What is Muesli?

While dry oats and flakes made from bran or rye may not sound very appetizing, when you blend them with dried fruits, nuts and a fresh dollop of yogurt or a splash or milk, you have a breakfast that is filling, tasty and nutritious. You have the favorite breakfast cereal of many Europeans and a growing number of Americans known as Muesli.

Muesli was first invented by Dr. Bircher during the early 1900s. Dr. Bircher was a Swiss physician who operated his own health spa and retreat in the mountains of Switzerland. The growing industrialism of the turn of the century caused many well known Europeans to desire more natural ways of life. Dr. Bircher’s retreat offered a vegetarian diet that focused on fresh fruits and vegetables. He created muesli as a high fiber breakfast cereal. However, the muesli he created looks somewhat different from our modern favorites. Traditional Bircher muesli consists mainly of shredded fruits such as apples and oranges, some dried fruits like raisins and a small amount of oats.

Muesli is available commercially in almost all of the United States and in every European country. While many Americans are still eating sugary cold cereals with little to no nutritional value, some health conscious citizens have found muesli and milk or yogurt to be a energy boosting way to start their day.

Whether you purchase your muesli in box at the grocery store, from a bulk bin in a health food store or you’d like to learn to mix your own blends, we’re here to help. We’re going to give you plenty of recipes, muesli nutrition information, commercial muesli brand reviews and our own on-going muesli mixing experiments.