I was recently working in the offices of a newspaper that had a staff canteen.
As well as lunch, they also served breakfast which is a great thing, when you’re running a little late in the morning and don’t have time to make any food, which, of course, never happens to me…

It’s can be tempting to go straight for a toasted bagel or a cooked breakfast of eggs even but as it’s summer here, I opted for something a little lighter, a Berry Bircher Müsli, which was so tasty I had to copy it.

What’s so tasty, I think, was the addition of vanilla essence as well as desiccated coconut, so this is what’s in my receipe here. It’s dairy- and sugar-free and if you use gluten-free oats it’s good for my gluten-free friends as well.  And even though it is a summer berry receipe, as it uses frozen summer berries, you can enjoy it all year around.

It’s super easy to make,  you just combine everything in a jar in the evening, leave it sitting in the fridge overnight and then have a great, healthy breakfast in a jar, ready to take with you in the morning, if you are ever running a little late say…

For one big portion you’ll need:

• ½ cup oats (I like the finer milled ones, such as ‘Scottish porridge oats’)
• ½ cup unsweetened 100% natural apple juice
• ½ cup – or a little more – of frozen berries
• 2 plus tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and ensure that the apple juice evenly ‘coats’ all ingredients.

The frozen berries I use are a mix of summer berries of all sizes and shapes, such as redcurrants, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. I add a heaped ½-cup scoop of them, frozen, to the müsli. The frozen berries will defrost overnight creating a juicier müsli.

Transfer your müsli to a jar and cover with a lid – or if using a bowl, cover it with cling film – and leave to soak in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, I slightly break up some of the bigger berries to let their extra juices soak into the müsli. I’d recommend waiting at least another 10 minutes for them to soak in, before tucking in.