Raw Breakfast Recipe: ‘Oatless’ muesli

When I am on my laptop, anyone that knows me knows I am constantly browsing the web for articles, videos and blogs that relate to living a healthier lifestyle by incorporating nutritious, delicious and lately… raw foods. I do not ascribe to any particular diet and never have. I simply eat what tastes divinely delicious, makes me feel ALIVE and what I truly believe is made with whole and preferably organic foods… most of the time. I’m human ok. Lately that has meant trying to incorporate as many raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds into my daily meals and it is so much fun! The universe must be trying to send me a sign of some sort because in my browsing adventures I have come across lots of muesli recipes. I ate muesli when I was younger every once in a while. It was pretty expensive so it was actually quite the treat to have it in the house. The truth is though that my ‘oatless’ muesli should not even be referred to as muesli because it contains none of the ingredients from Bircher-Benner’s original muesli recipe. Any combination now of oats, nuts, seeds and dried/fresh fruit seems to be referred to as muesli so here’s my ‘oatless’ muesli recipe that I created with the nuts and seeds I had in my kitchen. Please note that all nuts and seeds in this recipe are raw.

• 1/4 cup of organic almonds, roughly chopped in food processor
• 1/4 cup of cashews, roughly chopped in food processor
• 1/4 cup of walnuts, I just crushed them in my hand
• 1tbsp of sunflower seeds
• 1tbsp of pumpkin seeds
• 2 dates, finely diced
• Itbsp of dehydrated, shredded and unsweetened organic coconut flakes

Serve with cold homemade almond (or your favorite) milk and enjoy! This was so good and incredibly filling. I can’t wait to make this again.

Homemade Raw Almond Milk Recipe

I remember the day in the summer of 2005 I quit cow’s milk cold turkey like it was yesterday. I grew up like so many of us do loving all things dairy, especially cow’s milk! I don’t remember a single day of my life, prior to the day I quit, without cow’s milk in my cereal, tea or just as a drink. It actually even still seems funny to me to refer to it as ‘cow’s’ milk because it was just ‘milk’ to me…there was no other kind and it seemed abominable that people would drink anything else and refer to it as milk!

I was propped on the couch on that summer morning reading Marilu Henner’s Total Health Makeover and going over the chapter on dairy while having my usual cereal with milk.  It was enlightening, educational and disgusting all at the same time to read about how milk is produced and how it’s one of the biggest allergens for most if not all people. As soon as I was done with my cereal, I began sneezing, producing phlegm and blowing my nose… and then… a light bulb went on in my head! It was so bright and the biggest aha moment I’ve ever had so far about being aware about what we put in our bodies and how it makes us feel. My blowing my nose, feeling stuffy and sneezing was as much a part of my morning routine as brushing one’s teeth might be. I realized in that moment that my morning fogginess was due to a milk allergy. I quit cold turkey that day and mornings are my absolute favorite time of day now! I feel the most mentally clear, awake and motivated to get it done in the am 🙂 Go me!

That day was the beginning of learning how to pay close attention to how the food I eat makes me feel, understanding where it comes from and how it’s processed. I went on to try many other kinds of ‘milk’ but have finally found my ‘happy place’ with my homemade raw almond milk recipe. There’s no doubt about what’s in it and it tastes divine. I use it in my smoothies, drink it plain or use it in any recipe in place of cow’s milk. Here’s the recipe…

•  Soak 1 cup of raw organic almonds in 2 cups of water for about 5-8 hours
• Drain, rinse and peel the almonds.
• Blend the almonds with 3 cups of  water and *2 dates for a hint of sweetness.
• Strain and store in an airtight, preferably glass container. This makes about 20 ounces of milk. Feel free to use more almonds or less water to produce a thicker milk. The milk should stay fresh for approximately 4 days.

Enjoy!

*using dates is optional, I have only used dates a few times in my recipe and I don’t miss them if I don’t happen to have any in my kitchen. Other optional additions might be stevia and 1/2tsp of vanilla.

~A big shout out and thank you to my BFF  for lending me Total Health Makeover by Marilu Henner~