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Eat Well Aug. 31. 2020
Breakfast

Cherry Cardamom Bircher Muesli

Aug. 31. 2020
Breakfast
McKel Hill Kooienga, MS, RDN, LDN

McKel Hill Kooienga, MS, RDN, LDN

Founder of Nutrition Stripped and the Mindful Nutrition Method™

An easy recipe for a sweet, tangy, warm muesli.

Today I’m sharing a unique twist on my classic Nourishing Muesli — Cherry Cardamom Bircher Muesli. This recipe has quickly become my favorite summer breakfast, and sometimes even dessert!

It’s raw (no fuss with cooking), easy to digest, tastes amazing, and is packed with antioxidants from the cherries.

Cherry Cardamom Bircher Muesli

I love this combination of flavors. It’s sweet, tangy, cool and warm at all the same time. Bircher muesli this time of year is lovely, it’s cool and refreshing since there’s no cooking or heating involved. It contains a healthy dose of fiber, healthy fats, plant-based protein, complex carbohydrates, and is incredibly easy to whip together.

You can even make this a quick breakfast by making it the night before and storing it in the fridge until the next morning!

What Is Bircher Muesli?

I’ve talked at length about what muesli is on the Nourishing Muesli post, but in a nutshell, muesli is simply uncooked granola. All that’s required is a large mixing bowl to combine your favorite nuts, seeds, grains, and dried fruits in any ratio you prefer. I like to keep my mueslis with a higher ratio of nuts and seeds to carbohydrates.

What is the difference between bircher muesli and regular muesli? Bircher muesli is the Swiss version of what many of us simply call overnight oats. My Mulberry Soaked Oat Porridge is a perfect example of a bircher muesli. While regular muesli is dry, bircher muesli is typically made with cream and lemon juice and is eaten after all the ingredients have had time to soak.

How To Make Your Own Ground Cardamom

I love making my own ground cardamom! It’s a fun, hands-on way to get the freshest cardamom possible.

Start by crushing the pod with the back of your hand or peeling the pod with your fingers. Then peel the outer shell of the cardamom pods, in this case the green shell.

You’ll be left with tiny black seeds, these are what you’ll be grinding. Using a grinder or a mortar and pestle (check my kitchen tools page), until the seeds are ground. Store in an air tight jar or spice jar, like the ones I use here!

What Is A Foundational Five Nourish Meal?

The Foundational Five Nourish Meal is any meal that contains all 5 elements within the Foundational Five, non-starchy carbohydrates, starchy carbohydrates, healthy fat, protein, and the Flavor Factor. By following this simple template it keeps food flexible, fun, and nourishing.

Any meal can be made into a Foundational Five Nourish Meal by just knowing the system I teach in our Method Membership and in my free guide about creating healthy eating habits with ease, that you can get right here!

Foundational Five

Learn how you can nourish your body at each meal by creating a Foundational Five Nourish Meal. This is McKel’s simple framework she’s used with thousands of clients in her decade as a Dietitian and now you can use it too!

The Foundational Five supports you in nourishing your physical body so you can learn what to eat, which is the first step in mindful eating. The remainder is knowing how to eat and to experience your food positively.

Eating in this way supports your physical body on a cellular level ensuring you’re consuming the nutrients you need to have a sharp focus, calm digestion, lasting energy, sound sleep, and vibrant long-term health.

Here are the following Foundational Five Elements in this recipe:

1 • Non-starchy Carbohydrate

  • Add rhubarb

2 • Starchy Carbohydrate

  • Old fashioned oats
  • Cherries

3 • Healthy Fat

  • Ground flaxseed
  • Coconut flakes
  • Almonds
  • Pumpkin seeds

4 • Protein

  • Ground flaxseed
  • Almonds

5 • Flavor Factor

  • Almond milk
  • Lemon juice
  • Cinnamon

The Recipe

Serves 2

Print

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten-free old-fashioned oats

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 cup fresh cherries, sweet or tart cut in half

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes

1 tablespoon raw unsalted almonds, chopped coarsely

1 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cardamom

pinch of sea salt

serve with fresh cherries, halved

Directions:

Step 1

Mix all the ingredients in bowl until combined. I like keeping the cherries in halves, but you can mash them with the back of a fork to soften, then stir.

Step 2

Soak ideally for 2 hours or until soft about 30 minutes, overnight works well if you want to make it ahead of time.

Enjoy cool or at room temperature.

Can’t wait to see you try it!

Did you know that you can submit your own photo of whatever recipe you make from NS? Scroll down to the bottom right and you’ll see a section for you to show off your creations from home! Can’t wait to see how you make these and share your meal with me! Tag us on Instagram @nutritionstripped #nutritionstripped

 

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