While your morning muesli does contain many healthy and beneficial ingredients, often there are hidden sugars we miss -- or, simply don’t believe -- because the very idea of a nourishing bowl of oats, nuts and seeds being ruined with refined sugar is quite simply devastating.
“Some will be healthier than others, for instance, raw muesli with ingredients like plain rolled oats, coconut, seeds and nuts is great,” said Jacqueline Alwill, nutritionist and director of The Brown Paper Bag. “But toasted muesli is often coated in sugar and vegetable oil, and isn’t worth taking home.”
The other problem is the dried fruit it contains. “In commercially manufactured mueslis, the dried fruit is coated with additional sugars and preserved with sulfites, which is not ideal,” said Alwill.
A better option is choosing a muesli based on oats, nuts, seeds and coconut (without the dried fruit) and then adding your own source of fresh fruit.
“Try to get into the habit of reading the back of the pack and noting the ingredient list,” Alwill said.
Or better yet, make your own at home. “Simply soak oats overnight to make a bircher style with yoghurt, berries, a touch of honey and lemon,” Alwill said.
Finally, don’t be afraid to mix up the way you think about breakfast food.
“Cooked quinoa with natural yoghurt, grilled stone fruit, pomegranate and coconut is another easy take on muesli with yoghurt and fruit,” Alwill said.
For the full recipe, see below.
QUINOA WITH GRILLED PEACHES AND POMEGRANATE
Serves 1
GF : SF : VEGETARIAN
1 peach, stone removed
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1/3-1/2 cup natural or greek yoghurt, unsweetened
sprinkle pomegranate arils or edible flowers (optional)
sprinkle toasted coconut, unsweetened
- Preheat oven to 180C and line a baking tray with paper, drop coconut oil onto baking tray then rub the flesh of the peaches into the coconut oil and bake for approximately 20 minutes. (You can do this the night before so your peaches are ready to go the next morning if you wish).
- Remove from oven, slice and arrange on a plate with quinoa, yoghurt, pomegranate and coconut and serve.
