Granola: Baby Boomer Soul Food

Let them talk about our generation’s over-indulgence. At BoomerCafé, we’d rather think about our inventiveness. In communication, in convenience, and in … food? BoomerCafé co-founder David Henderson is grateful for the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs but these days, his heart really goes out to a younger woman named Michele. Why? Because she has come up with the best: Baby Boomer Soul Food:

I don’t know whether it is an indication of greater awareness or personal preference or maturing in my likes and dislikes … but I have been paying a lot more attention over the last decade or so to the quality of food I eat.

I love fish so why eat farm raised when wild caught fish is available even though it might cost a little more? Why drink mundane coffee when really outstanding coffee, such as Lavazza, costs no more, as I have previously written on BoomerCafé? Why eat meats, fruits and vegetables that are loaded of chemicals and growth hormones when organic and much healthier food is readily available?

And … so it is with granola, something I consider to be a soul food of the baby boomer generation.

I remember finding granola back in the ‘70s that was downright … yummy. It was made from fresh, healthy and organic ingredients. But, then, granola seemed to disappear to a large extent as a breakfast food as America turned to more processed foods. Much of the granola available on grocery shelves today is made from highly processed ingredients and sweetened with corn syrup, a toxic super-sweetener that’s banned in most countries. Consequently, the food value has been lost.

But, all that has changed for me. I rediscovered organic granola, made not by a baby boomer but by a younger woman named Michele Thornett (right), who simply desired to make better quality food than her baby boomer parents.

Michele founded a company in Silver Spring, Maryland, called, Michele’s Granola – made by hand with all-natural ingredients. Business is booming … among boomers, like me. All of a sudden, I have rediscovered a healthy food for breakfast.

“I actually think my interest in cooking and baking began because my (baby boomer) parents didn’t like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen,” Michele tells me. “I remember a lot of pre-packaged and frozen foods in my childhood. I had an interest in health foods and cooking and baking from scratch, so I liked to step in and make family dinners, birthday cakes, etc.

“But, I fell in love with granola while spending a summer on Martha’s Vineyard. A bakery there made wonderful granola bars. I ate one almost every day and I couldn’t find anything nearly as fresh or delicious when I moved back to the Washington, DC, area. Every product seemed to skimp on the good, crunchy stuff like seeds and nuts. So I began experimenting with my own recipes, giving granola to friends as gifts, and when I started working at the farmers market, a business was born.”

I’m hooked on Michele’s granola. It’s the best I’ve ever found, anywhere. And, you can now order it online.

Here’s a really neat part — A portion of the proceeds from Michele’s Granola is donated to help low-income women in developing countries start food businesses of their own. Visit KIVA.org to learn more!

Popularity: 50% [?]