Recipe: Mark Bittman’s Homemade Cold Cereal

The first time I ate muesli I was in Denmark. It was made with an assortment of nuts and dried fruits and made (of course) with whole milk. The whole mass had been soaking overnight. Right before serving, fresh blueberries were mixed in. It didn’t exactly look beautiful because of the pallid color of the raw oats, but those same pale oats were transformed into a lovely thick creamy mess, lightly sweetened by the dried fruit.

Next Sunday, May 5th, I’m interviewing Mark Bittman at New Roads theatre in Santa Monica about his new book VB6: Eat Vegan Before Six to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health…For Good. In preparation, I have gone VB6 – at least as much as I can stand it. I’ve reacquainted myself with muesli via Mark’s VB6 recipe for Homemade Cold Cereal. It’s a mash up of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and coconut. I like making it with my own homemade almond milk and a few fresh berries or banana slices on top.

Hear my conversation with Mark about VB6 below and buy tickets for the May 5th event here.

Homemade Cold Cereal

(From Mark Bittman’s VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6 to Lose Weight and Restore your Health for Good)

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup mixed choppednuts and seeds (like almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds or flax seeds)

1/2 cup raisins or other chopped dried fruit

1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or cardamom, or to taste

Pinch salt

4 cups soy or oat milk, or other nondairy milk, for serving

1. Combine the oats, nuts and seeds, raisins, coconut, and spices in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 months.

2. To serve, put about 1 cup in a bowl and top with 1/2 cup milk. If you have some time, let the bowl sit for 5 to 10 minutes to let the oats absorb some of the milk so they’ll soften and sweeten.

Makes 4-6 servings.