Hazelnut cranberry muesli with buttered apples. Photo / Babiche Martens
Breakfast for pudding
Create an instant dinner-worthy pudding by piling alternate layers of toasted muesli (add some chopped nuts and dried fruit for interest), thick yoghurt (passionfruit flavoured, berry or plain) and lightly poached stone fruit or berries (simmer over-ripe plums, peaches or berries in orange juice, a scrape of zest,
sugar or honey to taste). Layer into parfait glasses - or tall drinking glasses - finishing with a final sprinkle of muesli.
Bar none
Start the year with some tins of healthy snacks - muesli bars or cookies. Easy to make and, unlike the supermarket packet bars, not laden with sugars or additives. Melt 150g butter, cup of honey and cup of sugar, add cup of flour, 5 cups of muesli and 2 cups of cornflakes (or crushed wheat breakfast biscuits). Add cup of raisins or other chopped fruit, pat firmly into a slice tin and bake at 170C for 30 minutes. You may like to vary the sweeteners (try golden syrup or brown sugar for a deeper caramel taste), add chopped nuts, seeds or peanut butter, or chocolate chips, if you must.
Crumbs
For old-fashioned summer crumble, rub butter through toasted muesli and pat out over lightly stewed summer fruit (again, use up over-ripe or less-than-sweet fruit). To vary, add chopped nuts, seeds such as sesame, sunflower or pumpkin, coconut threads or wheatgerm. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crumble is golden. Or halve peaches, remove the stones and stuff the crumble into the cavity, and bake. Perfect with yoghurt, creme fraiche or icecream.
