Homemade Healthy Muesli

Since making this muesli, I have been totally addicted to it!  Not only at breakfast, but lunch and snack cravings are being turned into Muesli time!

 

It is so easy to make and so delicious.  I was lucky to have most of these ingredients in my store cupboard.  I would recommend using what you have – the options are endless.

If you are weight watching, be aware of the amount of fruit you are adding as the natural sugar in dried fruit is very high.  The coconut however can be used in abundance!

 

I made my own dried apple chips to add to the muesli, and will in the future dry more fruit.  I can’t understand why sugar is added to already sweet fruit.

 

I use cup measurements for this, but any cup will do.  It was only to get an idea of proportions, but not actually important.

 

Ingredients

 

1 Cup Rolled Oats

½ Cup Oat Bran

½ Cup Almonds (pulsed in a processor, or roughly chopped)

½ Cup Coconut chips

1/3 Cup Raw Chia Seeds

1/3 Cup Mix Seeds

1 whole dried Apple

1/3 Cup Banana Chips

¼ Cup Golden Incan Berries

¼ Cup dried Raspberries

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp Raw Cacao

 

Alternatives

 

Raisins, Sultanas, Currents, dried strawberries, any dried fruit really – whatever you like or whatever is in the cupboard.

If you are avoiding sugar, cut out all dried fruit except for the coconut.

Give everything a good mix in a large bowl, and store in an airtight container. 

 

This is enough for over 10 servings.

My favourite is Muesli with Yogurt and Honey!! 

 

Homemade muesli with yogurt and honey

 

Or you can add fresh fruit for more yumminess!!

Homemade Dried Apple

I have been very productive today.  Firstly I have dinner prepped and cooking away in the slow cooker (Homemade Pork Curry, blog coming).  I wanted to make my own muesli, and as healthy as possible. 

 

Muesli is not always for those on a diet, and what you buy is not always as healthy as you may think.  Firstly if you are on a diet be careful what you eat with muesli, the sugars added can be through the roof.  I decided that I wanted apple in my muesli so when I saw that there was added sugar in the readymade dried apple packets I decided to make my own.

Drying your own fruit still contains a lot of natural sugars. 

It is super easy, just a little time consuming.  Next I shall be drying my bananas too.

All you need is one apple, a baking tray, parchment paper and an oven! 

When I make this again, I shall do at least 2 apples - so the kids can have a health lunchbox addition (they have not seen a scrap from this batch, it was too good to share)!

Method:

Simply slice or dice the apple discarding the core (also skin is optional, I kept mine on for the added goodness.  I was worried it may be tough, but it was perfect).  To be honest, I preferred the diced pieces to add to my muesli, but I would slice for the kids’ lunch boxes as an alternative snack!

Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper, and sprinkle the apple pieces.

Pre-heat an oven to 100°C (Fan assisted) and bake the apple pieces for an hour, turn/stir all the pieces and bake for another hour (slightly chewy) or 2 hours (for crisper).  Switch the oven off and leave the door ajar till cool.

 Tadahh, these are yummy (hence the amount of apple diminishes with each photo – I could not resist!) ready to eat or add to muesli or desserts.

Coming next....Homemade Muesli!

Real Bread, Fresh Flour

I have been making bread by hand for years, however today I tried a new fresh flour.  I have been using fresh flour for a while as I wanted nice healthy homemade bread.  I shall use the words of the producers as to why I have searched to find a good local mill -

“You can increase the amount of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and natural fiber in your diet the natural way. Whole wheat flour begins to lose nutrients during the milling process. Modern commercial mills destroy many nutrients because of the high heat generated in the milling process….

…Most refined wheat products have chemicals and other unpronounceable additives that are unnatural and may damage your health.”

While I love a slice of fresh white bread, the chemicals added to prolong the shelf life leave me hunting for a healthier solution. I found http://www.imbhamsfarmgranary.com/  Who luckily have a stall at a local farmers market once a month.  I have been using their ‘Sussex Bread Flour’ and it is a nice loaf, however I have just made a loaf using the ‘Seeded Bread Flour’ and it is delicious!  So delicious, I decided to write this blog!

While the shelf life is not as long as shop bought flour, if I know I will have left over I keep it in the freezer and it lives a little longer (but this is rarely the case for us)!

Using a basic loaf recipe:

550g Seeded Bread Flour

7g quick Yeast

3g Ground Sea Salt

2tsp honey

40ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil

300-350ml warm Water

I use a dough hook in my stand mixer for making bread dough. 

 

Mix all the ingredients together – adding the water a little at a time until all the flour is combined and starts to make a ball.  Mix for 7 minutes in the mixer or 10 minutes by hand.

Leave covered with a clean tea towel to rise for an hour.  Shape into rolls, loaf or plait.  Leave to prove for another hour.

Pre heat oven to 200°C (Fan assisted).
Bake for 30 minutes.

This is a delicious sweet and nutty loaf.  If I was baking it just for myself I would sprinkle some more seeds on top before baking – my kids however are not so keen and pick them off the top.  I have stopped wasting them and leave it bare!

 

As it was the first day back to school this morning after the Easter holidays, we were running rather late.  I forgot to take a picture of the full loaf (it was in fact sliced while still warm slathered in butter and shoved in the lunch boxes).