Coastin Carl
🍫 National GRANOLA BAR Day ORIGIN & HISTORY
Granola is eaten all around the world. It’s combined in a bowl with nuts, fruits, and/or chocolate and baked until crisper, more chewy, and generally a toasted golden brown. National GRANOLA BAR Day is celebrated on January 21st. And it actually has a muddled and varied history behind it.
The history of granola started out just like Kellogg’s Corn Flakes did — in a sanitarium. Both the inventor of corn flakes and granola did so to provide better nutrition to their patients in the form of complex carbohydrates. This was very different then the standard steak and eggs, sausages and pancakes served as breakfast foods in the American household at the time. It wasn’t the healthiest of stuff.
Granula is the very first version of granola and was invented in 1863 by Dr James Jackson. The good doctor ran a sanitarium outside Dansville, New York USA. He initially made it by crumbling up Graham flour and baking it. Graham flour is very similar to our whole-wheat of today except that it’s more coarsely ground and not sifted at all during milling. It was named after Sylvester Graham. Jackson did form Our Home Granula Company and trademarked the name Granula.
However, granola would disappear for a very long time partially due to Dr Kellogg’s relentless push for his corn flake cereal.
It then made a resurgence in the 1960s and went forward to grow during the hippie, healthy foodie movement. Charles W Post came on the scene with Grape-Nuts, and reinvented the original granula recipe by mixing flour, salt, and dried yeast and baking it in a pan. He then would grind it all up in a coffee grinder. It had resistance to spoilage and became a US wartime jungle ration.
Let’s be clear there are “numerous” individuals attributing the revival and rebooting of granola around the same time. One such person is the renowned hippie Wavy Gravy, who used granola to feed festival-goers of Woodstock. Layton Gentry, the man behind Layton Gentry’s Original Crunchy Granola, used oats as his main ingredient.
As news of granola started to grow, different corporations started making their own varieties commercially available as they’re prone to do. Pet Incorporated introduced the first major commercial granola called Heartland Natural Cereal in 1972. Quaker Oats would move swiftly to market with Quaker 100% Natural Granola. But the name eventually changed to Harvest Crunch after Gentry threatened to sue. 1973 was the year General Mills announced the legendary Nature Valley and Kelloggs brought Country Morning Cereal to market. In the words of Doc Ock, “Things are just starting to heat up!”
Sadly the person who invented the granola bar is yet still completely clear.
It’s believed that Stanley Mason was the inventor of the actual granola bar in 1975. Herrick Kimball has also made a claim to being the inventor of the granola bar by taking the granola recipe and forming it into a candy bar shape. He shows a letter he wrote as a teenager detailing his invention also in 1975. We’re unsure if Mason also put oats and things into a bar form before Kimball because he’s no longer living.
One thing we ARE sure of is that the granola bar was the predecessor to the cereal bar of all types and is tasty. It’s said to be part of a $3 billion industry. That’s a lot of oats & honey!
HOW to Celebrate & Observe National GRANOLA BAR Day?
Not sure how to LOVE the day? We’ve got a few interesting ideas to consider that may help get you started.
Here are some activities that you can do on National GRANOLA BAR Day!
💙 TURN on the Oven
Today we whipped up some yummy & healthy granola bars for everyone with a little love & appreciative notes. This time we used an America’s Test Kitchen recipe found in The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs. You can find it in the breakfast section although a few swaps were made. Peanuts were substituted for pecans, sugar was replaced with coconut sugar and stevia, and we added Lily’s stevia & erythritol sweetened chocolate chips with a few dried cherries.
If you make a few swaps like these in making granola bars, it should ease any Reese’s fix you may have. This cookbook is great because the recipes are kid-friendly but also cooking methods packed with good ingredients for the most part in order to help with children’s nutritional needs. It’s fun to experiment with your own.
Anna Olson is another good baker and I’ve included her video for nutritious homemade granola bars below.
💙 BUY yourself a Granola Bar
Head on out to the nearest store and grab a family pack. That way you can include one in each day’s lunch or hiking trail outing. Evaluate different flavors to see which one wins out. After all, unless you get a good deal on the ingredients, it will roughly cost 10% more to make your own than to buy one.
