January 21 – Oh the chewy oaty goodness! Today is National Granola Bar Day. Here we are, two-thirds of the way through Oats and Oatmeal Month, and the calendar tells us it’s National Granola Bar Day. First a definition of “granola bar” is in order. Since oats are one of the key ingredients of any granola, we’re defining granola bar to be any chewy, bar-shaped concoction that contains oats. Granola bars are also usually very dense, composed of chunks of stuff with something sticky holding them together. If there are expanses of plain dough, you’re getting suspiciously close to cookie territory. Inventor Stanley Mason is credit by some with creating the first granola bar. This is the guy who invented the first disposable contoured diaper, the squeezable ketchup bottle, and the dental floss dispenser, so it’s not hard to picture him coming up with the granola bar. On the other hand, a fellow named Herrick Kimball swears he came up with the idea first, in 1975, when he was just 17. Mason died in 2006, so it’s unlikely the matter will ever be resolved . Whoever invented the concept, you can invent your own variation and take credit. The basic ingredients are: • Oats • Other grains (flakes, wheat germ, etc.) • Chunky things (dried fruits, nuts, seeds, coconut, etc.) • Sweetener (honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc.) • Fat or oil (nut butter, butter, oil, coconut oil) • Flavorings (vanilla, cinnamon The basic instructions are: 1. mix everything together 2. press into a pan 3. cook for a little while and cool 4. cut into bars You can do this. Your kids can do this. You can have fun – and the kids can wow their friends when they bring their own granola bars to school. (Or you can wow the person in the next cubicle, at work.) We recommend you start by trying an existing recipe to get the hang of it, then have fun experimenting. When you make your own, you can keep the sweetness to a reasonable level, for a much healthier bar.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000
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