the reasons for this are:

• They satisfy hunger & reduce appetite
• You don’t actually absorb all of the calories or energy
• They cause increased energy expenditure (physical effort the body uses to digest nuts)
• They have a low glycemic index effect
• They can improve insulin sensitivity

Plus they are incredibly nutritious.  In particular walnuts contain essential omega 3 fatty acids vital for many parts of the body, including the brain.  People even say they look like a brain – is this nature’s way of telling us why we need to eat them?!

You can read more about this at Nuts for Life