💙 Better yet MAKE a Parfait
Making a parfait is great any time be it dessert, as a snack, or for breakfast. You can choose your favorite yogurt, milk, fresh fruit like bananas, kiwi, strawberries, or blueberries. Don’t forget a drizzle of honey!
💙 RAISE Social Awareness
Use social media posts with the hashtag #NationalGRANOLABARDay to support the importance of celebrating, promoting, and sharing with the world why you ❤️ National GRANOLA BAR Day.
LEARN how to make nutritious homemade GRANOLA BARS
FIVE Fun Facts you never knew about National GRANOLA BAR Day
- Granola bars are a convenient way to eat the same ingredients found in granola but they are cooked and prepared as a bar and wrapped individually for convenience.
- The first granola bar sold in the United States was patented and manufactured by Edward Thayer Sr in Chico, California.
- Elsewhere in the world, granola bars are known by many names including Swiss-derived muesli bars, Asian cereal bars, or even a British oat flapjack. Although some of the textures might be softer and chewier than a traditional granola bar.
- The trademark has largely fallen off in North America, etc and only Australia and New Zealand hold a trademark for “Granola” although it’s largely known there as muesli bars.
- There’s even a Jewish adaptation that’s eaten over the Passover holiday called Matzo granola.
Famous PEOPLE also born on January 21st
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Thomas J “Stonewall” Jackson
Confederate general during the US Civil War who led a famous combat unit called the “Stonewall Brigade”. The 116th Infantry Brigade to this day bears the same unofficial nickname. Born 1824.
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Christian Dior
French fashion designer who initially took up drawing and eventually sold sketches to magazines and couture houses. Quote: “Happiness is the secret to all beauty, there is no beauty that is attractive without happiness.” Born 1905.
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Plácido Domingo
World-renowned Spanish opera singer and conductor known for his versatility as a tenor and baritone in over 100 complete operas. Born 1941.
Future DATES for National GRANOLA BAR Day
| Year | Date | Day of the Week |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | January 21 | Saturday |
| 2024 | January 21 | Sunday |
| 2025 | January 21 | Tuesday |
| 2026 | January 21 | Wednesday |
| 2027 | January 21 | Thursday |
Granola Bar FAQ
Are granola bars healthy?
- Only if you eat plant-based bars that contain plenty of protein, fiber, and fat of a healthy variety. Look for ones with dried fruits, whole grains, and healthy nuts, preferably something other than a peanut.
What’s a granola bar made of?
- Oftentimes they have quinoa, puffed brown rice, buckwheat, millet, and other whole grains including oats & barley for better texture. Certain artisanal granola bars also use spices, herbs, and dried fruits such as cranberries, cherries, dates, apricots, and of course coconut to change the taste. There are even savory granola bar varieties. Some sort of sweetener is customary including honey, molasses, corn syrup, agave nectar, monk fruit, etc. These days some bar variations include a type of cream or nut butter in the middle of two thin granola bars. There are many unhealthier combinations with chocolate and peanut butter chips, yogurt-covered raisins, and the like.
Why we L💜VE National GRANOLA BAR Day
Granola bars are marketed as healthy snacks. They’re often eaten in conjunction with an exercise activity. Read the labels of store-bought granola bars to determine if it compliments any food sensitivities or dietary needs you may have. Some bars are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, or may not have any refined sugars or high fructose corn syrup. Look at the label: just because it says it’s a granola bar and the package makes it appear healthy doesn’t mean it’s not just as bad or nearly as bad as any other junk food. Be discerning not assuming!
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Granola Bars CAN be Healthy
They can pack in some good nutrition in a tiny package. They make great post-workout treats for those running events or long hikes ahead of you. That’s great if you’re avoiding sugars while packing good nutrients, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and a bit of protein. Granola bars are a yummy way to find sustainable energy to get you through the day.
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A Great Temporary Meal Replacement
You may be running late at work and don’t have time for lunch. It’s our favorite on-the-go snack which requires no preparation. And of course for short-term day hikes where you need to cook a meal – they’re great!
