Yogurt and Muesli Parfait

MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON -APRIL 2018

#87TH BLOGGING MARATHON

THEME: EXPLORE THE FLAVORS – INTERNATIONAL BREAKFAST

DAY 25

I cannot believe that the mega blogging marathon is nearly getting over. However, that does not mean we can relax and breathe. I know already some of my fellow members have already started preparing for the September Mega Blogging Marathon. I still have to begin my search for the theme.

For Day 25 the letter is Y. Not many options with Y.  I had youtiao from China in mind. It looks like churros but is not sweet and is served with congee or milk. As I didn’t want to repeat the country I had to cancel youtiao as I made xiao mi zhou  from China.

After much thought I realized that besides porridge, eggs and cereals which are ever so popular world over for breakfast, muesli is equally popular. I love my muesli with yogurt. In Mombasa I’m lucky that I can make yogurt at home as its pretty warm. I add the culture to the warm milk in the morning and within 6 -7 hours yogurt is ready. Before I knew how much sugar all those so yummy fruity little pots of yogurt contain, I would enjoy muesli with ready made fruity yogurt. After I read an article that it contains a lot of sugar, I stopped buying them. Occasionally get them as an option for dessert.

Before we head towards the recipe for Yogurt and Muesli parfait I must let you know that there is a difference between granola and muesli. Though both are a mixture grains, nuts, seeds, spices granola has added sugar or some natural form of sugar like honey, maple syrup, agave nectar etc and has some fat like oil, butter to make it crunchy. Muesli on the other hand has no sugar or fat added. The only sweetness is from the dried fruits and the natural fat is from the seeds and nuts added to it.

Most muesli will have raw or slightly roasted ingredients. The main grain can be oats mixed with other grains like buckwheat, quinoa, millet, barley etc depending on which company makes it. In Swiss German muesli means mix. Muesli was first created by a Swiss Physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for his patients as a healthy dietary supplement.  It has now become a very popular breakfast world over.

• There are several ways to enjoy your daily bowl of muesli. Just pour milk, orange juice or yogurt to it and enjoy.
• Add steaming milk or water and mix. Enjoy it hot.
• Soak it for 10 minutes or overnight in milk, yogurt or juice and enjoy. The overnight version becomes a lot creamier.

Some of the health benefits of enjoying some yogurt in the morning are:

• Its good for your digestive system. It protects the digestive system from toxins and bad bacteria.
• A cup of yogurt contains 275mg of calcium which is good for stronger bones.
• The potassium in the yogurt helps to flush out excess sodium thus helping to control blood pressure.
• Yogurt has mineral like magnesium, selenium and zinc which help in building up immunity against disease causing germs.
• Its a good source of protein.
• The lactic acid present in yogurt helps to fight germs that cause gum diseases and tooth cavities.

Today there are many companies world over that make muesli. My personal favorites are Jordans, Alpen and Bagrry. Since muesli was first made by the Physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner, I’m dedicating this post to him and SWITZERLAND. As such there is no fixed amount of muesli or yogurt, juice or milk one can combine to enjoy this healthy breakfast. However,my yogurt and muesli parfait recipe is just a guidance. Feel free to enjoy it the way you like it. I usually like to add yogurt on top of the muesli to give it a chance to soak a bit. When I’m having granola, I want to maintain the crunchiness so prefer to add it on top of the yogurt.

YOGURT AND MUESLI PARFAIT

Serves 2

1-1½ cups plain greek yogurt or homemade yogurt

1 cup muesli

1 cup chopped mixed fresh fruit of your choice

2 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)

optional : some chopped nuts and seeds

1. Spoon about ¼ cup each of yogurt into 2 serving glasses.
2. Top it with ½ cup each of the muesli.
3. Add  remaining yogurt to both.
4. Add fruit and finally top it up with nuts and seeds.
5. Drizzle honey or maple syrup over it.
6. Serve.

Tips:

• As mentioned in the post there are many ways to serve muesli.
• To make muesli at home is so easy. Pan roast oats till it becomes hot. Remove form the pan and let it cool. Add roasted nuts of your choice. Add seeds and dried fruits of your choice.

A – Z Breakfast Dishes:

A – Apple Aeblskiver – Denmark

B – Baghrir – Morocco

C – Changua – Colombia

D – Dutch baby Pancakes – Germany /USA

E – English Breakfast – England

F – French Toast – Canada

G – Griddle/Girdle Scones – Scotland

H – Hafragrautur – Iceland

I – Idiyappam – India

J – Johnnycakes – The Caribbean

K – Khabees – Bahrain

L – Lahooh/Lahoh – Somalia

M – Masoub – Yemen

N – Nasi Goreng – Indonesia

O – Oladushki – Russia

P – Pandesal – The Philippines

Q – Qistibi – Tatarstan and Bashkortostan

R – Red Rice Porridge – Bhutan

S – Suafa’i – Samoa

T – Tomato Omelette – Armenia

U – Uji – Kenya

V – Vary Sosoa – Madagascar

W – Welsh Rarebit – Wales

X – Xiao Mi Zhou – China

Check out what other Mega Blogging Marathoners have made for Day 25:

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