Ingredients
- 80 g rolled oats (jumbo or porridge oats)
- 1 tbsp ground linseed (flaxseed)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 200 ml water, or unsweetened almond or oat milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 crisp apples, unpeeled
- 150 g homemade or goat's yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt for a plant-based version)
To serve
- A small handful of hazelnuts or walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- Fresh berries, or a few slices of pear
- A drizzle of raw honey (optional)
Method
- Soak: in a bowl, mix the oats, linseed, chia and cinnamon with the water or milk and the lemon juice. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
- Grate: in the morning, coarsely grate the apples, skin and all, and stir them straight into the oats so they don't brown.
- Stir in the yoghurt: fold in the yoghurt until creamy. If it's too thick, loosen it with a splash of water or milk.
- Serve: spoon into bowls and top with the nuts, seeds and fruit, with a little honey if you like.
Why it's good for you: Dr Maximilian Bircher-Benner created this dish for his patients in Zurich around 1900. Soaking the oats overnight makes them easier to digest and helps release their minerals, while the oats, apple skin and linseed provide soluble fibres that feed friendly gut bacteria and help keep blood sugar steady. Live yoghurt adds beneficial bacteria.
Good to know: Choose oats labelled gluten-free if you avoid gluten. Keeps for up to 2 days in the fridge, but add the apple on the day.
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