toasted muesli & smoothie

If you’ve always wanted to eat toasted muesli which isn’t laden with oil and refined sugar then this is the recipe for you. Originally this recipe had 1½ cups of oil and 1 cup of honey! But that has been substantially reduced and replaced with apple juice, which works really well.

You only need a little bit of this to fill you up, and it contains really good nutrients like Brazil nuts (one a day keeps you loaded with selenium), Goji berries (immune enhancers), and flax seed or linseed (great fibre and omega 3 sources). If you grind up the linseeds first, you get more nutrition out of them as they pass through your digestive system.

¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup liquid honey

2 cups apple juice
1kg wholegrain oats
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup coarsely grated coconut
1 cup coarsely chopped Brazil nuts
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1 cup flaxseed
(also known as linseed)
2 tsp ginger powder
2 tsp cinnamon powder

Mix the olive oil with the liquid honey and then add the apple juice. Place all the muesli ingredients in a bowl and coat with the liquid, rubbing it into the oats and nuts with your hands. Put it in a large roasting dish (I need two) and toast in a 100 degrees C oven for 1½ hours, stirring frequently until golden brown. Store in airtight container and prepare to love it.

EXTRAS: Stir in 1 cup sultanas and 1 cup Goji berries. You can also use chopped dried apricots or dates if you like. You can buy Goji berries at health stores, supermarkets and Asian stores where you might find them called wolfberries.