Breakfast

Almost every day, I have homemade muesli for breakfast. If you're not familiar with muesli, a quick definition is:

...a breakfast dish based on raw rolled oats and other ingredients including grains, fresh or dried fruits, seeds and nuts, mixed with milk, soy milk, yogurt or fruit juice.

The way I make mine is that I go to the health food store and hit up the bulk food bins for raw rolled oats (which make up about 75% of the recipe) and any of the following (to make up the remaining 25%):

wheat germ

sunflower seeds

pumpkin seeds

sesame seeds

flax seeds

almonds

walnuts

pecans

cashews

dried cranberries

dried tart cherries *

dried apricots *

dried apples *

dried coconut *

cinnamon

nutmeg

ginger

* note: I use UNSWEETENED and UNSULPHERED dried fruits wherever possible. Cranberries are the only fruit I have not been unable to find unsweetened

You can really use any kind of nuts/seeds/dried fruit you like - most people use raisins but I don't like them. I tried using chia seeds once but it makes the whole thing very gooey and gelatinous. I didn't care for it. And keep the dried fruit content on the low side because it does contain sugar - I don't add ANY other sweetener so a little dried fruit does make it tasty, though, and things like dried cherries have big health benefits (reduce inflammation) so I like to use them.

I lightly toast the oats dry for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven, just until they start to get a nutty scent and get a touch darker. Eating the oats completely raw is perfectly fine, but it can cause a little gastrointestinal distress. I then mix everything together and store it in a glass jar in the fridge for about a week. I measure out a portion each day to take to work with me and eat it at my desk with skim milk or yogurt (I prefer it with milk). To serve, I measure out 1/3 cup of muesli, 1/2 scoop of protein powder (I use EAS Lean 15 in vanilla - adds 4 grams of protein and 25 calories), and 1/2 cup of milk and mix it all together.

This mix is very high in fiber (the really important kind that lowers cholesterol and increases satiety), omega-3 fatty acids, and best of all, it's really tasty.