Deep Dark Chocolate Muesli

Until last summer, the appeal of muesli completely escaped me. I wanted to like it…wholesome oats mixed with dried fruit and nuts, sometimes soaked overnight in milk or yogurt, sometimes not. I’d first encountered it on a childhood trip with a friend whose family ate something called Alpen, which came in a small box featuring the Swiss Alps on the cover. So European. So sophisticated. So not for me.

Pass the Cheerios, please.

I just couldn’t get past the raw oats. I like my oats anything BUT raw, thankyouverymuch.

A New Kind of Muesli

That was until I got a taste of muesli at a hotel breakfast buffet over the summer that I could finally wrap my tastebuds around. It wasn’t just oats and a few nuts tossed in for good measure. It had loads of other goodies including crispy cereal, seeds, and the kicker: little bits of dark chocolate chopped up and mixed throughout. I ate it every morning at that hotel and started making my own version as soon as I landed back in my home kitchen. I’m now about 10 batches in and feel pretty close to the hotel muesli that inspired all this experimentation. Here’s the mix: rolled oats, golden raisins, toasted almonds, Uncle Sam’s Cereal, toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped dark chocolate, and if I have it in the cupboard, chia, hemp or flax seeds. I mix equal parts fresh fruit to muesli and cover it all with plain yogurt or cold milk.

Pass the Muesli Jar

A jar of dark chocolate muesli is now a staple in our kitchen. Mr. Mom’s Kitchen starts many work days with a bowl; if I add a touch of honey or brown sugar, the kids will sometimes go for it too. It’s wholesome, immensely satisfying, and is less caloric than most granola.

Plus, I feel a little bit like I’m on vacation in the Swiss Alps with every bowl. 

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Deep Dark Chocolate Muesli

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds or other favorite chopped nuts
• 1 cup Uncle Sam's Cereal or crisp brown rice cereal
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/3 cup golden raisins , regular raisins, or dried cranberries
• 2 to 3 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (1/3 to 1/2 cup or so)
• 1/4 cup chia seeds , hemp seeds, or ground flax meal (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put the rolled oats and almonds on a baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 20 minutes.
3. Remove baking sheet and let the oats and nuts cool for about 10 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, mix the oats, nuts, cereal, pumpkin seeds, raisins, chocolate, and chia seeds. The chocolate may melt a bit and form little clumps, which is part of what makes it tasty.
5. Store in an air-tight container.