This was actually a difficult decision for me. I've been eating cereal my whole life -- were it not for Cheerios, I probably wouldn't have made it past the age of four. Cold breakfast cereals are really refreshing and I still love milk as much as I did when I was a kid. But, then I started reading labels.
Ever look at a cereal box ingredients list? Those lists are long. I mean, really long. And they contain a lot of things that you might not expect: lots of different kinds of oils, various gums, colors that are identified by number. As I said when I started the blog, I don't so much have a food agenda. If I did have one, it would be probably in line with the real food movement. This fits well with my original plan: if you can't find it outside or you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.
And there's a bunch of things I can't pronounce on the back of cereal boxes.
So, now what? It's on to better breakfast food. If I do buy cereals, I go for the ones that have very short ingredients lists. Otherwise, I eat a hard boiled egg on toast or I make oatmeal. But my latest favorite breakfast food and the one I eat most often is muesli.
Muesli is one of those wonderful things that comes to us from the Swiss, along with delicious cocoa, those handy knives, and Roger Federer. There are plenty of pre-packaged kinds you can buy, but why bother? It's easy to make, cheaper, and you can experiment with your favorite stuff.
Notes: I had a hard time finding the dried fruit that I wanted. I made my batch before I had looked into the local health food store, which means I missed out on the figs and cherries I could have used. It's OK. I still love raisins and there's always next time!
You can eat your muesli either quick or "soaked." The quick version means you put muesli in a bowl and pour milk or yogurt over it just like regular cereal. I prefer the soaked version because the oats get a little soft overnight in the fridge. The trick, of course, is remembering to make it before you go to bed. It took me a few days to get into the habit, but I got the hang of it. If the absent-minded professor can remember, you can too.
This is a big batch. It will probably last me two months. You can't stretch a boxed cereal that long!
Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups of sliced toasted almonds
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of plain yogurt (for serving)
Drizzle of honey (for serving)
Directions:
Mix oats, raisins, almonds, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss until all the ingredients are coated with cinnamon.
Store in an airtight container.
To serve, mix 1/4 cup of muesli with 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I use Greek yogurt, but use what you like -- you could even use vanilla yogurt). Cover and refrigerate overnight. Drizzle with honey right before you serve it up in the morning. Enjoy a better breakfast!
Could I replace the yogurt with soy milk or coconut milk? I think I'd like this better than cooked oatmeal for breakfast. Also: think I could use steel-cut oats instead of rolled? From the half-assed researched I've done, steel cut oats are the healthiest because fewer nutrients are cut away.
ReplyDeleteYou could definitely substitute any kind of milk you wanted. The only trouble with steel cut oats is that they won't absorb the milk as quickly as the rolled oats. If you wanted to try soaking it longer, that might fix it. If you try it, let me know how it works.
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