Early Riser

My year so far has consisted of fairly good eating, but I have to admit the morsel of chocolate after dinner or my afternoon diet coke (affectionately known as ‘poison’ by my work colleagues) is what keeps me going through the end of the day.  I know, I know, perhaps giving up the poison will be my 2014 resolution….

I am always surprised at how many people do not have breakfast.  I have no idea how they function at the start of the day, let alone keep going until lunch time.  Breakfast is I think my favourite meal of the day, cafes are often providing an all day breakfast menu, that’s how good this meal is!!!

Some friends have recently moved to Dubai to take up a job which is located a good 1 hour commute or further from Dubai.  This is not unusual here, lots of people commute to other Emirates from where they reside.

This often means leaving home in the morning at unimaginable hours.  In this case, I can understand why one may prioritise an extra 15 minutes sleep over a bowl of cereal when they have to leave home at 6am, or in our friend’s case, 4.30am!

When my husband and I were living in Sydney, we were very busy and started work early. Buying breakfast every morning was not a budget friendly or healthy option (more of a Friday treat), so I started making this breakfast loaf, a recipe by Bill Granger.  Over the years I have adapted it to be my own loaf recipe.  It is super healthy and contains everything you might normally find in a bowl of museli.  It can be made on the weekend, sliced up and frozen.  It is great fresh, toasted and buttered (if you really want it) and is quite filling.  Most importantly it is a great breakfast on the go, whether you are commuting, rushing to do the school run, or also a great breakfast to have a work a little later if you really can’t stomach breakfast as soon as you wake up.

Bircher Loaf (Breakfast on the Run)

One loaf yields about 12 slices

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius (my gas oven was at 190 degrees)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 360ml low fat milk
• 1 cup wholemeal plain flour
• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup oatbran
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup mixed sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• 50g sultanas
• 100g dried apricots
• 1 small to medium apple coarsely grated
• 1 small to medium banana mashed
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

To Make

1. Grease and line a loaf tin.
2. Place the oats in a bowl with the milk and allow to soak while preparing the rest of the ingredients.  I also put the eggs, honey, banana and apple into this bowl of wet ingredients.
3. Sift the flours and baking powder into a bowl.
4. Add the sultanas, apricots, cinnamon, oatbran, flax seeds and sunflowers and pumpkin seeds.
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix gently until combined.
6. Pour mix into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 50 – 60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

PS – Feel free to add whatever dried fruits take your fancy such as dried figs or cranberries.  The seeds can also be replaced with chopped walnuts for a nuttier version.