Muesli or granola? Both are made with oats, nuts, fruits and seeds but typically muesli remains unbaked and granola is sweetened and baked with oil to form clusters.

It all began around 1900 with a Swiss physician called Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner who wanted to combat the ill effects of tuberculosis through improved diet. Far from being a nutritionist, Bircher-Benner first conceived the idea while studying medicine at the University of Zurich, experimenting with the effects raw food had on the body and later using himself as a lab rat after falling ill with jaundice. His recovery was proof-of-concept for the health benefits of raw apple, nuts and oats mixed with water, lemon juice and condensed milk.

Apfeldiätspeise (Apple Diet Meal) as Bircher museli was then known was intended as a starter to every meal, like bread and butter is today. Then, for a long time it became a Schweizer Znacht, a Swiss supper at night. But breakfast? Never!

Nowadays, our supermarket shelves are stacked with packets of muesli and granola but often include sugars and narsty oils.

These bars are unbaked but made with toasted nuts and rather than bind with oil, I have used dates, honey and nut butter. They are a good source of fibre and protein to help curb cravings between meals.

#GlobalApron