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Welcome to The Whimsical Wife. Thanks for popping in to share my adventures in the kitchen, in my home and my workshop as I Cook, Create & Decorate. 

Christmas Gifts From The Kitchen: Homemade Muesli

This is the first post of the Christmas Gifts From The Kitchen series and I hope it piques your interest of what is to come! If your pinching penny's this Christmas (don't we every year!) then I hope this week's series gives you some great gift idea's to whip up in your kitchen on a budget!



I think homemade gifts are so refreshing. You know that the person has taken the time and effort to thoughfully put the ingredients together and chopped, mixed, stirred and baked this item in your hands. It's love that shines through the slight imperfections and the rusticly wrapped gift. It's touching and thoughful and I think we all should give more homemade gifts to each other this christmas.




The pressure every Christmas to buy the perfect gift (within a tight budget), wrap it with perfection and hold our breath's that it will make the recipient happy. Let's be honest Christmas is stressful and every year I vow I will not get sucked into the hype and craziness. But alas I seem to get sucked it somewhere from the 1st of December to Christmas Day. I vow again that I will not get sucked in.... maybe that will be my mantra this year!


I wish to try and focus on things other than presents and christmas menus - like family and precious baby smiles, goo's and gaa's that tickle my little heart with joy, making new and happy memories, making simple gifts to show love and thoughfulness. That's what Christmas should be about this year. This is where Homemade Muesli steps in......



Homemade muesli or granola as it is sometimes called is one of my go-to recipes when I don't know what to have for breakfast. This can be made a week or two in advance and keeps really well in an airtight container. This recipe can be tailored to what you have in your cupboard or what your budget calls for. You can make is super posh by adding dried figs, dates and macadamia's or keep it simple like I have above with sultana's, sunflower seeds and almonds. *Note if you want to make it completely sugar free however I would not add any dried fruit but stick to adding some fancy nuts into the mix along with some brown rice puffs for added texture.

Each mouthful of muesli will be a spoonful of love and what more could you want in a gift.... really!


This recipe is a one bowl wonder .... simply placing the oats, coconut, nuts/and or seeds into a bowl along with the rice malt syrup. Mix it all together and place evenly into two casserole dishes. Bake for 10 minutes and stir and continue this until you have a deliciously golden muesli and scrumptious smell coming from the oven! Divine!


Once it has cooled place your dried fruit of choice into the muesli mix and stir to combine. Place into preserving jars (like above) and add a cute rustic tag tied with some kitchen twine and voila you have a lovingly homemade gift. I picked up those preserving jars for a couple of dollars from my local junk store. Once the jar is emptied I'm sure the recipient wil give it back for a re-fill or use it for other important things!


This muesli is best served with chilled milk and eaten straight away! Maybe a bit of chopped banana or strawberry to fancy it up a bit! Also this muesli makes a great topping on a bowl of yoghurt or used in a crumble topping.




I hope this tickles your fancy and you add it to your "to make" list! :-)

Sugar Free Muesli

by The Whimsical Wife
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 -25 minutes
Keywords: bake breakfast dairy free sugar-free oats fall spring summer winter
Ingredients (Makes 1 large batch)
  • 750g oats
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 3/4 cup chopped almonds
  • 1/3 cup mixed seeds (sunflower and pepita)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 -4 Tbsp rice malt syrup found in coles health food section
  • * Optional - 2 cups puffed brown rice (found in coles health food section)
Instructions
Preheat a oven to 180 degrees. Line a large baking tray.
In a large bowl place all of the dry ingredients( excluding the cinnamon), seeds, nuts and puffed rice. Mix to combine.
In a microwave proof bowl add the rice malt syrup and warm for 10-20 seconds until runny. Add in the cinnamon and mix together roughly.
Pour over the dry ingredients and with a large spoon toss the rice malt syrup through the ingredients until evenly coated.
Place into the oven and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove and evenly stir the mixture with a spoon.
Place back into the oven for a further 5-6 minutes or until the oats are lightly browned. Repeat this process once more. You may need to repeat this step until all the oats are evenly cooked.
Remove and cool. Place in a air tight container.
Cooks Notes
*You can add cranberries, sultanas, dried apple, apricots etc once it has cooked if you like these things in your muesli however this will make it no longer sugar free*
*You can add more or less of the nuts depending on your tastes*
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