Energy Food: Homemade Muesli

Homemade Muesli

I am participating in an online book club with the From Scratch Club on Goodreads.  As the From Scratch Club website says, “We read, we cook, we chat. That is the FSC Book Club.”  I’m really enjoying cooking the recipes from the books and hearing the successes, sometimes failures and tips from other readers/home chefs.   We're currently cooking recipes from Liana Krissoff's Whole Grains for a New Generation.  The recipes in this book have many interesting ways of incorporating whole grain into your meals.  I highly recommend it!  So far I’ve made a few recipes including Roasted Butternut Squash with Sausage; Quinoa Porridge with Vanilla and Almond Milk; Bulgar and Blackbean Burgers with Cilantro Mayo and Warm Spelt and Potato Salad.  All were delicious!  My two boys even agreed and I never thought they’d eat quinoa! 

Last week I made Pure Muesli.  According to some research I’ve done, including an article on livestrong.com, muesli is a good source of dietary fiber and can aid in weight loss since it makes you feel fuller.  Who doesn’t want that?  Muesli is also a good source of B-complex vitamins, which help to break down fat in the body and speed metabolism.

I find that it is a high energy food, which I need to get through the day after doing P90X.  Although I drink Shakeology for breakfast 3 to 4 times per week, I need another breakfast idea that keeps me satisfied and gives me energy.  Muesli is that breakfast. 

Ok, I know what you are saying right now, “Where can I buy some?”  But why buy it when it is a cinch to make.  I made some last week while I was home with both boys on a snow day.  Keep in mind that my boys are 7 and almost 3 and they are full of energy!  I think they were playing Star Wars but I was still able to keep an eye on them and make the Muesli.

Ingredients

2Tbs flax seeds

4 C rolled oats

1/4C pepitas (I did not have any so I used what I had on hand –pecans)

1/4C sliced almonds

2T sesame seeds

2T unsweetened shredded coconut

1/3C dried, diced apricots (I don’t like apricots so I used raisins)

 

First my youngest son helped me coarsely crack the flax seed in a spice grinder (I have a cheap coffee grinder dedicated to spices) and put them in a large bowl.  Next, using my deepest sauté pan, I toasted the oats over a medium heat.  This took longer than I thought but my largest, deepest sauté pan is not that large I guess.  In total I think it took about 10 minutes but that is because I had to turn the heat off and go check out what the chaos was in the living room.  It was just Darth Vader and young Luke battling it out.  Stir the oats often and if you don’t have to stop, it should probably take between 3-8 minutes.  When they are a golden brown, they are done and pour them into the bowl with the flax seed and let cool. 

 

In the same pan I toasted the pecans and almonds and then put them in a smaller bowl to cool.  Next I toasted the sesame seeds.  They don’t take long; not even a minute.  I put them with the nuts to cool.  The last thing I toasted was the coconut.  You need to pay attention here.  This just takes a few seconds.  Don’t get distracted by the delicious aroma as I almost did.  It smells divine!  Once it was a light brown I added it to the smaller bowl with the nuts and seeds.

 

Once again I had my sons help me.  I took about half of the oats/flax seed mixture and I pulsed it in the food processor to break it up a little.  After that I mixed everything together and let it cool completely.  Well, I had to have a little taste.  It is not overly sweet like some granola can be.  It has an earthy and toasty flavor with just a bit of sweetness from the raisins and pecans.  I actually added a little cinnamon to mine.  We love cinnamon in the house (there are health benefits to cinnamon too) and you can even add a little honey or brown sugar to yours as you serve it.  I enjoy mine on top of yogurt or with milk as you would eat cereal.    Liana Krissoff recommends adding either equal parts milk or yogurt to the Muesli and letting it sit in the fridge overnight (the classic Swiss way).   I look forward to trying it that way soon.  As for tonight, I had it as a snack with ½ cup homemade plain yogurt and ¼ cup muesli.  Delicious!