We put chocolate in our granola. Want to find out more about it?- see the
recipe at the bottom.
What is Granola? According to wikipedia, granola is "a breakfast food and snack
food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey, and sometimes rice, that is usually baked until crispy. During the baking process the mixture is stirred to maintain
a loose, breakfast cereal-type consistency. Dried fruits, such as raisins and dates, are sometimes added.
HISTORY of Granola
The names Granula and Granola were trademarked terms in the late nineteenth century United States for foods consisting of whole
grain products crumbled and then baked until crispy; in contrast with the contemporary invention, muesli, which is traditionally not baked
or sweetened. The name is now trademarked only in Australia (by the Australian Health & Nutrition Association Ltd.'s Sanitarium
Health Food Company).
Granula was invented in Dansville, New York, by Dr. James Caleb Jackson at the Jackson Sanitarium in 1894. The Jackson
Sanitarium was a prominent health spa that operated into the early twentieth century on the hillside overlooking Dansville. It was
also known as Our Home on the Hillside; thus the company formed to sell Jackson's cereal was known as the Our Home Granula
Company Granula was composed of Graham flour and was similar to an oversized form of Grape-Nuts.
A similar cereal was developed by John Harvey Kellogg It too was initially known as Granula, but the name was changed to Granola
to avoid legal problems with Jackson
The food and name were revived in the 1960s, and fruits and nuts were added to it to make it a health food that was popular with
the hippie movement. At the time, several people claim to have revived or re-invented granola.
In 1972, Jim Matson, an executive at Pet Milk (later Pet Incorporated) of Saint Louis, Missouri, introduced Heartland Natural Cereal, the
first major commercial granola At almost the same time, Quaker introduced Quaker 100% Natural Granola. Within a year, Kellogg's
had introduced its "Country Morning" granola cereal and General Mills had introduced its "Nature Valley."
In 1974, McKee Baking (later McKee Foods), makers of Little Debbie snack cakes, purchased Sovex. In 1998, the company also
acquired the Heartland brand and moved its manufacturing to Collegedale. In 2004, Sovex's name was changed to "Blue Planet Foods."
Granola is a healthy , but expensive if you buy it in the store. When we buy it, it's usually around $4 for a small box that may last
2 breakfasts. We buy generic or other low-cost granola and we only have four people in our family, but granola still took a bite out
of our budget, so we usually only had it occasionally. We usually ate cereal or toast because it fast and simple.
A friend gave us a basic recipe and we played with it until we found something we all like and still have it be healthy.
Makes about 8 cups
1 cup butter ($1)
1 cup Brown sugar ($.50)
4 cups quick oats ($.75)
4 cups old fashioned oats ($.75)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup raw chocolate bits (found in local health food store) ($1.50)- very healthy for you
1/3 cup chopped banana chips ($.50)
Melt butter and sugar in a large pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt & cinnamon. Stir in remaining ingredients. Mix until evenly
coated. Place into two cookie sheets with edges. Bake at 375 degree for 10 minutes. Let cool and place in air tight container.
For about $5
1) you have enough "gourmet" granola to last a week.
2) the children think it's great that mom is letting them have chocolate for breakfast.
3) you have a breakfast that's filling.
4) you're not feeding your children lots of preservatives.
5) you have a quick breakfast
To have a product that is easier to eat with your fingers, double the sugar and butter. This will help clump the ingredients together.
We use this for snacks and church funtions.
To make a trail mix, use the snack recipe and add whatever you want to after the mix cools.
Making your own granola allows you to make it the way your family like it. My dd despises raisins, but most granola contain raisins.
If you can't find the raw coaoa bean bits, or if it's too expensive, delete it. You can add dates, nuts, dried berries, or whatever
else your family likes. Experiment and have fun. Below is a picture of the batch we made this morning- it also has 8 oz
chopped dates in it.
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