Homemade muesli

That Swiss health-farm version where you mix raw oats and grated apple with fruit juice is more like torture than breakfast. The only tasty muesli (around here, anyway) is CRUNCHY, GOLDEN and delicious. Unfortunately, crunchy and golden usually equates to loaded with saturated fat, as the commercial muesli producers coat the raw ingredients with fat to help them stay crispy throughout their long shelf life and once they are opened.

Observe:

• Vogel's Premium Oven-Crisp: 6.7g (fat per serving)


• Sanitarium Golden Toasted: 10g


• Morning Sun Peach and Pecan Natural: 4.9g


• Purina Toasted: 9.5g

Granted, there are several supermarket brands that come in below the 4g mark: you can suss them out here. But the other problem with bought muesli is the abundance of Things I Don't Like, like dried fruit. Or peanuts. As if I would spend ten minutes each morning picking unwanted items from my cereal bowl... No, bought muesli just isn't going to cut it.

So I made my own.

• Raw oats


• Plain unsalted, untoasted pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts


• Linseeds


• Sunflower seeds


• Desiccated coconut


• Wheatgerm


• Natural runny honey


• A quarter teaspoon of salt

Throw the nuts and seeds in the food processor and blitz till your desired level of crunchiness. Spread the oats on a big baking tray and bake in a moderate oven for ten to fifteen minutes. Turn them over, drizzle with honey and re-bake.

Do the same with the nuts and seeds, only adding honey if you feel you need to.

Toast the coconut on its own, taking special care not to let it burn. It will only take a few minutes. Let all these things cool, and then combine them in a big jar or container. Add the salt and wheatgerm and shake to mix thoroughly. (The salt helps to preserve your cereal and also deters any bugs that may be interested).
If the muesli loses its crunchability over time, you can just re-toast quickly in the oven for a few minutes.

Enjoy the sanctimonious health-freak feeling of superiority as you feast on your muesli creation for weeks to come.