Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack

SKF Homemade Muesli

Fun:  It’s not just for breakfast anymore.  My hubby comes home from work and stands over the sink eating handfuls of this.  The dogs wait patiently below for what spills over.  When you aren’t eating it by the handful it is great over yogurt, cottage cheese or even ice cream and you can also eat it like cereal with a bowl of milk.  For something unexpected, you can try adding some crushed bits over a salad.  Mmmmm.

Tips:  Homemade muesli is one of the most customizable recipes you can find.  Really, just use your imagination and make this to suit your family.   You can change the type of fruit and nuts, you can add chocolate chips or coconut, you can swap out the honey for something like maple syrup and you can choose different spices.  You can change out the type of oatmeal or grain as well but you may need to adjust the liquids.  Also don’t delete the salt.  It’s a bit of an oxymoron but salt enhances sweetness.   If you want to go grain free check out the slight twist to this recipe here.

Special note on coconut oil:  I like and purposely choose to use coconut oil in this recipe as I enjoy the flavor it adds and I think it’s a great place to add the oil to get the benefits of the good saturated fats and fatty acids that you get with coconut oil. Most of the time coconut oil is solid at room temperature.  You can buy coconut oil that remains liquid but you should be aware that it is not whole coconut oil but rather it has been fractionated and is therefore missing some of the range of fatty acids.  If you don’t like coconut you can choose another more neutral oil type such as avocado oil.  

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (270 degrees C)

Carefully warm your coconut oil, turning it from solid to liquid using a warm water bath or a microwave.  You can buy coconut oil in liquid form, see note above.  

Start by chopping the nuts that you choose to use.  I usually chop up a handful of nuts and add it to the measuring cup and then just top up the cup with whatever seeds I want to use that day.   You don’t have to be precise.  Just get a nice mix of chopped nuts and seeds that equal the amount called for in the recipe.  If you are like me and you keep your extra baking nuts in the freezer it is a good idea to let them come to room temperature or warm them slightly in the oven as it is preheating.  As noted above, coconut oil turns to a solid at quite a low temperature so if you add it to a bowl of really cold ingredients it will seize up.  (If that happens, don’t panic, just warm the whole mess gently in the microwave or a warm oven) 

Add the rolled oats, nuts and seeds, salt and cinnamon to a medium sized mixing bowl and give it a little stir just to mix everything up.  Add the honey and melted coconut oil and mix it well making sure to coat all the dry ingredients.  

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the mixture evenly across the pan.  Put this in the oven and set the time for 10 minutes.  At the 10 minute mark use a spoon and carefully turn the mixture over and around on the pan and respread it evenly.  Cook this for another 10-12 minutes.  In the last couple minutes the nuts can start to get really dark so keep an eye on it and take it out accordingly.  

Set the pan on a cooling rack.  At this point I usually sprinkle my dried fruit mix over the top.  Don’t mix!  It is important to let the mix cool completely so you can later break up the mixture into the size of bits you prefer.  By letting it cool completely you can get some of those nice big chunky pieces that are so yummy to snack on.  Once it’s cool, break it up into pieces and mix it together and put it in a sealed storage container.  I keep it in a sealed glass container on the counter because honestly, there is no point in putting it away.   If it lasts that long, it will stay fresh for a couple of weeks.  

Set the pan on a cooling rack.  At this point I usually sprinkle my dried fruit mix over the top.  Don’t mix!  It is important to let the mix cool completely so you can later break up the mixture into the size of bits you prefer.  By letting it cool completely you can get some of those nice big chunky pieces that are so yummy to snack on.  Once it’s cool, break it up into pieces and mix it together and put it in a sealed storage container.  I keep it in a sealed glass container on the counter because honestly, there is no point in putting it away.   If it lasts that long, it will stay fresh for a couple of weeks.