It may seem that it would be a pain in the butt to put all this together yourself, so why not just grab a granola or muesli off the shelf at the grocery store?
Organic, and even vegan, do not equate to healthy. It’s up to you to make sure they do. And you can ensure that by making your own.
You always want a really easy recipe for something you’ll be making on a regular basis, like granola or muesli. My healthy granola recipe and muesli recipe is about as simple as it can get.
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What’s the difference between a healthy granola recipe and a muesli recipe?
Certainly, both granola and muesli are healthy and tasty breakfast options. In fact, many people think these two are the same thing, but they aren’t.
The short story is muesli is raw and granola is baked with oil and honey or maple syrup to help it hold together a little bit.
The history is…
Muesli is a mix of cereals and dried fruits, usually eaten with milk for breakfast. It owes its existence to the Swiss doctor Maximillian Bircher-Benner (in fact, in Swiss German this product is called birchermuesli, named after the doctor and muesli which means “little mash”).
The story goes that Dr. Bircher came up with his recipe at the beginning of last century after having met and shared a meal with a shepherd during a mountain excursion. Despite his advanced years, the shepherd was healthy and strong.
The meal was made of crushed wheat and milk, with a few hazelnuts and an apple, sweetened with honey.
At first, known only in wellness centers and by mountaineering aficionados, muesli is now available in a multitude of varieties and occupies an important space on supermarket shelves.
Like muesli, granola is also a mix of cereals and nuts, but the difference is that granola is oven-baked, often with oil and honey or maple syrup which helps the ingredients to stick together. What’s more, granola is always eaten cold (with milk or yogurt), while muesli can be eaten hot or cold with milk or another liquid, like oatmeal or porridge.
Real simple recipes instead of grocery store brands
It may seem that it would be a pain in the butt to put all this together yourself, so why not just grab one off the shelf at the grocery store?
First of all, granola from the grocery has either added chemicals, preservatives or an unhealthy amount of fat and sugar, or all of the above. Just read the label.
If you’re going to buy it, which is much faster than shopping for the ingredients and making it yourself, just make sure you know exactly what’s in it.
I started making my own granola 7 years ago after a trip the organic farmers market. By the time I got home with my granola the brown paper bag it was in was soaked with oil!
Organic, and even vegan, do not equate to healthy. It’s up to you to make sure they do. And you can ensure that by making your own.
If you’re ready to have an ageless body, to get started click here!
You always want a really easy recipe for something you’ll be making on a regular basis, like granola or muesli. My recipe is about as simple as it can get.
You can make your own personalized recipe or multiple healthy granola recipes by switching out some of the ingredients for what you like most or what you have on hand.
You can add a little cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to give it a warmer taste for fall and winter. Try 1/2 a teaspoon to a full teaspoon each according to your taste. You can add a teaspoon of vanilla if that’s a flavor you like.
You can add dried cranberries or raisins too.
This granola or muesli (if you leave the oil out) has oats, wheat bran, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and coconut. It has the tiniest bit of organic coconut oil and raw local organic honey (vegans use maple syrup).
Healthy Granola Recipe and Muesli Recipe
This makes about 8 cups.
Ingredients:
4 cups Oats
1/2 cup Wheat Bran
1/2 cup Chia seeds
1/2 cup Flax seeds (ground)
1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
1 cup Walnuts
1 cup Coconut
2 T Organic coconut oil (melted)
2 T Raw organic local honey
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325.
Use a very large cookie sheet or 2 regular size cookie sheets. Line with parchment paper or Silpat liner.
Mix it all together in a large bowl. With so little oil and honey, it takes a few minutes of patiently, slowly stirring to get it all mixed around.
*If you prefer it clumpy, scrunch it together a little bit with your hands after it’s mixed.
Bake 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.
Let cool and place in smaller containers to refrigerate or freeze.
I leave a 2 cup mason jar in my pantry because it’s gone within 2 weeks.
Homemade cereal
As you already found out, muesli is the raw cereal version of granola. Nothing says you can’t use granola as cereal too.
Just about every box of cereal on your grocery store shelves is unhealthy. Again, for the same reasons I gave with the grocery store granola. Plus cereal is famous for having a ton of added sugar.
You’re much better off making your own homemade cereal.
Feel free to add more types of nuts, dried fruit, and even some fresh fruit. For more protein, you can add hemp seeds.
For a hot cereal, you could also add some quinoa to add more protein.
Edible seeds are delicious seeds
Seeds contain all the starting materials necessary to develop into complex plants. Because of this, they are extremely nutritious.
Seeds are great sources of fiber. They also contain healthy monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and many important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
When consumed as part of a healthy diet, seeds can help reduce blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure.
Granola Nutrition
Oats are rich in soluble fibers which help in lowering cholesterol levels. Oats also contain beta glucan which is a lipid-lowering agent. Protein-packed, full of fiber and low in fat, oats are designed to boost your energy levels.
