Maple Walnut Muesli with Strawberries

Walking through a farmer's market on one fine sunday morning introduced me to this Swiss breakfast cereal-muesli. I devoured that small little cup that morning. I figured it has oats, yogurt and fruits and exclaimed "Honey, I can make this at home" to my husband.

Coming home, the research started. Then I came to know that muesli does not just have oats, these are oats not cooked but soaked. Love it! Breakfast I don't have to cook. And, you can make this is large quantities, store it in your refrigerator and have it another time (those crazy - I am late- weekday mornings!).

I have made muesli a number of times but it wasn't quite hitting the right spot. It tasted great but something was missing. Then reading the muesli recipe on "Back to Basics" cookbook by Ina Garten gave me the idea of adding Granola to it. Right, it was missing the crunch. Without the granola it's too mushy mushy!

Coming to the flavor of muesli, it's very common to use strawberry flavored yogurt. That's great but there's nothing like fresh berries. Wouldn't you agree? I also added nuts for more bite into this recipe. Thinking of which nut to add, I thought of walnuts and my favorite flavor to go with that is maple. Hence, the maple walnut muesli. On a side note-I love maple walnut ice-cream!

You need:

¼ cup instant oats (I used Quaker 1-minute oats)

¼ cup granola (I used Quaker granola with raisins)

2 tablespoon chopped walnuts

1½ tablespoon pure maple syrup

pinch of salt

¼ cup hot water (I used the hottest water from my tap)

4-6 large strawberries, hulled and chopped/quartered

1½ teaspoon sugar

7oz plain greek yogurt (I used one 7 oz container of Chobani plain greek yogurt)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Method:

Soak the oats, granola, walnuts in the hot water with maple syrup and pinch of salt for 15 mins. While the oats are soaking, prepare the strawberries, add the sugar to them and allow to macerate. Mix the vanilla with the yogurt. Separate the oats in two parts, top with yogurt and berries and serve!