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Oats are a fabulous breakfast food. Unlike many cereals, they're low on the glycemic index, so they'll keep kids (or you) feeling full up until it's time to stop for lunch.
Gordon Ramsay's a fan, and he uses them to make a fabulous muesli that's like the famous Bircher muesli, but which doesn't require the oats to be soaked overnight. With the big return to school looming we're all for breakfasts that don't need preparing ahead but are quick to make on the day, and we just had to try Gordon's recipe. Our opinion? Delicious and really quick and simple to make plus you can have fun with flavours by adding extra nuts and fruit, too.
If you do prefer the idea of making ahead, check out our overnight oats recipe and when the weather gets colder, find out how to make porridge.
We found Gordon Ramsay's quick Bircher muesli on You Tube, scroll down to take a look. Now we're sharing Gordon's tips.
5 top tips to make Gordon Ramsay's quick Bircher muesli
1. Gordon recommends using live or raw milk yoghurt because of its probiotic content as well as the calcium it provides. You might find raw milk yoghurt hard to get hold of, but unless you buy yoghurt that's heat treated after fermentation, it will be live.
2. To sweeten the muesli, Gordon adds a couple of tablespoons of apple juice to the yoghurt in the bowl. We tried this, and we tried without and we found that depending on the fruit we added later, the muesli could be sweet enough. We'll leave you to experiment.
3. Gordon mixes only two-thirds of the oats into the yoghurt initially. Adding them in now means they'll absorb some of the liquid around them, creating a textural contrast with the one third of the oats he sprinkles on top next. Us? We're now big fans of this technique.
4. Now comes some of the kids' five a day. Gordon adds blackberries to his muesli, and we like the tangy sweetness of these. Strawberries or raspberries work a treat, too, when they're in season. In a hurry? Banana coins are another healthy topping that will take moments to prepare.
5. For a pleasing crunch (and yet more vitamins and minerals), Gordon toasts almonds in a dry frying pan to sprinkle on top of the muesli. You'll get more flavour preparing them this way, he says. Short of time on a school morning? You can skip the toasting but stick with almonds, and we tried hazelnuts, too. Any chopped nuts or seeds your kids like could work, though.
More healthy breakfast ideas: