For the liquids
If you are using organic lemons, grate at least part of the outer layer (lemon zest) into the bowl. For more information, see the ingredient lemon peel. Tastes delicious and refreshing!
Juice the oranges and lemon(s) with a citrus juicer or an electric citrus juicer. Add the juice and pulp to a bowl. Remove any seeds.
For the grain mix
For each serving, place about 35 g of the grain mix (prepared mix of grains and seeds) in an electric coffee grinder and grind for about 5 to 10 seconds. The amount, type, and number of different grains and seeds you use and how fine you grind them is up to you and should be based on your own taste and needs.
The finer you grind the grains and seeds, the less natural the muesli will be, but if they are too coarsely ground, they won’t be able to absorb enough of the liquid and may be too hard. Try out a variety of different grinds.
Add the coarsely ground mixture to the bowl with the juice and mix together with a spoon so that the grains and seeds are evenly mixed with the liquid. If you use significantly more grains and seeds than called for in the recipe, then you can either squeeze more juice or add a little water.
The acidic liquid with a lot of vitamin C allows the enzyme phytase to break down the phytate in the seeds quickly, which allows us to absorb more nutrients from the seeds. This is why we have ordered the steps in this way.
For the basic fruit mix
Peel the banana(s), finely chop, and place in a bowl.
If you are underweight, add two bananas, which is then one banana per person, and/or use more grains and seeds.
Quarter the apple(s), remove the core, cut off any undesirable parts, and then slice into a bowl. You can also use one apple per person; it depends on the size and type of apple.
Gluten-free grains
Sprinkle the store-bought rolled oats on top of the basic muesli recipe.
Gluten-free rolled oats that are certified organic can be purchased in well-stocked supermarkets, health food stores, and organic grocery stores.
If you have a grain mill, you can prepare freshly rolled oats. It is best to use sproutable organic oats.
Additional fruits and berries
You can also add your favorite fruits and berries (cut into pieces). For strawberries, wash as necessary, remove the stems, cut off any undesirable parts, and then cut into smaller pieces.
Then mix everything together well. Your Erb Muesli with Rolled Oats is now ready to eat! And to try the recipe for Erb Muesli without rolled oats, go to the following LINK.
For a finishing touch, you can top with the berries instead of mixing them in. This looks especially nice if you are serving the muesli to guests. Simply place each serving in a bowl and then top with the berries.
In terms of the keyword “clean eating,” Erb Muesli is an example of a particularly healthy, natural food. We have always written texts related to our motto of “eating natural foods." In the text to the side or below, you will find several tips and variations so that you can enjoy something new every day. See also the nutrient tables.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Erb Muesli with Rolled Oats is a vegan (lactose-free), raw muesli. It serves as an especially healthy breakfast and is a good “bread replacement.” For those with celiac disease, it is essential to purchasing rolled oats that are labeled gluten-free. Read the text about rolled oats below to find out more about where you can purchase raw oat groats and what things you should pay attention to. Use a grain mill to make freshly rolled oats instead of storing them.
You can read about why I created Erb Muesli — and then three different versions of it in this long text. Thanks to the grains and seeds used, Erb Muesli has an especially good ratio of omega-3 fatty acids (LA to ALA is 1:1). The large amounts of fiber it contains is extremely important for intestinal health.
Bircher Muesli developed by Dr. Max Bircher-Benner contains condensed milk and has rolled oats and apples as main ingredients: not regarded as “clean eating.” From the Wikipedia entry, we can see how the establishment criticizes “clean eating” and his vegetarian (but not vegan) muesli in a very biased manner. For example, the entry includes statistics showing that a raw food diet is unhealthy, but these statistics are based on a study of 18 volunteers who ate an unbalanced raw food diet. It is not in the industry’s best interest to promote a natural raw food diet.
