It may have taken me 27 years but I now feel like I am ready to systematically and categorically organise my life. Not that I’m anticipating a dramatically impending sudden ending to my existence any time soon mind you but the force of the overbearing dark cloud that choses to linger over me from time to time is morphing into a size 10 shaped foot and giving me a much needed kick up the backside.
For so long I have always let the influence of others infiltrate me and set me upon paths that lead me to go knocking at all the wrong doors. I find I am naturally swayed by the simplest thoughts of other people so much so that I am naturally able to mentally digest their beliefs, desires and general way of thinking and turn them into manifestations of which I truly believe are of my own formation. Unfortunately for any psychoanalysts out there I wasn’t locked away in a darkened room as a child or treated unkindly by my parents (although my older sister frequently took it upon herself to constantly tell me that I was found under a bush), my ability to conform into ways that I thought would please other people is one that has taken time and much practice, now and only now am I able to let my own thoughts be projected however right or wrong other people perceive them to be.
Although I say I’m organising what I actually mean is that I have attained the ability to think in an organised matter .The piles of magazines sat in an un uniformed lump on my dining room chairs and the carefully placed clutter of unopened letters that are currently being held up by a strategically placed cupboard door would beg to differ, mentally I’m there, alphabetically coordinated box files and all if only I could just stop the difficult task of deciding what to have for breakfast filling my head up with thoughts of food then maybe I could get down to some serious life adjusting moments!
Always full of promise yet always distracted with thoughts of food, daily duties are physically impossible without the ingestion of something edible. I usually choose something that I can eat with the smallest spoon I can find, just so it makes the process of eating breakfast take that much longer. It has to be something substantial enough to endure the painfully time dragging hour between 12 and 1pm but nothing so heavy that it induces me to a much needed nap straight after.
Being an expert of muesli based cereal products its doubtless there is one I haven’t tried. More often than not I find myself bulking them out with the addition of a variety of different components. Making my own cereal seemed like a natural progression, that way I could pick out all the best bits from the mueslis I usually bought (the undeniably chunky brazil nuts and the plumped up rehydrated cherries) and get rid of all of the stuff that usually gets poignantly picked out and collected for a tropical brunch for the chickens (the desert worthy dehydrated dates).
Start yourself off with a base mix of some quality jumbo sized rolled oats, a few handfuls of dried fruit and nuts of your choice, mix it all up in a large sealable container and it will last you as long as you need it too. From here the world is your oyster, as well as just eating it addictively straight from the jar you could heat it up with some milk and make a muesli porridge, sprinkle some onto the topping of your favourite crumble or do as I have done here and toast some for just long enough to release some of those essential nutty oils and oat –y aromas to give you a breakfast that is truly worth procrastinating over while like me you contemplate organising the rest of your life.
Dark chocolate, strawberry and toasted oat muesli
Muesli base:
Around 1 kg jumbo rolled oats
500g mixed fruit of your choice
100g mixed nuts
Add anything of your choice i.e. Dried coconut, dried mango and pineapple, mixed seeds
Mix all together in a large bowl and keep in a sealed container for at least a month.
Toasted oat, dark chocolate and strawberry muesli:
1 handful muesli
2 small squares dark chocolate
1 small handful of strawberries
Put a medium sized frying pan on to a low heat, add your handful of muesli and toast gently, giving the pan a shake and a toss every now and then to ensure even toasting. After a couple of minutes remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
Once cooled chop your chocolate into small pieces and quarter your strawberries then add your toasted muesli. Serve with ice cold milk or a dollop of Greek yoghurt.
To go one step further and turn your muesli into a crunchy granola, pre – heat your oven to 160oc, place a single layer of your oat mixture on to a baking tray then mix in equal amounts of sunflower oil and golden syrup. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes then take the tray out and give everything a good stir. Put back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the mixture has started to turn a golden colour then remove and allow to cool. Serve as desired or store in a sealed container until needed
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