Home-made muesli nutrient dense and easy to make....




I have been making this delicious Nutrition by Nature Muesli for years now it is so quick and simple to make.  Home-made muesli is so much cheaper than the shop brought alternative.  Commercial muesli often contain sulphites so they keep on the shelf for longer and retain colour but unfortunately for some like myself I am intolerant to sulphite as it gives me migraines.

Many people can tolerate sulphites and actually we produce these in our bodies.  But for some especially asthmatics these can be very problematic. Commercial muesli's also can contain high amounts of sodium, sugar and refined fats to preserve them and make it suit the modern day palette of sweet and salty.   So really home-made is the way to go if you want to know what you are eating.

Sulphite numbers to look out for it you react to these are
220 Sulphur Dioxide
221 Sulphur sulphhite
222 Sulphur bisulphhite
223 Sulphur metabisuphite
224 Sulphur potassium
225 Sulphur potassium sulphite
228 Sulphur potassium bisulphite 

The great thing about making your own muesli is that you can mix it up with different varieties add in your favourite dried organic fruits, nuts and seeds (the ingredients needs to be organic as these don't contain sulphites therefore this is why apricots are more brown than the bright orange non-organic alternative).  

Muesli makes a wonderful gift too and label it as your own "Clare's Fantastically Healthy Muesli".
Muesli is especially beneficial if made from organic ingredients.

I source my ingredients from The Source Millford or Kumeu they are starting an on-line store soon. This is a no plastic store.  I brought my jars from The Warehouse to refill. 

Ingredient guide

4 cups of raw oats
1/2 cup of quinoa flakes
1 cup of chopped/slivered/flaked/ground almonds or what ever nut you fancy pecan is nice.
1 cup of sesame seeds
1 cup of sunflower seeds
1 cup of pepitas (posh word for pumpkin seeds) I personally don't like these so I leave them out.
1 Tablespoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 cup of spelt or rice flour
1/2 cup of pear or apple concentrate or maple syrup or I like 1/2 cup of manuka honey or 1/2 cup of rice syrup for a less sweet alternative. 
1 cup of coconut oil

Stir in at the end 1/2 cup of chai seeds

1 cup of dried fruit tossed in after the muesli has been toasted. I like simple sultanas put add in pineapple and mango, dates and prunes or apple and pear. 


Method

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large deep baking tray, combine the honey/juice or maple with the oil.  Heat the honey first to liquefy first then add to the oil.  
Mix oil/sweet mix with dry mix and rub together making sure it is well combined and coated.  Spread the ingredients thinly onto a baking tray (you probably will need two baking trays) and toast in the oven at 180 degrees gas mark 4 until golden brown and crisp this takes around 20 minutes, stir at 10 minutes.  Allow to cool completely and then store in air tight container.
Note don't go over toasting the muesli because it ends up with an over toasted taste but this does depend on what you prefer.

For a raw muesli simply omit the oil and sweetener eg. honey/juice/maple and don't cook. So add the fruit in straight away.  This can be used as a base for bircher muesli which you simple soak the mix over night with apple juice or coconut milk and eat the next day.  This will not keep so only make as much as you need. 

Variations on the theme

Use different fruits, papaya, pineapple for a tropical feel of the Caribbean, sultanas, raisins for a traditional muesli, Cranberries, strawberries, raspberries for a America muesli.

Use quinoa flakes for a totally gluten free muesli some people are intolerant of oats.

 Add 1 cup of bran when mixing the dry ingredients before cooking great for extra fibre in the diet. This contains gluten.

Can use to top a crumble, use the raw muesli and sprinkle on top of the stewed fruit and bake.

Enjoy :) 

Comments

  1. Clare, this is a really good article/recipe. You've made it sound delicious and healthy, given us a heads up about the sulphites in commercial muesli, and a link showing where to buy ingredients.
    Nice one 👍

    ReplyDelete

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