Original Swiss Bircher Muesli

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. In a small bowl, mug, or Mason jar, mix the oats and water, cover, and let them soften overnight in the refrigerator. If you're in a hurry, oats do not need to be soaked for hours to make them digestible, although other grains do.

3. Add the sweetened condensed milk and stir. 

4. Mix the grated apple with lemon juice and then add it to the oat mixture.

5. Sprinkle with raw chopped hazelnuts or almonds and serve.

6. Enjoy!

Substitutions

• Evaporated milk, cream, or regular milk can be substituted.

• You also can add 2 teaspoons of sugar to regular milk, or try honey, agave nectar, or stevia if you would like to avoid sugar.

Variations

People add many other things to this mixture and even serve mix-your-own muesli for breakfast with containers of seeds, grains, and dried fruit set out on the table or buffet.

This negates Bircher's idea of a low-calorie, high-energy pre-meal filler, but it tastes good. Additions can be made as follows (or create your own):

• Add a grated carrot, a sliced banana and orange sections to your oats.

• Soften raisins with the oats.

• Add flax, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, other rolled grains, yogurt, dickmilch (sour milk/buttermilk), quark or maple syrup to your bowl.

• Toast the grains before plumping them in water overnight.

• Make a granola mixture and serve with milk or yogurt and fruit.

• Add flavorings such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla sugar or powder.

Why Dr. Bircher Created Muesli

In an effort to develop a healthier food and get people to eat more fruit, Bircher, a nutritionist and physician, went against the time's conventional medical practice of thoroughly cooking food. He introduced a small bowlful of uncooked rolled oats mixed with raw apples as an appetizer before most meals. It became a taste sensation and was quickly adopted as a breakfast and snack offering.