Not only does it offer an extraordinary fiber boost, but it helps promote regular blood pressure too. It is also known for supporting the immune system and for adding a few much-needed vitamins and minerals to our diets.
Chia seeds are rich in fiber, omega 3’s, vitamins and minerals. Chia seeds contain essential fatty acids alpha-linolenic and linoleic acid; mucin; strontium, vitamins A, B, E and D, and minerals, including sulfur, iron, iodine, magnesium, manganese, niacin and thiamine; and they’re a rich source of antioxidants.
Like hemp and pumpkin seeds, flax is a great source of magnesium and fiber. Flaxseed is also a great source of alpha-linolenic acid, a kind of omega-3 fatty acid that can help reduce chronic inflammation.
Pumpkin seeds are a tasty source of iron, zinc, B vitamins, magnesium, and protein, and have a high concentration of the amino acid tryptophan, which helps lower anxiety levels.
These underrated super seeds are an excellent source of B vitamins, including folate (which helps prevent birth defects), and vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from damage, helps maintain healthy hair and skin and may work to prevent cancer. They are also rich in protein and heart-healthy fats.
Walnuts boost your healthy fat intake because they contain alpha-linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fatty acid. This type of fat helps maintain brain function, nourishes your red blood cells and helps fight excess inflammation.
Coconuts are highly nutritious, rich in fiber, and packed with essential vitamins and minerals. Coconut has medium chain fatty acids, lots of fiber and is high in manganese, potassium, and copper.
Top 10 Health Benefits of Coconuts
- Supports immune system health: it is anti-viral, antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-parasite
- Provides a natural source of quick energy and enhances physical and athletic performance
- Improves digestion and absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals
- Improves insulin secretion and symptoms associated with diabetes
- Helps protect the body from cancers due to insulin reduction, removal of free radicals that cause premature aging and degenerative disease
- Reduces risk of heart health and improves good cholesterol (HDL)
- Restores and supports thyroid function
- Helps protect against kidney disease and bladder infection
- Promotes weight loss
- Helps keep hair and skin healthy and youthful looking, prevents wrinkles, sagging skin, age spots, and provides sun protection
To date, there are over 1,500 studies proving coconut oil to be one of the healthiest foods on the planet. Coconut oil benefits and uses go beyond what most people realize, as coconut oil — made copra or dried coconut flesh — is a true superfood.
Research has finally uncovered the secrets to this amazing superfood: namely healthy fats called medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs).
Around 62 percent of the oils in coconut are made up of these three healthy fatty acids, and 91 percent of the fat in coconut oil is healthy saturated fat. This fat composition makes it one of the most beneficial fats on the planet, as the USDA nutrient database shows.
First, I recommend local honey because when bees go from one flower to another they take the pollen of each flower with them, which are then transferred to their honey. Eating that honey can build up immunity through gradual exposure to the local allergens that can make life so miserable for allergy sufferers.
Raw honey contains antioxidants called phenolic compounds. …
- Antibacterial and Antifungal Properties
- Heal Wounds
- Filled with Phytonutrients
- Help for Digestive Issues
- Soothe a Sore Throat
Also called hemp hearts, these seeds are a complete plant protein—meaning they contain all the essential amino acids. A food can have up to 20 amino acids. While the body can produce 11 of these, the remaining nine amino acids are essential and must be delivered to your body via food sources.
So there you have it, all the healthy ingredients of this simple granola or muesli recipe.
Until next time, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Just comment on this post here or on Facebook.
Health and nutrition are a big passion of mine because, without your health, all the success you can achieve is meaningless. In 1981 I started seriously studying health, nutrition, and the mind/body connection. I stopped eating meat in 1990 for health reasons and compassion for animals. In 1999 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2005, a day after Christmas I lost my mother at the age of 69 to lung cancer. Since then, helping others to regain their health has become a driving force in my life.
If you would like private mentoring, go to the contact page above and tell me what you would like help with. As your mentor, whether for your health, your lifestyle or your business, I hold a bigger vision for you than you hold for yourself. When you have faith and a team that believes in you, it gives you courage. When you don’t have to do it all yourself, all things are possible for you. Commit today to go for your dream 100%.
With over 40 years in sales and marketing, along with 45 years studying human behavior, Lynn Pierce, “The Voice of an Ageless Life and Business,” mentors soul-based entrepreneurs to reach your own personal version of success and an ageless lifestyle. Tell Lynn what the life of your dreams looks like, and she’ll create the blueprints to get you there, along with the sales system to fund it. Author of, “Breakthrough to Success; 19 Keys to Mastering Every Area of Your Life”, Lynn Pierce’s personal growth and business acceleration systems help her clients get three times the results in half the time with one-tenth of the effort. Claim your free special report, “What Do You Stand For” here
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