I often go through phases where I’m completely obsessed with and constantly craving one type of food for a few weeks at a time. In the past, it’s been banana oatmeal, pesto on bagels… and recently, it’s bircher muesli.

Bircher muesli was created by Swiss doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner as a health food for his patients. Nowadays, it’s a healthy breakfast option which is also incredibly easy to make and very customisable. It’s pretty similar to overnight oats – but Dr Bircher-Benner was way ahead of the trend, as he invented this in the 1890s!

I like to make a big batch of this on Sunday evening, which gives me breakfast for at least 4 days. It’s definitely best to keep it in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours before serving, so that the oats can soak up all the liquid ingredients to become very creamy. I think the flavours mingle and improve after a few days, though I wouldn’t keep it for any longer than 5 days.

Ingredients (4 servings)

• 100 g rolled oats
• 120 g natural yoghurt
• 2 apples, grated (I used braeburn, but any crisp, juicy apple will work)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 70 g frozen raspberries
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• A handful of raisins
• A splash of milk

Directions

1. Roughly grate the apples.
2. Mix all the ingredients together – if the mixture looks too dry, loosen with a splash of milk. The measurements above can be changed depending on your tastes – add more yoghurt / milk if you prefer a moister muesli.
3. Keep in the fridge overnight, or for a minimum of 4 hours.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Like I said, feel free to change up the fruits you add into the mixture, or add a few handfuls of nuts for more texture! Let me know in the comments what you think – I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!