I’ve looked at various recipes for muesli, and it’s confusing. Some people mix uncooked oats with other dry things and store it until they’re ready to use it, at which point they treat it as cold cereal. Other people mix uncooked oats with water, milk, or applesauce each time they want a serving. As far as I can tell, everyone is making different things, but they all call it muesli. So, I’m going to call this muesli because that’s what my recipe card calls it, because apparently no one is going to stop me, and because it sounds much more appetizing than “lukewarm oatmeal,” which is kind of what this is.
Muesli
Mix 1/3 cup quick oats with
1/3 cup hot (but not boiling) water.
Let rest for 12-15 minutes.
Add anything else you want. Options include fresh or dried fruit, nuts, milk, jam, and honey.
The main thing I like about this is that it makes a smaller, thicker serving than a typical serving of oatmeal, so it’s easier to work protein into the meal. I would not eat a bowl of oatmeal and a bowl of yogurt (too much wet stuff), or a bowl of oatmeal and an egg (too weird), so I end up eating oatmeal, fruit, and a muffin, which is something like two and a half servings of carbs. Then, my blood sugar plummets right around the time I want to go running. Muesli is much thicker than oatmeal, so it’s not as weird to have yogurt on the side. Yogurt saves my blood sugar.
(Did you know that oatmeal is supposed to prevent the blood-sugar roller coaster effect? It doesn’t work for me, but it might work for you, especially if you can add some milk. Try oatmeal for breakfast if you’re prone to mid-morning hunger pangs.)
My nephew likes his oatmeal with yogurt stirred into it, which is undeniably healthy, but oh my goodness, the things his parents are getting away with. He’s too young to know how disgusting this is, so nobody tell him, okay? With any luck, he won’t find out until he’s married.
Back to the muesli. My only complaint is the temperature. If I took the pre-mixed cold cereal approach, it would be fine — cold throughout. But then I’d be eating totally unsoaked, uncooked oats (as with granola), which isn’t the best thing. Does anyone know how to create muesli that’s cold like dry cereal, but not totally uncooked? Do I have to soak and dry the oats and then store them?