While you are deciding what to eat at breakfast time, oatmeal and muesli are two cereal grain options that come to your mind as your first choices. Breakfast is one of the main meals in a day, so we need to eat something healthy and nutritious to power our bodies to get the days started.
There is a common misunderstand between muesli and granola. Both are the same to some extent, but there is one outlying distinction between the two.
What is the difference between muesli vs granola? Both muesli and granola are made with a mixture of whole grains, including rolled oats, dried fruits, nuts and seeds. The main difference is that muesli is uncooked while granola is cooked.
They are both nutritious and healthy as well as fulfilling your appetite. The blend contain fiber rich food items and have some nutritional value to provide good health containing a rich source of dietary fiber, complex carbohydrates and plant based protein.
So, let’s discuss the key points of differences between both food items. How are they similar, yet different, how are they eaten, which one is healthier and how do they benefit your weight loss goals.
Difference Between Muesli and Granola
The main difference between granola and muesli is their cooked status. Both these items are made of nuts, dried fruits, grains, and seeds, but muesli is unbaked and granola is baked or cooked at the time of preparation.
Granola needs some oil and sweetener to bind all the ingredients together to give it the signature crunch and large sized clusters.
Apart from this, muesli can be served and eaten cold, or heated up just like a bowl of porridge. On the other hand, granola is always eaten cold with cold milk, water or yogurt.
So, you can see, granola contains natural sweetener and oil such as honey to bind the ingredients and crisp the texture. But on the other hand, muesli comes as a dry loose mixture that is ready to be eaten as a cold cereal or hot porridge.
What is Muesli?
Muesli is a mixture of nuts, seeds, dried fruits and whole grains, typically including rolled oats. It is one of the most popular breakfast cereals in Europe, commonly soaked overnight, eaten as a cold cereal or warmed with liquid to make a porridge.
The ingredients in muesli are not baked, rather they arrive loose and raw. It is primarily made with rolled oats and other types of whole grains such as buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa and millet.
Ingredients vary, but you can also get it as a mixture of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits as well. It is not at all baked, so there is no need for sweeteners and oil to bind all the ingredients together.
It is soaked overnight or served as a cold cereal with milk, juice, water or dairy free milks. The liquid softens the ingredients and makes the mixture soft and palatable, just like a porridge.
What is Granola?
Granola is one of the classic breakfast cereals and one of the most popular choices in America. Granola is made with the same ingredients as muesli, whole grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruits, but it is cooked or baked.
Granola is baked with natural sweetener and oil, which helps to bind the mixture together and give it the signature crunch of toasted ingredients. A natural sweetener such as honey, maple syrup and cane sugar is used to caramelize the coating to create a classic crunchiness.
The crispy goodness is enjoyed by everyone as you can eat it with yogurt, milk or even served as a topping on fruit cobblers. Apart from this, if you want to enjoy the crunchiness as a breakfast cereal or you can simply eat it by the handful.
Granola is served and eaten cold, unless it is used as a topping for baked goods.
Here are homemade granola recipes that are guaranteed to wow your tastebuds.
Benefits of Oats
Oats are one of the healthiest and most nutritious whole grains. Oats are gluten-free and help to achieve weight loss goals. They are good for heart health, reducing cholesterol, and lowering blood sugar levels.
Here are some benefits of oats and oatmeal that are sure to catch your attention:
- Oats are very much nutritious and a well-balanced source of complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, healthy lipids and plant based protein. It contains more nutritional value than most other cereal grains.
- Whole grain oats are rich with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory plant chemical compounds.
- Oats have insoluble and soluble fiber, including beta-glucan dietary fiber.
- Oats can lower cholesterol levels and are good for heart health.
- Oats can improve blood sugar control with reduced insulin levels.
- It can fill your appetite and keep you feeling fuller for a long time, making it a healthy option for weight loss.
Granola or muesli, which is healthier?
Granola and muesli are both nutritious and healthy whole grain sources of plant based goodness. However, you will notice that granola is sweetened and coated in oil, but muesli is not.
Apart from this, granola contains cooked oats but muesli has raw oats. Both breakfast items have significant calories, but granola has more calories due to the sweeteners and oil.
As per the healthy quota, muesli appears to be the healthier option.
When it comes to the matter of healthiness, then it depends on the ingredients of both items. Granola has 3.5 grams of fat and 220 calories, but muesli has 3 grams of fat and 140 calories.
Muesli is commonly soaked in a liquid that contains some sort of extra sweeteners. Ultimately, the toppings or mixing you add to the cereal can have a large effect on the overall health of the dish.
Check the label before making you final decision about which brand is healthiest for you. Watch the mix-ins you add to the dish to keep avoidable calories from creeping up in count.
Muesli vs Granola for Weight Loss
Both are healthy breakfast items, but if you want to try it for losing your weight then muesli is one of the most nutritious choices for weight loss. Muesli is a little bit healthier than granola as it cuts out the extra fats and sugars.
Granola contains sweetener and oil, both are ingredients that increase the caloric intake. Muesli has low sugar levels and contains fewer calories.
The sweetness in muesli comes from the dried fruits, which makes it healthier and more nutritious. Eating muesli for breakfast can help you lose weight by keeping calories low, while providing a sense of fullness from the high fiber content of the fruits and whole grains.
Granola vs Muesli: Final Thoughts
You do not need to force a decision between eating muesli and granola as a breakfast cereal. The beneficial nutritional value of both are equally rewarding in their own way.
Both muesli and granola contain similar ingredients such as whole grains, predominantly rolled oats, along with dried fruits, nuts and seeds. The major differences being that granola also has sweeteners and oil, which help to bind the ingredients together and create a crispy crunch when the mixture is cooked.
But if you are trying to lose some weight, then you should probably eat muesli. The added fats and sugars increase the caloric content which could detrimentally impact your weight loss goals.
Both are oat-based breakfast cereals, and both are extremely popular, healthy and beneficial breakfast cereals. So, now you can lose your weight and keep your heart healthy by having these delicious and nutritions whole grain foods.