Muesli is a mixture of raw oats (sometimes other grains), dried fruits, and nuts. It’s typically eaten cold, and may be soaked in liquid for few hours. Muesli can be healthy or not so healthy depending on what’s in it. In this post, I share a healthy muesli recipe.
Why Eat Muesli?
- It’s not too sugary (as long as you don’t add sugar and too much dried fruit)
- It’s easy to make
- It’s made from clean ingredients (if you make it yourself)
- It’s high in fiber. Fiber helps with gut health (the fiber feed healthy bacteria in your gut that produce nutrients for your intestinal cells), promote satiety, and helps manage blood sugar and cholesterol
- It’s high in vitamins and minerals, depending on the nuts, seeds, and dried fruits you use
Why Make your Own Muesli?
- It’s cheaper to make at home
- You can make it gluten-free and even low FODMAPs if you want. You decide which ingredients to add
- You can choose healthier and cleaner ingredients
Kefir
Why kefir? It’s more beneficial than milk. It’s a fermented drink that contains live cultures, which are found to improve the immune function, gut integrity and function, nutrient absorption, and even prevent overweight and obesity. Choose plain kefir and sweeten with dried fruit or 100% pure maple syrup if needed.
Healthy Muesli Recipe
This recipe take 5 minutes to make. The nice thing about making the muesli mix (as opposed to making individual bowls daily) is that you pull ingredients and untie and tie back the packs of fruit and nuts came in just once a week. In the morning, pour about 2/3 cup of it into your bowl and that’s it! If you’re trying to lose weight, use a measuring cup until you can estimate what 2/3 cup looks like. Muesli is packed in energy that may be in excess if you aren’t expending the energy.
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (gluten-free if you need it and if you’re following low FODMAPs diet)
- 1 cup nuts such as slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (pepita),etc
- 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 cup dried fruit like chopped prunes, apricots, dates or raisins
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Optional: 1 teaspoon cocoa powder or 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt, plain Greek yogurt, plain Kefir, or milk (or non-dairy alternative like coconut milk or almond milk if needed)
- Combine the oats, nuts, chia seeds, coconut, dried fruit, and any other optional ingredient in an air-tight container.
- Store in your pantry for up to 4 weeks.
- To serve, you have 2 options. Pour cup into a bowl with a lid. Add the yogurt or kefir (or milk alternative). Stir, cover, and store in the fridge overnight. Eat the next morning. The muesli will be moist and soaked. You may need to add more liquid.
- The second option is pour into a bowl and add the yogurt, kefir, or milk alternative in the morning. Eat immediately. Experiment with which texture you prefer.
Learn how to identify the REAL causes of your gut problems.
I first started making this as a Suhur meal for Ramadan. I don’t usually wake up super early to eat, so I need something quick and easy. I prefer it soaked overnight or at least for few hours because the natural sugars of the dried fruits are extracted and blended in better.
Low FODMAPs version
Use gluten–free oats to prevent cross-contamination with wheat. Reduce the amount of nuts and avoid cashews and pistachios. Reduce the amount of dried fruit and opt for banana chips, freeze-dried strawberries or blueberries, or serve with fresh fruit like berries and oranges.
Have you every had or made muesli? Do you soak it in advance?
