As a thank you to a handful of friends who were so supportive during the stress of my renovations, I wanted to organise a brunch to show my appreciation of their generosity, kindness, patience and friendship.

When I asked about any dietary requirements one of my guests let me know about her restrictions. My plan was to make/organise a few things separate and just for her, but then I thought why not we all just eat DF, GF and EF?!

When entertaining, I like to keep things as simple as possible. I don’t see the point of having people around if you’re just going to slave in the kitchen followed by all the cleaning up. So I wanted a recipe that I could make ahead and serve once my friends arrived.

I know lots of people love my traditional Bircher Muesli recipe as well as my Spiced Quinoa Porridge, so why not amalgamate the two ideas and create a Quinoa Bircher Muesli that ticks all the boxes!

It’s absolutely delicious served with My Favourite Homemade Granola (just replace the oats for quinoa flakes or extra coconut flakes for GF) with fresh or poached pears, a dollop of coconut yoghurt and a drizzle of raw honey. Or, with a mix of pistachios and pecans, fig, pomegranate and/or berries and a drizzle of date syrup. Yum!

Print

Quinoa Bircher Muesli

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 2

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 cup white quinoa rinse very well to remove bitter saponins
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or ground vanilla bean powder
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice approximately juice from 1 small orange
• 1 apple grated
• 1/2 cup coconut yoghurt use dairy yoghurt if not dairy free

Instructions

• Place quinoa, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Gently simmer without lid, stirring occasionally, for 12-15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
• Remove from heat and cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir through honey.
• Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool for 5-8 minutes.
• Add the apple, orange juice, yoghurt and stir to combine
• Pop into the fridge overnight then serve with poached or fresh fruit, granola or nuts and seeds, some extra yoghurt and a drizzle of your sweetener of your choice if you like.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone! And by everyone, I mean Mums.

I’m never quite sure where the apostrophe goes in ‘Mother’s Day’. That’s true of most apostrophes, bothersome little things that they are, but is that the right place? Or is it ‘Mothers’ Day’, as in the collective noun that describes a hotbed/brilliance/sparkle of Mothers? Whatever the case, in this house it will be ‘Mother’s Day’ (there being only one, as far as I know), where my agenda will include lots of things that make life very simple … for me.

Specifically, I’m expecting:

– no responsibilites (I’m not here, I’m not here … unless you’re spoiling me)

– no decisions (which, granted, could go pear-shaped if history is a guide)

– a general smattering of spoiling by my family (so I hope you’re reading!)

– no apostrophes

– palm leaves and grapes (soaring too close to the sun?…)

– breakfast in bed (no, hubby, you’re not invited – get your apron on)

When I thought about brekky, it dawned on me (get it? get it?) that I had so many breakfast ideas on this little blog of mine, and I had quite forgotten how many. So, strap yourself in for a short compilation of some of my favourite brekkies. ‘Get your orders in early’ is my advice!

My latest and favourite is the Date and Walnut Muesli. It’s so totally simple that it can be prepared the night before in 5 minutes flat, even by males (well, 25 minutes and four days for them). It’s so full of goodness and it’s great to know that some of the ingredients are boosting my immune system. This is a great one for the kids if they want to do it themselves and serve to Mama with some extra yoghurt and fresh fruit.

I haven’t made my famous ‘Notella’ for a while, so bring it on so I can lather it onto some Spelt and Buckwheat pancakes, or some Sonoma Spelt Sourdough bread. It’s so simple to make in the food procerssor or Thermomix, I think the kids could handle this one on their own. Dad could help them out with a warming cup of chai tea to accompany. Mmmmmm!

But what if I’m feeling in more of a savoury mood? Well, cue my tasty Egg Muffins, which never let me down. I just hope the kids remember that I particularly love them wrapped in a piece of organic bacon, or they could ‘surprise. Perhaps a variation like spinach and ricotta! Just as long as they remember the cheese please (love the stuff!)

Any recipe that includes the words ‘coconut cream’ or ‘ginger ‘ automatically gets my vote. So a steaming bowl of my Coconut and Ginger Infused Rice Porridge would be a welcome breakfast in bed. So nourishing and grounding and made out of only properly prepared natural ingredients. Yum!

These Date and Cinnamon muffins are a cracker! With the gorgeous richness of dates and the warming sweetness of the cinnamon, it’s a match made in heaven! Plus with all the added benefits of vitamins and minerals and the cinnamons’s blood-stabilizing effects. These would be complemented beautifully with a steaming mug of hot chocolate made from my ‘Notella’ stirred into some hot milk. So indulgent, but still so healthy!

