If you’re looking for an alternative to boxed breakfast cereal…you’re smart. And you’ve come to the right place. This easy, healthy breakfast idea works for all types of diets – from vegan to gluten-free to paleo. It can even be made nut-free. And the recipe is simple enough that my 4 1/2 year old can make it by himself.
Mom wins!
We have been relying on this breakfast for years now. My kids love it. I mean…they really love it. They would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I let them.
Typically I serve it with almond milk, but you can use any milk you like, or yogurt, or coconut yogurt, or sprinkle it on a blob of peanut butter, or…
So let’s get down to brass tacks. Why is this a better choice than boxed breakfast cereal?
For starters, it’s all real, whole, clean food. The ingredients have not been processed, emulsified and extruded into cute O’s or flakes.
Second, most boxed cereals are mainly wheat and processed sugar. This breakfast contains neither.
Third – and this is a biggie – if you use the right ratio, your muesli will provide plenty of energy in the form of protein, healthy fats and carbohydrates. That’s the trifecta of macronutrients right there, people. With a box of Raisin Bran you might pour a whole bowl, or two. Or three. With this muesli you need much less. The nutrients and calories are packed in there, so I eat a much smaller portion.
Finally, you can (obviously) customize your muesli any way you like it:
For vegetarian and vegan, you’re good to go.
For gluten-free, use certified gluten-free oats.
For paleo, replace the oats with more nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, etc. Keep in mind this will make for a very calorie-dense meal. Adjust portions accordingly.
For nut-free, replace nuts with seeds and/or other ideas from the list below.
This is the basic recipe, but we definitely don’t measure. Instead we continuously refill this container, eyeballing amounts.
And we get creative with different ingredients:
Raw buckwheat groats
Almond meal or ground nuts/seeds (good for little kids who have a hard time chewing/digesting large nuts)
Unsweetened coconut flakes
Cacao nibs
Dried cranberries, cherries, mulberries, goji berries, etc.
Chopped, dried apricots, figs, apples, mango
Kelp flakes (they’ll never know!)
Maca powder (I don’t give this to the kids though)
Nutmeg or chai spice (nice in the winter)
- 3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
- 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds, like walnuts,pecans,almonds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, etc.
- 1 cup mixed dried fruit, like raisins, fruit-juice-sweetened cranberries, mulberries, chopped apricots goji berries and unsweetened coconut
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- Combine in a sealed container. Shake to evenly distribute ingredients.