Swiss Bircher-Benner Muesli with Red Berries

During the latter part of the twentieth-century a doctor named Maximillian Bircher-Benner had a clinic in Zurich, Switzerland. He introduced his patients, who came for restorative health, to a simple diet and a simpler way of life. Over a short period of time he noticed huge improvements to their health and well-being. The effect of this rapid change was put down to one thing, diet. His clinic with its encouragement of raw food in one's daily diet was quite unheard of in mainstream society at this time, at this time people were  boiling the life out of cabbages and covering them in rich heavy sauces. Maximilian had noticed the goat-herders who lived on the surrounding mountains and came to an understanding of the benefits of their simple diets of fresh natural foods and he embraced their nuts and berries philosophy. Dr. Bircher-Benner rightly discovered that introducing an apple a day would indeed keep the doctor away. This discovery was instrumental to a wide sweeping change in the nature of our eating habits in general. 

The recipe for Dr. Bircher-Benner's original muesli can be easily found and nearly every cook has their own version. This is what makes this breakfast so versatile and one that can be tailored to suit your own choice and of course enables us to use the fruits that the season is offering. You can opt to use milk, plant milk or fruit juice, maybe some apple juice with a squeeze of fresh lemon. This muesli is made naturally sweet due to the inclusion of a few dried fruits that are soaked with the oats over night, again you may like to use dates, figs or apricots or maybe you are like me and prefer something tangy and use sour cherries or air dried mangos. The nuts you choose to include again are entirely down to you, I like almonds and pistachios, but you may like brazil nuts or hazelnuts. This is a delicious and perfectly balanced breakfast for optimum health and provides exactly the right nutrition for active people to sustain their energies.

I mostly ignore measurements when preparing this and urge you to do the same. Let it be a handful of this, to a sprinkle of that, and a splash to finish. Let your eye, your hand and your heart make this breakfast, adding a little more of the things you love and a little less of the things that do you good but you may not want to overdo. With this simple almost casual way of making breakfast it will fast become a regular stress-free feature to your mornings. Incredibly healthy and surprisingly rich in taste. It is a breakfast that makes you feel alive, refreshed and ready to take on almost anything in this crazy world of ours. 

Swiss Bircher-Benner Muesli with Red Berries 

Handful per person of uncooked rolled oats

1 large shiny red apple per person
Dried sour cherries
Air dried mango
Flaked almonds
Pistachios
Strawberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Natural Yoghurt
Semi-skimmed milk
Local runny honey

In a glass or china bowl place a handful of uncooked rolled oats, I use the larger variety as they give a good bite. Toss in your dried fruits and cover with milk. Stir it all together, pushing the fruit under the surface of the milk so they swell up and release their sweetness into the liquid. Cover and put in the fridge to work its magic overnight. 

Next morning. Wash all your fruit throughly and pat dry, maybe slice the strawberries up if they are too big. Remove your muesli mix from the refrigerator, you will notice that the oats have swollen and it has become a thicker consistency. Next take your apple and grate directly into the bowl and give it a good stir together. Use a red apple if you can, this is all about the red fruits, the highest in vitamins of all the fruits. 

Now it is a question of compiling the various parts of this breakfast. In the bowl of your choice spoon in some of the muesli, press it down a little to make way for a spoonful of thick natural yoghurt. Next add your red fruits as many or as little as you want. Drizzle lightly with a runny local honey. Finally add your nuts slightly crushed to finish. Share with a glass of chilled freshly squeezed orange juice, a perfect breakfast companion.