What’s healthy, filling, sweet, dairy free but still low GI and ideal not only at breakfast but at any time?
Anne’s 3 Grain Bircher Muesli!!!
Do you ever come across favourite recipes that you try in restaurants or hotels, you want to make it yourself but you find that the chef has added a heap of sugar and ‘unhealthy’ ingredients???
That was how I came to create one of my favourite breakfast ideas ever!!!
And this one is dairy free to boot. But sorry to those who are gluten intolerant. I HAVE added the GF version.
I was introduced to Bircher Muesli whenever I was travelling. If we were lucky enough to be staying in a nice hotel and enjoying the buffet breakfast, often times there was a big bowl of what I discovered was ‘Bircher Muesli’. And it was divine. I’d find myself picking away at it to try to figure out the ingredients. After searching how to make it, and chatting to cooks, I could see that there was a LOT of sugar added. So I was determined to find the version that I approved of.
And here it is.
I use 3 grains for this – Oats, Farro and Chia.
If you want the Gluten Free version – simply substitute quinoa for the oats and wild rice for the farro.
It can easily be converted to a porridge – just cook the oats before adding. Unfortunately it’s not totally gluten free, but for those of you who can tolerate gluten, it’s divine.
If you want to convert it to a gluten free recipe, take the oats and the farro out and substitute with cooked quinoa and wild rice.
Ingredients: 
1 young coconut as you’ll use both the water and the flesh.
1 can coconut milk
1 large red apple of your choice that you’ll grate
Generous sprinkle of cinnamon and ginger.
1 sachet of Usana’s vanilla nutrimeal – this is perfect for an added protein content. It’s optional but I loved it in my recipe for that added creaminess and vanilla flavour and it contributes to the meal replacement idea. If you’d like to pick yourself up some vanilla, strawberry or chocolate shakes you can head here.
Half cup of nice fat blueberries
½ cup of mixed pepita and sunflower seeds
½ cup of crushed nuts – walnuts, macadamias and cashews (or any mix to your taste, just NOT peanuts)
½ cup of unsweetened dried large shredded coconut (preferable to the smaller desiccated style)
1/4 cup of mixed dried cranberries and goji berries
½ cup of whole rolled oats. Substitute cooked quinoa here if you wish.
1 cup cooked Farro. Optional but it’s a fabulous, high fibre easy to digest grain. A bit like pearl barley, chewy and very filling. Gives any dish a great texture. Available from health food stores or I got it online from iherb
¼ cup of chia seeds
Method:
Break open the coconut and reserve the water popping it all into a big mixing bowl. Scoop out the coconut meat and chop it roughly. Grate the apple and add in with the coconut. Literally place all ingredients in a big bowl and mix it all together. The chia seeds will need time to mix into the fluids. NO sugar need be added as the taste of the fruits will blend through the mix and it’s plenty sweet enough. Mix it well. Should you wish to purchase some of Usana’s nutrimeal shakes and add to this recipe, it’ll be ideal to whisk a sachet (or a generous tablespoon of the mix) through the coconut milk first. This makes up a big batch, so divide it up. If it seems thick, add more water. Pop some in the fridge some in the freezer.
Optional extra: I added a chopped banana to the mix and the juice of 1 small lemon. You could add chopped pineapple and it’s divine.
Let this mix sit for a few hours at least or overnight. The oats and chia will soak up some fluid and ‘set’ the mix. The flavours of the fruit will seep through the mix as you’ll find you won’t need to add sugar, but if you think you absolutely want it sweeter, you’ll only need a tiny drizzle of maple syrup.
Converting this into a porridge!
This can be served hot or cold. It’s a beautiful dish on a cold winters morning when warmed up and sprinkled with cinnamon. I found it’s a fabulous dish for a healthy snack or any time.
Be aware of course that there’s a few calories in the coconut milk, but being a lover of all things whole and nutritious, don’t worry about counting calories. If you really want to make it more suitable for your weightloss journey, then choose a lite coconut milk and you’ll still find it will be ideal.
I hope you enjoy and don’t forget to find me on facebook right here if you’d like to share how your recipe turned out.
