Nana’s muesli (granola)
Breakfast prepping for the week is as simple as refilling your granola (muesli) jar.
For the longest time, I treated myself like an afterthought.
Kids, job demands, and the overwhelming admin of staying on top of everything always came first. Which meant that self care and looking after my wants and needs came last. When something comes last on the list, it often gets put off or overlooked completely.
I’m sure I am not the only one who has been putting myself at the very end, almost like an afterthought?
If you have been here a while, you know that I mainly work from home and that I struggled for a long time to stop and eat during the day. Breakfast is no different, and for most of my life, it was skipped entirely, or I just started the day with caffeine instead.
This year, I am trying to change that and am finally putting some effort into myself.
My nana was a wonderful cook, and I spent many school holidays in her kitchen helping her bake or preserving fruit.
Her most enduring recipe though is her muesli, which she made weekly for decades. Gently toasted and lightly spiced, the smell alone transports me back to breakfasts in her kitchen.
Nana and granddad started every day with a bowl of muesli, topped with stewed fruit and a cup of tea. Today I started my day the same way. My bowl was topped with a generous dollop of unsweetened yoghurt, a sweet plum from the garden, and a drizzle of coconut milk.
This morning, I was no longer an afterthought, and it felt so good.
- 4 weetbix
- 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup desiccated coconut (or use coconut flakes, or a mixture of both)
- 1/8 cup wheat bran flakes
- 1/8 cup wheat germ
- 1/2 cup puffed millet
- 1 cup nuts and seed (I used almond, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and sesame seeds)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup oil
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup maple syrup (or use honey)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- dried fruit (optional, such as blueberries, cherries or apricots)
- 1 Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
- 2
Into a large measuring bowl or jug, roughly crush 4 weetbix. Add enough rolled oats to reach the 3-cup line.- 3
Add coconut, wheat bran, germ, millet, nuts and seeds, which should now reach the 5-cup line. (Feel free to swap in your choice of ingredients here, as long as the total does not exceed five cups.)- 4
Add ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg and salt and mix really well.- 5
In a small saucepan, gently heat the maple syrup (or honey) and oil until well combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, then pour over the dry ingredients. Stir well, then spread into a large baking tray with sides.- 6
Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and gently stir. At this point, I turn the oven up to 170°C (340°F) and return the muesli to the oven for another half an hour or so, stirring every 10 minutes, until everything is nicely toasted and golden brown. Keep an eye on the muesli as you do not want to burn it.- 7
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray, but do not stir it at this stage. This will help it retain any delicious, crunchy clumps.- 8
When cool, add dried fruit (if desired,) then transfer to an airtight container and use within 2 weeks.Breakfast, Meal Prep, Muesli, Granola - 2