The high vitamin C content of the orange and lemon juice in Erb Muesli increases the enzymes needed to convert alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in the grains and seeds into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The nutrients contained in the ingredients used for Erb Muesli provide increased protection of the bones against osteoporosis and promote circulation, which in turn helps decrease your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Vitamin C also reduces the production and tissue concentrations of arachidonic acid, an acid that promotes inflammation (helps prevent arthritis, MS, and other diseases). The raspberries and blueberries are rich in sirtuins, which are known as the long-life enzymes (keyword: resveratrol)
Our “eating natural foods” now has a buzzword: clean eating.
Tips
The grain mix can be prepared ahead of time. Buy your favorite grains and seeds and use either the same amount of each or vary as you wish, place in a large bowl, and mix together. It usually lasts for several weeks.
You can store the grain mix, for example, in a large pickle jar that has a good screw-top lid. The jar should be dry on the inside. It is best to protect the grain mix from light or at least not store it in direct sunlight. A 70 g serving of the grain mix is equal to about 7–8 rounded tablespoons (a rounded tablespoon is an amount on the spoon when you scoop the grain mix out of the jar). But you will quickly get a feel for how much fits in your electric coffee grinder and will be able to pour the seeds directly into it.
Grains and seeds that are properly stored stay good for years. But after they are ground, they are susceptible to attacks by bacteria and fungi. This is why we strongly recommend that you use freshly ground grains and seeds. It is also important to follow the steps in order: press the juice, “grind” the seeds and grains, and then mix these into the acidic juice before continuing with the other steps. This is an efficient way to reduce phytic acids.
You can also use shelled hemp seeds, sorghum, millet, poppy seeds, garden seeds, amaranth, teff, Kañiwa, pit seed goosefoot, or any of the quinoa varieties. The links provide nutritional information about these alternative ingredients; using them would then, of course, change the nutritional profile for the recipe as a whole. These grains (except for millet) are all pseudo-grains, also known as pseudocereals. Pseudograins are gluten-free as is millet. The motto is clean eating.
At 3.1 g per serving, Erb Muesli with Rolled Oats contains particularly high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and is able to at least to some extent make up for poor diet choices. Never use only flaxseed because this will make it very hard for your coffee grinder.
If you are at risk for diabetes or have Type 2 diabetes and you have the time, it is a good idea to divide the muesli into two servings and eat the second serving two hours later. The body digests Erb Muesli more slowly, and by doing this it won’t have to work so hard, especially as compared to eating foods such as bread or store-bought muesli.
Alternate preparation
You can vary Erb Muesli as desired to provide for a change of pace — Erb Muesli is a stark contrast to a traditional breakfast that makes you feel hungry sooner because the carbohydrates are quickly released into the bloodstream.
If you don’t have the grains and seeds, you can start by using store-bought rolled oats, but then you are eating something that doesn’t quite qualify as Erb Muesli. Oats aren’t always gluten-free, and store-bought oats are also pasteurized, for the reasons explained in the information under the ingredient.
You can also “refine” your Erb Muesli as desired by adding freshly grated ginger or a little cinnamon or by grinding star anise or aniseed together with the grain mix. Another option is to add vanilla, making sure that you choose a natural, unprocessed product (not vanillin). Adding turmeric with a little black pepper is also a nice variation.
If you are using organic lemons, we recommend that you grate at least part of the outer layer of the lemon peel (lemon zest) into the bowl. Tastes delicious and refreshing! Follow the link for information about other ways to use lemon peel.
If you would like to gain weight, you might try adding chopped dates, raisins, (or: sultanas), walnuts, or macadamia nuts. We recommend eating 2–4 Brazil nuts per day (no more, if you do this regularly) to make sure that you are getting enough selenium. If the Brazil nuts aren’t from Bolivia but from Brazil, then this amount is actually much too high.
If you are not eating a raw food diet or not so worried about consuming carbohydrates that are quickly absorbed, you can also use agave syrup or cranberry, or rosehip preserves. Cranberries contain sirtuins (resveratrol) and can be used in place of the fruits called for. Children tend to like things sweeter than adults! However, we no longer see this as “clean eating.” Sweeter fruits would be the alternative.
