Homemade muesli with red berries

I was flipping through some cookbooks yesterday and found a recipe for homemade muesli made with strawberries and raspberries that looked delicious. I'm not sure I've actually had muesli before. I knew it was something like oatmeal or granola, and since I eat both almost daily, I figured it would be something I'd like.

According to Wikipedia, muesli is a popular breakfast cereal based on a mixture of uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts developed around 1900 by a Swiss physician for patients in his hospital. Instead of cooking the oats, they're soaked (usually in water).

I happened to pick up both strawberries and raspberries earlier in the day, but this recipe would work just as well with blueberries, bananas, dried apricots, prunes, etc., or a combination of the above. Also, the original recipe calls for coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts, which I replaced with sliced toasted almonds because I already had them on hand. Again, you could replace these with other nuts, such as sunflower seeds, walnuts, etc. You can be creative depending on your own preferences.

Little H and I went for a run this morning, and I thought this would be a perfect pre-run snack with it's combination of whole grains, protein and fruit (plus a little added sweetness :) ). It did not disappoint!

Homemade muesli with red berries (adapted from Ina Garten's Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavors from Simple Ingredients) ~ Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup quick-cooking oatmeal*
  
• 1 1/2 T. sliced toasted almonds
• 2 T. granola with raisins**
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/3 cup hottest tap water
• 1 T. honey
• 4 large ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 6 to 8 fresh raspberries
• 1 t. sugar
• Greek yogurt such as Fage Total 0%, for serving

Directions:

• Measure the oatmeal, almonds, granola and salt together in a bowl.
• Pour the water and honey over the mixture, stir, and set aside to soak for 12 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toss the strawberries, raspberries and sugar together in another bowl and allow to macerate while the muesli is soaking.
• When ready to eat, stir the berries into the oat mixture. Serve at room temperature with a dollop of yogurt on top.

Notes:

*Ina suggests using McCann's quick-cooking oatmeal, but all I had was Quaker old-fashioned oats and it turned out great.

**I used Bear Naked fruit & nut granola.

Enjoy!