Some days, a girl needs to bypass the stove, bypass the cutting board, the microwave, you name it. Some days, a girl needs instant gratification. A bowl, cold milk, and the crunchy/sweet satisfaction of cereal. But the truth is, I abandoned brand cereal years ago. It was too expensive, too sugary, and the ingredients were too hard to pronounce.
It took trial and error, but I’ve finally rested upon a combination that cuts out wheat and barley (known sources of gluten*) without giving up traditional meusli attributes.
The beauty of this is that the dried fruit and nuts may be switched out as you like. I started with a Trader Joe’s combination of dried mango, blueberries and cranberries. For the next batch, there was naught but dried cranberries on hand. Both were delicious!
HOME-MADE MEUSLI
2 cups of thin-rolled oats (slightly lighter and more thinly cut than regular rolled oats.)
1 cup oat bran
3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 roasted slivered almonds
1 cup dried berries, raisins, or other dried fruit
Serve with milk, honey, a sprinkle of cinnamon, fresh berries or bananas, or sprinkle over yogurt. Store in an airtight container.
*I realize that oats don’t always pass as gluten free. Please double check with your gluten-free eaters to find out if they can tolerate oats. Some say it depends on whether the oats were processed in a gluten-free facility. (Oats are often processed in facilities that also process wheat, which can lead to being contaminated with gluten.)
