Bircher Muesli

Muesli as you buy it in the shops isn't all that healthy an option.  Filled with dried fruit nuts and often added sugar, it is one of the more calorie filled breakfasts you can have.  This wasn't how it was originally designed.  Maximilian Bircher-Benner was a Swiss Doctor, he believed people should exercise frequently including gardening and eat a lot of raw fruits, vegetables and nuts and limit meat.   Although my lifestyle doesn't always mirror his proposal, I have found my recent inclusion of a vegetable patch in my garden is good for both body and soul.

It's a bit difficult to be sure what his original recipe was but certainly from the sources I've found, oats and apples seem to be obligatory.  Opinions seem to differ on whether it should include milk or yogurt or even cream.  Many include lemon juice which I don't due to the amount of other fruits I include which even at their ripest, also have a slight acidity.

Not everyone sweetens the recipe either.  I included a touch of honey and I will leave that up to you whether to include or not.  It's not a necessity if the fruit is ripe, in fact you could easily make this vegan by using nut milk and missing out the honey.

This is my massively fruit filled take on Bircher Muesli.  I hope Dr Bircher-Benner would approve.

Bircher Muesli - Serves 1

Ingredients

1 small (e.g. "fun size") apple or half a large apple
2-3 tbsp oats, use gluten free oats if liked
Milk, use dairy milk if liked or nut milk if you prefer
1 handful blueberries
1 handful strawberries
1 handful raspberries
1 tsp honey (optional)

Method

Coarsely grate the apple including the skin back to the core.  Add the oats then enough milk to your liking.  The oats will absorb a little as you prep the other fruit.

Prepare the fruits and place into the bowl.  Top with a drizzle of honey if liked and serve.  If allowed to stand for longer, the oats will soften further.

Maximilian Bircher-Benner was very much ahead of his time in thinking that food could have such an impact on health.  I mean, look at this, you feel healthy just looking at the picture!

I've linked this up to recipe of the week.