In Chet Day's Health Tip from January 12 I found the following recipe
for muesli which in the US for too long has stood in the shadow of the
much more heavily processed "health food" granola:
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The Recipe Corner
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The information that follows was written by the late John Tobe in an
article entitled "Energy Unlimited." I've left out most of the article
in what I cite below, but if you want to read the complete text you
can visit it at http:/chetday.com/museli.html

What follows was taken from "Energy Unlimited" by John Tobe:

This formula is based upon the early Bircher-Benner Muesli system. The
first time that I tried Muesli my remark was, "If I've got to eat
stuff like this to be healthy, then I don't want to be healthy!"

Now if you were to go out tomorrow to one of the health food stores
and buy some of the Bircher-Benner Muesli (it goes under various
names) you'll say, "What in blazes was Tobe squawking about when he
said it didn't taste good?"

But hold it a jiffy! The package of Muesli that you buy is by no means
anything like the original Bircher-Benner formula. In the first place,
the Bircher-Benner original formula, like my 3-V cereal, was 100%
alive. You can readily understand that if the Bircher-Benner Muesli
that you buy in the store was 100% alive then they couldn't keep it on
the shelves, simply because it would soon be crawling with various
living organisms, especially at store temperatures of 70 and 80
degrees. Even under refrigeration it does not keep well enough.

Now the ingredients contained in the store-bought Bircher-Benner
Muesli are excellent but they are dead. In my 3-V cereal, as in the
original Bircher-Benner Muesli, they are alive. Besides, most of these
mueslis are imported and very expensive. The recipe I will give you
will enable you to have a much, much better Muesli at a very low
price. Ounce for ounce it will cost you even less than any packaged
crummy cereal on the market.

One of the big shortcomings that I found in the Bircher-Benner Muesli
was the lack of chlorophyll. I have taken the trouble to dig deeply
and study the merits of chlorophyll and they are tremendous... I
should say, earthshattering. I pondered as to how to get this into a
Muesli. I found the solution and that's why you find alfalfa herb [I
use AIM BarleyGreen--Chet] in the formula.

Buy the best ingredients that you can. None of them is expensive and
if dried fruits are too expensive, buy fresh fruits that are cheaper.
If dried peaches or dried apricots are too dear, use more raisins, use
more dried apples or dried pears or dates or figs.

I permit the use of a bit of milk, but not much milk is required if
you will soak the 3-V cereal overnight. In fact, better still, you can
soak a whole batch--enough to last a week--and keep it in the
refrigerator. I don't think it will suffer any harm and by having it
soaked, a lot of water will be absorbed and you will required very
little milk. Better still, do without any milk. I say that again,
better still, do without any milk! [Which is what I do--I don't use
any milk these days, period--Chet]

I have absolute and positive proof concerning the nutritive and the
beneficial value of the 3-V cereal because thousands of people through
the years have written or taken the trouble to tell me personally how
much they have benefited from using it.

I am not trying to sell you the cereal. I am giving you the formula.
Follow it as closely as possible and use it daily and feed it to your
family. Even if you have to persuade, coax, cajole or club your
children into taking it, do it for a few days. After that they'll take
it on their own and want or demand it.

I would like to clarify two points. First, the original Bircher-Benner
Muesli contained ground nuts. I deliberately omitted nuts because they
go rancid very quickly. Second, I now use and recommend only whole
grains--not ground or cracked. I find that by soaking the whole
mixture together all of the seeds soften enough to allow grinding and
chewing without any great effort. Even hard cereals like barley and
rice will soften enough to make them chewable and digestible.

Without boasting or exaggerating, it is the finest, the best balanced,
the most nutritious assembled food in the whole world. Be sure no
flaked, rolled grains... all whole grains.

3-V CEREAL
Oats .................................10 parts
Barley ...............................2 parts
Wheat ..............................2 parts
Rye ...................................2 parts
Buckwheat .......................2 parts
Millet .................................2 parts
Sesame ............................1 part
Flax ..................................1 part
Alfalfa Herb, Powdered.....2 parts (AIM BarleyGreen is far superior)
Dried Prunes ....................2 parts
Dried Raisins.....................2 parts
Dried Peaches .................1part
Dried Apricots ...................2 parts
DriedDates.......................1 part
Dried Figs.........................1 part

Total -- 15 Ingredients

Cut fruit into small pieces. Thoroughly mix fruits and grains
together.

Don't cook or heat... just add water--spring or well water
preferred... [I only use distilled water--Chet]... let soak overnight.

Add milk, cold or warm (never hot), if desired. Eat 2 to 5 tablespoons
every day or at least every other day.

It is most advisable to soak the ingredients because I want to return
the water that was originally in the food and this can only be done by
allowing it to soak. I get best results and the most satisfying flavor
by making enough to last me a week and keeping it in the refrigerator
and then every day or every other day taking out the quantity that I
want for that meal. Following this recipe alone will correct the
condition... that is the lack of energy and will provide you with
energy, all day and all night, if you want it. Isn't it tragic that
most people in the world don't know this simple answer to a very
difficult problem?

Now one more point. The best energy food in the world can be knocked
into a cocked hat if you drink a lot of booze and if you smoke a lot
of cigarettes or cigars or smoke a pipe or take drugs. This food will
work if you permit it to work, if you don't interfere with it.

Best, Peter
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