Bircher Muesli

What Is Bircher Muesli?

Bircher Muesli, first introduced by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher Benner at the dawn of the 20th century, is the forerunner to what we today call muesli. The physician noticed that a balanced meal of raw vegetables and fruits combined with regenerative therapy was having a positive impact upon his patients.

Most popular brands of muesli today are derivatives of the original bircher muesli recipe. Unfortunately, most mass produced muesli cereals either have added sugar or salt - and bot these additives tend to detract from the overall health benefits that Bircher Muesli provides.

Fortunately, there are still some companies that adhere to the original recipe and produce organic bircher muesli made from locally produced fruit and vegetables.

What is the difference between Bircher muesli and regular muesli?

Bircher muesli is the traditional muesli version of what many people know as overnight oats. While the modern regular muesli is crunchy and dry, bircher mueslis are usually made to be soaked for a period before eating. Cream and lemon juice are too popular choices added to soak bircher muesli in.

What are the Health Benefits of Bircher Muesli?

Bircher muesli is a healthier alternative to conventional mueslis or cereals for the following reasons.

It helps to keep bowel movements regular. While this can be said of most mueslis and cereals, the high gout healthy fibre content of Bircher muesli helps to alleviate symptoms of constipation while promoting overall gut health.
Does not contain ingredients that could be classified as harmful.
While a lot of cereals make all sorts of claims about being healthy and good for you, many contain a list of ingredients guaranteed to baffle you. Those long sounding scientific names often disguise potentially harmful preservatives and chemicals not to mention the dreaded sugar and salt components..
Whereas, Bircher muesli is made from natural food ingredients that haven’t been altered or stripped of their natural goodness. A good example of Bicrher muesli contents would be Real Good Foods’ Organic Bircher Muesli. The contents of this package are instantly recognisable Rolled Oats, Sultanas, Sliced Almonds, Diced apple and sunflower kernels - no added sugar or salt - just natural goodness.
Is easily digestible and helps with the absorption of nutrients.

Bircher muesli should be soaked overnight as this helps to break down the starch content in rolled oats making the digestion process easier. Additionally, this process decreases the phytic acid content of the muesli. Phytic acid naturally occurs in every plant-based ingredient. Its presence slows down the absorption rate of nutrients and minerals such as calcium iron and zinc.

Oats have been demonstrated to assist in lowering high blood cholesterol levels.
Some varieties of nuts used in Bircher muesli contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids Omega-3 is widely connected to a raft of health benefits, including assisting with the development of the nervous system.
The Bircher muesli is a high-calorie and healthy heart food.
Can help to reduce sugar levels provided no sugar or honey is added.

How to Make Bircher Muesli

This Bircher muesli recipe serves two people, and is really a guide as ingredients can be carried according to taste

This can be made with fruit juice, soya milk or rice milk. Alternatively you could opt for the original recipe ingredients which stipulated water and cream. It is recommended that you trial different ingredient combinations.

Variety is the spice of life here. You can swap out the walnuts for almonds and the fruits are interchangeable. Blueberries are a sure hit. Be careful though with sharp tasting fruits like pineapple which could contrast with the sultana taste.

Ingredients

Rice milk, soya milk or fruit juice (orange)
4 large scoops of oats
1 scoop of sultanas
6 strawberries
1 banana
2 apples
1 scoop of walnuts
1/2 of a lemon

Method

To ensure that the sultanas become soft and juicy and to lower the scratch content of the oats, Bircher muesli should be prepared the night before. This preparation will involve:

Pouring the oats and sultanas into a large mixing bowl.
Thoroughly mixing them together
Add your chosen milk or juice to the bowl without covering the oats.
Stir it all together. Add more liquid if the mixture appears to be a little dry. Be careful not to drown your oats and sultanas. The oats will absorb a lot of the liquid in the coming hours. .
Cover the mixture and store it in the refrigerator overnight.

When you wake in the morning and you’re ready to eat, remove the bowl from the refrigerator, then add your fruits to the mixture . ..

Try grating the apple or alternatively you could core it and chop into small pieces.
Chop the banana into small pieces. .
Chop nuts into small pieces..
Chop the strawberries and add.
Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. The lemon not only adds a zesty freshness it will help keep the apple from browning.
Mix thoroughly
Serve into bowls
Eat!

Where can I buy Bircher Muesli in Australia

If grabbing all those ingredients and making up your own Bircher Muesli seems a bit much, you can get some wonderful organic bircher muesli packs made from Australian ingredients. Buy your bircher muesli from Buy Organics Online and start eating a healthier breakfast.