Rise, Shine, and Stay Warm with These Bircher Muesli Recipes

I totally overdid it on oatmeal last year, having it repeatedly for breakfast almost everyday. Inevitably, I burnt out on hot porridge, and have no appetite for it at the moment. But as the cold, winds, and occasional snows of winter approach, I've been looking for a hearty oats recipe with a touch of novelty to it.

Bircher muesli (known to some as overnight oats) are grains soaked in juice, milk, or water and combined with fresh fruit or jam, nuts or nut butters, seeds or anything else that takes your fancy. This is an easy, non-cook preparation method that can be made anywhere from 10 minutes to eight hours in advance, with endless variations possible. Below are three suggested recipes from around the web.
 

Pear and Sour Cherries 
Although they provide a wonderful creamy smoothness, chia seeds are not easily sourced in Beijing, and can omitted from this Jamie Oliver recipe. You can also substitute cranberries for sour cherries.
 

Basic Bircher
mylittlegourmet lays out a basic Bircher recipe; layer with your own seasonal toppings.

The Perfect Bircher
Felicity Cloake's "How to Make the Perfect ..." series on The Guardian sees the writer experimenting with multiple recipes in pursuit of the ultimate representation of each dish. She tries out recipes from Ireland's Darina Allen, the above mentioned Jamie Oliver, and fellow Guardian food columnist Yottam Ottolenghi (pictured top), distilling her research into a simpler overnight recipe.

This article first appeared on our sister site beijingkids.

Photos: Jamie Oliver, mylittlegourmet, The Guardian