We’re pleased to have with us again Monica Shaw, a freelance writer who specializes in science, health, fitness and food. She is the primary author of the website and blog, SmarterFitter.com.
In my last post I discussed some of the staples of the vegetarian diet. Today I delve deeper into the bowl of oatmeal and get into the specifics of breakfast, the most important meal of the day! It’s true, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Maximillian Bircher-Benner was a Swiss doctor who used natural (and mostly raw) food to treat patients at his sanitarium in Zurich. Bircher believed that a healthy life depended on one’s harmony with nature. He also believed in breakfast.
In 1900, Bircher invented the now famous “muesli cereal”. His original recipe is vastly different from the sugar-coated, toasted muesli we typically find in the grocery store today. Instead, Bircher combined soaked oats, fruit and nuts with grated apple and lemon juice to create a naturally sweet breakfast cereal designed to energize and heal the body.
The following recipe is my daily go-to breakfast, but feel free to experiment with different combinations of fruit and nuts. Bircher Muesli is stunning with natural yogurt and honey, but it’s also good plain or topped with fresh fruit. It’s also great on the road. Whether you’re traveling to work from the gym or a to a campsite in the backwoods, a big bowl of muesli packs well into a waterproof container and requires no heating or cooking.
Bircher Muesli Recipe
Serves 2
Ingredients:
85 grams jumbo oats
5 grams flax seeds
10 grams sliced almonds
2 apricots, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 apple, grated
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Soak the oats, flax seeds, almonds and apricots in just enough water to cover for 12 hours.
Blend the soaked stuff with everything else (or mix in the grated apple by hand for a chunkier texture).
Serve with toppings such as fresh fruit, kefir, nut milk or raw honey.
You can find more of Monica’s vegetarian recipes at SmarterFitter.com.