Homemade muesli with seeds, nuts and fruit
Summer holidays have started! I’m enjoying the prospect of six weeks of getting up without haste and starting the day with the lazy breakfasts we usually reserve for the weekend: lemon and ricotta pancakes, quinoa with walnuts and banana, oatmeal with almonds and cherry compote… The children are always up for experiments, so who knows which new things this summer may bring.
A dish which sounds very modest, but to me represents lazy and relaxed eating in the morning, is homemade nut and fruit muesli. A mixture of unbaked grains, seeds, nuts and dried fruits and lovely in its simplicity. In most midweek mornings my breakfast consists of something I can easily eat while walking around, filling up flasks with tea and cutting fruit to be taken in the school bags. But this muesli is reserved for haste-free mornings in which I can sit down.
The nice thing about homemade muesli is the fact that you know exactly what’s in it. It’s a doddle to prepare and it can be adjusted to everyone’s taste, mood and sensitivity. The nuts, seeds and wholegrain flakes provide proteins, fibre, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Combined with dairy or plant-based milk and some fresh fruit they give a wonderful start to your day and will easily keep you going till lunchtime. And last but not least: they’re just so tasty.
The basis for a homemade muesli is simple:
- Choose flakes of one or more grains. You could think of:
- oats
- barley
- rye
- wheat
- spelt
- buckwheat
- quinoa
- amaranth
- Add nuts to taste. For example:
- almonds
- hazelnuts
- Brazil nuts
- walnuts
- pecans
- pistachios
- cashews
Different grains and nuts contain different nutrients, so combining multiple sorts will give you an extra varied breakfast. As for the proportions, a good starting point would be one part nuts to two parts grain.
- Add seeds. For example:
- hempseed
- linseed
- chia seeds
- sesame seeds
- poppy seeds
- sunflower seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- pine nuts
- If you like, add dried fruits. For example:
- cranberries
- papaya
- sultanas
- mulberries
- goji berries
- apricots
- plums
- apples
- pear
- mango
- coconut flakes
- Flavour the mixture with spices. This isn’t necessary, because it’s already delicious as it is. But if you’re up for variation, you could think of:
- vanilla seeds
- cinnamon
- gingerbread spices
- unsweetened cocoa powder or cocoa nibs
Mix the ingredients of your choice and store them in an airtight container for up to two months.
With this basis as a starting point you can vary as much as you like. For inspiration, below you’ll find the recipe for my own lazy-morning muesli: the muesli from the photographs. I wish you lots of relaxed breakfast mornings!
My muesli for lazy mornings – makes about 1 kg.
Ingredients
- 200 g rolled oats
- 200 g rolled barley
- 50 g rolled spelt
- 100 g linseed
- 75 g hempseed
- 100 g hazelnuts
- 50 g Brazil nuts
- 50 g pecans
- 40 g shaved almonds
- 50 g dried read papaya pieces
- 50 g dried cranberries
- 70 g dried coconut flakes
+ extra chia seeds, if you like. Chia seeds tend to sink to the bottom of the container if the muesli is stored for some time. Therefore, instead of mixing them with the other ingredients, I usually stir a tablespoon of them through my breakfast bowl.
Preparation
Roughly chop the nuts and mix them with the other ingredients.
Store the muesli in an airtight container for up to two months.
Enjoy it with fresh fruit and your favourite unsweetened (cow-/goat-/soya-/almond-/oat-based) milk, yoghurt or curd cheese.
