Bircher muesli rocks and somewhat seems to be in fashion. I am sure its creator the Swiss nutritionist and doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner would be very happy having found that many fans, if he was still with us. He could be calling himself a bit of a hipster. Did you know that he was a pioneer of using raw whole foods to promote digestive health and well being ?
So, what’s the secret ? In a nutshell Bircher muesli is a delicious raw porridge enriched with fruit and nuts. Leaving out the cooking process keeps all the nutrients from running the risk of being destroyed . What I love about the Bircher muesli is that it only takes a few minutes to prepare. I usually make it in the evenings as it needs to be left to soak for easier digestion, just leave in the fridge over night . The next morning you have a richly flavoured breakfast ready to eat. This way can stay in bed for that little bit longer – make a bigger batch and you have a few days of energy boosting morning bliss !
The original Bircher muesli recipe calls for oats, nuts, apples, oranges, bananas, raisins, lemon juice, condensed milk , water and sugar. However, using condensed milk, water and sugar didn’t sound appealing to me at all but probably was the best it could get in the early 1930s.
My version is made with cashew milk and vanilla but it works just as well with any other milk. I kept the oats, apples, nuts and raisins and threw some chia seeds and dates to the mix before soaking it over night. I love crunchy textures, so I made my all time favourite carrot cake granola to go as a topping. I also soaked some prunes with a dash of cinnamon, they go super well with Bircher and granola. By the way, Bircher also makes a very nice desert .
Bircher Muesli– serves 2-3
2 cups of organic rolled jumbo oats
1-2 tbsp of soaked almonds ( roughly chopped)
1 organic apple ( British if possible- I love breaburn)
300 ml of cashew milk ( or plant based milk of your choice e.g. rice, oat, almond, coconut etc)
1 tbsp of raisins & 1 tbsp roughly chopped dates
1-2 tbsp of walnuts ( roughly chopped)
1-2 tbsp of pecans ( roughly chopped)
1 tbsp of chia seeds
2 inch of vanilla pod or a dash of vanilla extract (optional)
1 tbsp maple sirup to sweeten if desired
Topping: a hand full of prunes soaked over night with a dash of cinnamon (optional) , kefir or natural yoghurt also works nicely as a topping.
Carrot cake granola
300g of organic rolled jumbo oats
50g-100g of carrot pulp ( left over from juicing) or 1/2 cup of finely grated carrot
2 tbsp of cashew pulp (left over from making cashew milk) or finely chopped cashew nuts
25g of coconut sugar or 2-3 tbsp of maple syrup or honey
2 tbsp of coconut oil
1/2 cup of walnuts – chopped
1/4 cup of pecan nuts- chopped
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds -chopped
1/3 cup of raisins
2-3 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
2 inches of vanilla pod (scraped out , you can add the left over pod to the muesli) -optional
Pinch of salt
Method:
For the muesli: I usually prepare this in the evening: grate the apple including the skin and put together with all other dry ingredients into a mason jar, then add the milk, make sure it soaks through well and add some milk in excess as the chia seeds will soak up some extra liquid. Stir well, close tight and give it a good shake before putting it in the fridge.
That’s it-done- breakfast ready prepared for the next morning/day. You can already eat it after a 2-3 hours but its just nicer soaked over night. Shake/stir well again before serving, that way you ensure a delicious flavour throughout.
For the granola: preheat the over at 170c and line two baking trays with baking parchment and set aside. Put the oil, sugar or maple syrup, vanilla (if using), cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl and whisk together. It helps to place the bowl in the heated oven for a few minutes so the oil binds better with the other ingredients. Next add all other ingredients and mix together well, this is best done with your hands, as it makes it easier to combine everything . The mixture is quite sticky but delicious if you want to try some raw.
Evenly spread out the mixture on the baking trays and bake until nicely golden brown and crunchy. During the baking process give the granola a stir now and again, that way everything bakes through well.
Leave to cool down completely before putting the granola into jars. It will keep for up to a 3-4 weeks.
I love dried prunes soaked with a dash of cinnamon, also easily prepared together with the Bircher and soaked over night. You can add some of the prune juice to the bircher muesli its deliciously sweet. If you do not have time to make the granola or don’t like prunes, Kefir or plain natural yoghurt works a treat with this breakfast or just with granola and soaked prunes. 🙂 Enjoy !
