MUESLI RECIPE

When I was living abroad with a host family in Paris, I ate Muesli for breakfast every morning. I had never had muesli before, and always thought it was a spin-off of granola, which never suited my tastes. Was I wrong! Before I headed out to class in the morning I would sit down at the dining table and eat a bowl of Allos Amaranth Wildberry Muesli with Rice Milk and a bowl of coffee. It was the most nourishing, delicious breakfast I had ever had, and I never got bored of it.

Alas, when I returned to the states, I thought it would be easy to find the same, if not very similar, type of Muesli. I tried all the brands that Whole Foods had, to no avail. Now, two years later, coming to terms with the fact that it would be absurd to pay 13 pounds to have a bag of it shipped here to the states, I've decided to create my own!

Wild Berry Muesli


What you need:

1 cup Amaranth Seeds

3/4 cup Millet

3/4 cup Roasted Almonds, Chopped

1/4 cup Roasted Flax Seeds (I like Trader Joe's Golden Roasted Flax Seeds)

2 cups Rolled Oats (not the instant kind)

4-5 tbsp Raw Agave Syrup (to mix with the oats)
 
2-3 cups of mixed dried berries (I use Trader Joe's Freeze Dried Blueberries and Strawberries, along with Himalania Goji Berries)

Generous Pinch of Cinnamon

1 small shallow pan with a cover

1 large mixing bowl

1 large plastic or glass container for storing

1. Pop the amaranth seeds. Do this by heating the small pan on the stove top until very hot. Then, add approx. 1 tbsp of seeds to the pan. Cover and wait until you start to hear the seeds begin to pop. Then, shake the covered pan over the heat until the popping stops. At this point, not all of the seeds will have popped into tiny white kernels. That's okay though, they're still edible! Transfer to your large mixing bowl and repeat, in batches, until all of the amaranth is popped.

2. Repeat process used for popping amaranth for the millet, working in batches until you've reached your desired amount. For the millet, you don't need to keep the pan covered, instead you can just continuously stir the grain until the popping noises stop. Transfer millet to large mixing bowl.

3. In the same pan, add 1 cup of oats. Drizzle a few tablespoons of agave syrup and stir continuously until oats are browned. Add more or less syrup depending on your taste. Repeat with second cup of oats. Transfer to large mixing bowl with millet and amaranth.

4. Let ingredients cool.

5. When the millet, amaranth, and oat mixture is cooled, add the dried berries, roasted chopped almonds, flax seed, and cinnamon. Stir all ingredients together in the bowl and transfer to your storage containers.

6. Shake and enjoy!

The great thing about this recipe is that you can really add as much of each ingredient as you like, to suit your tastes. You can also add other toasted nuts, seeds, or grains. I personally like this mix of ingredients because the muesli isn't too sweet but gets flavor from the berries, and a bit of extra sweetness from the agave syrup. The result is a crunchy, slightly sweet, slightly tangy cereal. I especially love it with almond milk. Or, try it sprinkled over some Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. A little of this cereal goes a long way in terms of nutrition and it's super filling. Enjoy!