What’s your favourite Mother’s Day breakfast? I’d love to hear from you!

If you are interested in finding out my families top 10 breakfast recipes then sign up for a copy of my free breakfast ebook here.

Bren x

As outlined in my Big Batch Bircher Muesli post, Swiss nutritionist, Dr. Bircher-Brenner was the inventor of Bircher Muesli and believed that the raw, natural ingredients were essential to health and healing. The grated apple in the muesli, for example, is choc-full of awesome vitamins and minerals, not to mention adding some chopped seasonally fresh fruit on top for a nutritious sensation! I’m not overselling it, you’ll see …

The deliciously sweet and chewy dates kind of melt into the mixture overnight. They are easily digested and contain lots of fibre and nutritional goodness which protect our eyes, skin and mucus membranes, and from certain types of cancer. The crunchy walnuts soften in the mixture overnight, and add a lovely subtle texture to the bircher once soaked.

In a nutshell (pun intended), the Omega 3s found in walnuts help us in all sorts of ways, such as protecting against heart disease and cancer, and even mental illness.

Bircher is a perfect way to start the day, makes a great snack, and is perfect for the kids to take to school.

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my popular ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes. It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and take the guess work out of what delicious, healthy food to pack your kids for lunch!

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rolled Oats
Walnuts
Medjool Dates
Cinnamon

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

Some other breakfast recipes you might like are Brenda’s Breaky Balls and My Favourite Homemade Granola.

nbsp;

And it’s packed with all the beneficial ingredients needed to feed the gut bacteria, making for a happy digestive system : )

Swiss nutritionist Dr. Bircher-Brenner believed that the raw, natural ingredients of his muesli brew (brewsli!) would have healing properties for his patient’s health.

Bircher Muesli was born!

Soaking the oats and nuts and seeds overnight reduces the phytic acids. This not only makes them more digestible but also allows the body to absorb the nutrients more efficiently.

This is my family’s favourite homemade combination for bircher muesli, which is jam-packed full of goodness and a great way to start the day. There’s some in the fridge right now!

Got picky eaters? The Fussy Eating Bundle was created to help as many parents as possible instill positive eating habits in their children and provide a lifelong joyful relationship with food, thus creating peaceful, stress-free mealtimes. FIND OUR MORE HERE.

This is a big batch that will be enough to last for breakfast, snacks, and lunchboxes for the week. Top it with My Favourite Homemade Granola recipe to add some texture and crunch.

Print

Brenda's Big Batch Bircher Muesli

A delicious breakfast option to make mornings run smoothly.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 5 x cups of rolled oats
• 3 x cups of milk or coconut water or a combination of both
• A couple handfuls of almonds
• A couple handfuls of sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
• A couple handfuls of sultanas
• 2 x cups of natural yoghurt
• Juice of one orange
• 1 x grated apple
• A good shake of cinnamon
• A good pinch of vanilla powder

Instructions

• Mix all of the above together, cover and leave pop into the fridge overnight.
• In the morning, serve with extra milk and/or yoghurt, fresh seasonal fruit and a swirl of raw honey or pure maple syrup.

Notes:

* Fresh fruit is a fabulous source of fibre and has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases. In this recipe, I use grated apple, which is packed with vitamins like A, B1, B2, and C, as well as minerals like calcium, potassium, iodine, iron, and phosphorous.

* Oats can be powerful in lowering cholesterol and, therefore, fighting heart disease. Oats contain insoluble fibre which lowers blood sugar and control diabetes.

* Nuts and seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are associated with numerous health benefits including the development of the nervous system and reducing bad cholesterol. They are also are a great source of protein which is important for building and repairing muscles.

* Chia seeds deserve a special mention as they are highly nutritious and a natural source of Essential Fatty Acids, a great source of fibre, full of antioxidants, protein, amino acids, essential minerals, and vitamins.

* Yoghurt provides good bacteria for the digestive tract, is a good source of protein, and is loaded with vitamins like calcium, vitamin B-2, B-12, potassium, and magnesium.

So let’s think outside the cereal box and enjoy this nutrient-rich, healthy wholefood breakfast that is exploding with goodness!

Other breakfast recipes you might like Date and Walnut Bircher Muesli and Spiced Quinoa Porridge.