If you would have asked me six months ago what muesli porridge was, I would have given you a blank stare.
Before gluten-free and soaked grains became common words in our household, we ate the typical American breakfast:
Dad – a bowl or two of Fruity Pebbles; his favorite
Mom – nothing; what is breakfast?
kids – Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran (the ‘healthy’ cereals), and on special occasions (read: the weekends) a disgusting conglomeration of sugared cereal.
Standard American Diet
This one example is the reason the SAD (Standard American Diet) is so sad. Little did I realize the harm we were doing to ourselves. I’d bought into the whole commercialized idea that boxed/bagged cereal was healthy and the big smile Junior gave me over his bowl of nutrient-deficient, calcium-robbing, brain-disrupting cereal was the reason I got up each morning.
The idea that ‘we are what we eat’ really does have merit. I was naive in thinking that what was advertised as ‘good for you’ really was. I didn’t look beyond the label to find out what exactly we were eating or what the ingredients really were.
In truth, I didn’t want to. I was lazy and I liked the convenience. I knew if I started researching and found startling evidence that contradicted my way of thinking, I’d HAVE to change.
And so yes, eventually I did research it because that’s just what moms do. Because deep down I wanted our family to be healthy. And because I knew God didn’t give us our earthly bodies to see how fast we could destroy them.
It was a gradual change though, this traditional way of thinking and preparing food (our story). One of the startling experiences that convinced me to reconsider our breakfast menu was an experiment done at Ann Arbor University on rats.
The cereal experiment
The rats were split into three groups:
Group #1 ate only cornflakes and water.
Group #2 ate the cardboard box the cornflakes came in and water.
Group #3 ate rat chow and water.
How did they fare? The rats in Group #3 (rat chow and water) remained healthy. The rats in Group #2 (cardboard box and water) eventually died of malnutrition. But it is Group #1 (cornflakes and water) that startled me most. Every one of those rats died before the rats in Group #2, the ones who died of malnutrition, did. They developed schizophrenic behavior, bit each other, and went into convulsions. The conclusion, then, is that a cardboard box is healthier than the “vitamin-fortified” cereals we feed our children.
Something is wrong with the picture
Is there something wrong with this picture or is it just me? Thus the arrival of my now most dog-eared, note-written, tattered cookbooks: Nourishing Traditions. Along with healthier eating and the creation of muesli porridge.
This Overnight Muesli Porridge is thick and creamy - perfect for a hearty breakfast.
- 3 cups water warm
- 1/2 cup homemade yogurt (you can substitute kefir, whey, buttermilk, lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 1/2 cup oatmeal (or rolled oat groats)
- 1/2 cup millet
- 1/2 cup buckwheat groats
- 1/2 cup raisins (dates or other dried fruit)
- 1/2 cup soaked and dried nuts chopped
- 3 cups water (warm; this is in addition to the water listed above)
- milk (or milk substitute)
- unsweetened coconut flakes
- Ceylon cinnamon
- stevia
Combine 3 c. warm water, yogurt, oatmeal, millet, and buckwheat in a glass bowl. Cover with a lid and let sit out overnight at room temperature. This needs to soak at least 7 hours and can be as long as 24 hours. If you're a night owl like me, you can prepare this a few hours before you go to bed.
In the morning, pour the mixture into a large, heavy pan. Add the dried fruit, nuts – if you’re using them, and the additional 3 c. warm water.
Heat to a boil. Reduce heat and stir occasionally until thick and creamy.
We like to add coconut and cinnamon with a sprinkling of stevia - but have fun experimenting and making your own versions!
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I agree that boxed breakfast cereal really has no nutritional value!
Sure it may have whole grains, but when weighed against the sugar content is it fair to call it healthy? Probably not.
I recently made oatmeal that cooked overnight in the slow cooker using steel cut oats. But I have yet to try millet.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I love the “turning into a crazy woman” description. Sometimes when we see the truth and reveal it to others, we can seem crazy! It’s nuts how many folks are trapped in the lies that the food industry would push at them, thinking it is the truth. “Good for you” is more like “good for us” to the food industry. Yummy looking recipe!
Thanks for sharing! We have made efforts to be much more healthy in our family and eat a more whole foods diet. I, too agree with the “crazy woman” description we are given as some people hear about the changes we make. Thankful for great blog posts that encourage us as we make healthy choices for our selves and our families!
Blessings to you!
Everyone needs more muesli in their life! To simplify things even further, you can throw the dried fruits in at night, use coconut milk to loosen it all up in the morning, and eat it cold. Delicious! Refreshing in the summer!
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back later tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
I was able to find a stupendous deal on certified gluten free steel cut oats (like broken oat groats) so i can’t roll them. So do you think those would work in this recipe?? I hate wasting… but we have loved muesli for years!!
If you don’t mind cooking them a bit longer and having your muesli a bit chewier in the end, I’d sure give it a go!
We just returned from Ireland where I ate muesli porridge for the first time. This recipe looks like what we ate. Can you tell me the yield? Thanks! Can’t wait to try it.
I don’t know how much this yields because I’ve never measured. By the time the kids are done with breakfast, it is gone. 😉
Seriously though, it fills a four quart cooking pot.
I made this for this morning’s breakfast and we all enjoyed it. I didn’t have buckwheat so we used quinoa and it was very tasty. I’m looking forward to trying it with buckwheat. I just made my first batch of homemade yogurt yesterday so it was fun to use it in this recipe. Thoroughly enjoying diving into this healthy DIY lifestyle.
I’m glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks you for coming back and sharing with us! Hmm. I might have to try quinoa next time! 🙂
I will give it a go. As I am a early bird and my work starts 4am so I will soak everything in the morning (on my day off) and prepare oatmeal in the evening in advance for 4 days breakfast.
But here is the question can I pack this into my Breakfast containers and have it in the office. Give a little warm-up by milk and include some whey protein powder.
Please give me the reply I want to try this. Thanks
I think that is a great idea – and one that would work well!