Morning Madness: Muesli

What do you eat for breakfast when you’re truly pushed for time? If I’m completely honest, my answer is nothing or (perhaps even worse) toast made with white bread and topped with processed peanut butter (yum). Of course, neither of those options fills me up for long. And these days, its imperative that I leave the house fuelled and on time.

A couple months ago, I mentioned here that I was in back to school mode, and I think its about time that I elaborate that. I graduated from university in June 2006, and since then I’ve been a fashion industry drone, unemployed, a blogger, a part-time waitress and a freelancer doing both fantastically fun design and photography work and tiresomely dull web editing work. (Luckily, I’ve never been required to do all at the same time.) But in the last few years, something else has caught my attention, something that I decided I’d like to devote a bit more time to Interior Design.

So, after four Septembers of watching others sharpen their pencils and gather their foolscap (don’t you just love that word?), I’ve returned to school part-time. I’m studying at a well-known and -respected London college, part of the greater University of the Arts London. Let me tell you, being back at art school is awesome: the smell of rubber cement, the consistently and inexplicably cold classrooms, the creative energy of my classmates, the inspiration I get from the tutors. But what isn’t awesome are the early mornings, the late lunch breaks and the tummy-rumbling time in between.

Which is where the muesli comes in. This breakfast cereal is usually chock full of coconut, fruit, seeds, and nuts, making it both filling and delicious. There does seem to be a bit of confusion in the blogosphere about muesli; not to point any fingers, but often I see a post with “muesli” in the title, only to find oil and sugar in the ingredients list, and cooking in the instructions. Um, that’s granola. Muesli is meant to be a pure, raw food; the second you even think about roasting, toasting or cooking those oats, you’ve got yourself granola. But if calling your granola muesli makes you feel better about eating it, then by all means, be my guest. I’m not against granola, myself.

But the point is: muesli is quicker. It’s quick to make, even if you’re throwing together a bowl from scratch in the morning, and it’s quick to eat because even small portion sizes are disproportionally filling. Heck, this recipe was even quick to write (I don’t think I’ve ever written instructions like “toss all ingredients together in a bowl” before). All this quickness is a good thing for me since I’m also finding myself loaded with that other student time suck- homework.

Muesli

makes 6 cups

• 1 cup flaked almonds (or other chopped nuts)
• 3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds (or other seeds)
• 1 cup chopped dried apricots (or other dried fruit)
• 1 cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup golden linseed
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F and spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes until beginning to toast lightly and turn golden in places. Keep an eye on the almonds so they don’t burn. Set aside and allow to cool.
2. Place all ingredients together in a large bowl and toss well to combine. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy with yogurt or milk.