The Granolaphiles

The topic of granola is an interesting one for natural food geeks like me. I wasn’t around during the birth of the healthy/natural/organic food movement, but it seems like granola was one of the first items to signify this shift towards better eating. Even now, granola serves as the hackneyed representative for all things edible, earthy, and crunchy. But we “granola types” are often baffled by the fact that this supposedly healthy food is usually full of fat (often saturated) and sugar (often refined). I can’t complain much about the whole grains that actually define the stuff, but really, when it comes to breakfast or even a quick snack, I’d rather eat something a little less sweet and a little less decadent than your average packaged granola.

The problem is, of course, that granola is really, really tasty. And the basic granola canvas – whole oats, some sweetener, and something to bind it all together – is a great vehicle for all sorts of intriguing flavors. Ginger, almond, fig, vanilla, raspberry, maple, macadamia….the list goes on and on. I’m convinced, and I think rightly so, that granola doesn’t have to be a big old bowl of greasy, sweet deliciousness. It can also be filled with unrefined, not-too-sweet, whole-grainy and fiber-y goodness. You just have to be wary when it comes to choosing your brands.

To be honest, I almost never purchase packaged granola. I make a batch from scratch every once in a while, and use just a bit of sweetener and fat. You’d be amazed at some of the “healthy” recipes I’ve found for granola: entire sticks of butter, cups of white sugar, white chocolate chips…if I’m using those kinds of ingredients I’d much rather bake a cake and call it a day. And when it comes to the store-bought stuff, I’m always afraid that if I buy a whole package I’ll end up eating the whole thing, and not over the course of two weeks in half-cup increments. Unfortunately, granola is one of those calorically-dense things that I’ll eat way too much of if left to my own snacking devices. However, if I’m going to buy some (as I did today), it has to have relatively little sugar, nothing refined or artificial, and preferably, a very small amount of (plant-based) fat.

Thus begins what I anticipate will be a multi-post suite of granola files, for granolaphiles. In a market that seems completely saturated with granola products, I’m amazed at how often I come across new varieties and brands. And of course, the myriad brands that are standard Whole Foods contenders are so varied in terms of flavors and styles, that it seems like a significant task to cut through all the garbage and really find out what the good stuff is. But, with some highly discriminating granola criteria, I think it can be done.

First up is Galaxy Granola, which is a brand I’d heard of but never seen until today, at the Ferry Building farmers market in San Francisco. After snooping through all the fruit and vegetable stalls, I happened upon a little stand offering samples and bags of this all-natural, low-fat granola. Galaxy’s angle on granola is using fruit purees instead of oils to serve as binders. This means no added fat, and a significantly less caloric granola treat. The sample of the day was vanilla almond, which, while tasty, was a bit too almond extract-y for my tastes. What really intrigued me was the “Not Sweet Vanilla.” In addition to being low in fat, this flavor is supposed to be low in sugar, clocking in at 7 grams per half cup.

For granola, that’s not so bad. Bear Naked Fruit & Nut, for example, has 10 grams per half cup, and 180 calories. Cafe Franny granola (ultra-gourmet) has 11 grams of sugar and 300 calories.  Galaxy Not Sweet Vanilla has a mere 155 calories. And for the record, Galaxy Not Sweet is sweetened only with fruit, and not with honey, maple syrup, or cane syrup. Personally, I don’t particularly care about this; fruit concentrates are almost as sugary as syrups, so all that really matters to me is the amount of sugar in the end product (relatively low in this case, but not compared to something like a bowl of plain oatmeal or Cheerios).

So how does it taste? I rather like the Galaxy granola. It is definitely not as cloying as some granolas tend to be, and the grain mixture includes some crisped brown rice, which lightens the mix. The granola itself comes without any add-ins like nuts or dried fruits, so you can either add your own for a trail-mix spin, or enjoy it as is. The texture is crunchy, and tends to form little clusters, which make it a nice topping for yogurt (or, ahem, ice cream).

Galaxy Granola is the closest product I’ve found to my own homemade granola, and I’ll even admit that their texture (crispy, and light) is a bit more pleasant than that of my own recipe. If I was in the mood for a crunchy granola snack, I would definitely buy this granola again. It’s not cheap, at about $5 per bag, but it’s easier than making my own (which I don’t always have time to do). The only problem, of course, is that Galaxy Granola isn’t sold anywhere near me, which is rather unfortunate. Boston may not be the biggest city, but perhaps San Francisco-based Galaxy will make it to my neck of the universe sometime in the near future. Until then, perhaps it will be my on-vacation-only breakfast treat.