CEiMB: Muesli Parfaits

This is my week to pick a recipe for the Craving Ellie in My Belly, and I decided to go with something a bit different than my previous picks.  My other picks included Curried Chicken Salad, Salmon Cakes with Creamy Sesame Sauce, and Sesame Shrimp Fried Rice with Cabbage.  I decided to go the complete opposite way with this pick.  I picked the Muesli Parfaits from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. Muesli, in case you didn't know is defined as a breakfast dish consisting of milk, uncooked oats, fruit, and nuts.  I have often seen it done with yogurt, and that is how Ellie makes it as well.  I often eat a makeshift muesli for breakfast.  I will mix some yogurt and some granola together, pack it in a container, and eat it when I get to work.  By that time, the granola has softened, and sweetened the yogurt.

I really liked this recipe, you can make it the night before, and have a healthy breakfast in the morning. I used a combination of blueberries and cherries.  They go well with the honey and vanilla that is in the yogurt.  It's not overly sweet, which is good because I used some plain granola instead of the just oats, so I didn't need a lot of added sugar.  I would recommend this dish for a quick, healthy breakfast.  Be sure to check out the Craving Ellie in My Belly blogroll to see what the other bloggers did with their recipe!


Muesli Parfaits
    serves 4

• 1/2 cup unsalted raw almonds
• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (I used some plain almond and honey granola)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen, if using strawberries, hull and halve them

Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Chop them coarsely.

In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, yogurt, oats, honey, and vanilla.  Divide the oat mixture evenly among 4 small dishes or parfait glasses.  Top each with 1/2 cup of berries, then 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds.  Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.  The parfaits with keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator.