We have summer!

It’s been such a long wait this year that it is worth me mentioning this. We’ve had 3 days of sun in a row with about 25-30 degrees and it’s been great.

In this weather I like to use my balcony for breakfast – it gets the sun in the mornings, which is lovely. And, instead of slaving over a hot stove to cook up something exciting, I have been enjoying a summery and healthy “Bircher Müsli”  which is so quickly put together that I often have it during the week before work as well as on lazy weekends. It’s rather healthy and full of slow release energy thanks to the oat flakes.

Of course, the original “Bircher Müsli” is a Swiss müsli, which may be another reason why I like eating it in the  summer… it reminds me of family summer holidays in Switzerland, when I grew up. However, this is not quite a traditional receipe but my version of it, made without nuts but with seeds and grain flakes, all of which you can find in health food shops.

As for the measurements, it’s actually not that easy to write up a proper receipe, since I very much make up the quantities as I go along. So use this as rough guidelines only – in other words, feel free to vary them as you like. The same goes for the ingredients.

Whatever your ingredients for the dry müsli mix, I suggest making up a big jar of it, so you can scoop out a few tablespoons for each portion you make up – just remember to do this the night before as it needs soaking in the fridge!

You will need:

• 1 cup Oat flakes
• ½ cup Barley Flakes
• ¼ cup Spelt Flakes
• ¼ cup Toasted Rye Flakes
• ¼ cup Pumpkin Seeds
• ¼ cup Sunflower Seeds
• Apple Juice
• Fat Free Vanilla Yoghurt
• Fresh Berries such as Strawberries, Blueberries and Raspberries

Combine the flakes and seeds and store in a jar.

The night before you want to eat the Bircher Müsli, add a few tablespoons of the flake and seed mix to a bowl and add some apple juice, just enough to cover the müsli. Leave to stand in the fridge overnight so that the apple juice sweetens and softens the müsli.

In the morning add as much yoghurt and as many berries as you like. I tend to stir everything in and then top it with another dollop of yoghurt and a few more berries.

Mmmmmmm….