Mom's Muesli

   I have never heard of Muesli (pronounced mew-slee).  The name looks cool, so one might think it is very complicated, but it is so simple.  It is a cereal-oatmeal mix you eat hot or cold.  When I came across it in a The Appalachian Trail Food Planner, I knew I wanted to try it for home and trail food.  The recipe in the book called for wheat germ, dates, and other fancy things, but I had just gone out of my comfort zone and splurged on flax seed (one step at a time…) so I made it the way my mom did.  I call it Mom's Muesli. :)

   So, really, it is very simple.  Oatmeal, raisin bran cereal, brown sugar, and raisins.  Mix.  Add cold milk and eat.  Or add hot milk, let sit a minute, and eat.  Or add cold milk, microwave about a minute, and eat.  All ways lead to yumminess.

   I do have dry milk in my line of ingredients.  We were experimenting with adding the dry milk to make it trail friendly.  I'm all about quick Yummy foods on the trail.  So we had a bowl of regular Muesli (no dry milk) with hot milk to see how much milk it needed, then had another bowl with Muesli, the corresponding amount of dry milk, and hot water.  Well, that was too sweet.  Experimentation at its finest.  So a little less dry milk, same water, and presto! we have yummy Muesli mix ready for the trail. If you have ever been in the woods on a cold, damp, or rainy morning, you know what a wonderful thing it is to have something nice and hot to eat or drink.  We picked up some little rocket heaters years ago for that exact reason.  A bit of boiling water and a packet of this can really set a good mood for the day.

   The book also says their recipe is great as a dry snack, and I'm sure it is with the added figs, walnuts, sunflower seeds and the rest they put in there.  Mine as stated here - not so much.  I did have 1/2 c. sunflower seeds in the first batch, but then I ran out.  I will probably add more dried fruit (I make my own) for my mix on the trail.  I encourage you to do your own experimentation, add different ingredients, see how you like to eat it.  Enjoy your food.  Prepare it in ways that suit your tastes and lifestyle, and then try it another way.  My recipe is below.  Feel free to copy into your own recipe book and send a link to your friends.

Joyfully yours,

K

Mom's Muesli:

2 1/2 c. quick oats

1 c. raisin bran cereal

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. raisins

  **For the trail, add 1 Tbsp dry milk per 1 c. mix

To eat:

At home, add equal parts mix and hot or cold milk.

For the trail, add equal parts mix and hot water.