The History of Granola

If you’re an active person dedicated to a healthy living lifestyle, you probably eat granola regularly. If you’re like many people today, your days may be jam-packed with activity. A granola-like mixture may be a frequent go-to meal or snack because its easy to prepare, portable and an ideal grab-and-go health food. You might be surprised to find out that your healthy go-to snack has been around since the 1800s.

The Pre-Granola Period

Pre-granola, there was granula. Before granula became popular, Dr. Sylvester Graham created what we know as graham crackers. Dr. Graham advocated living a healthy lifestyle and eating accordingly. He promoted a vegetarian diet. He promoted home cooking and his idea that people should only eat homemade bread led to the invention of graham crackers. It’s believed by some that graham crackers were largely responsible for the creation of granula.

In the mid-1800s, Dr. James Caleb Jackson operated a health spa in Dansville, New York. As part of the healthy living aspect the spa promoted, a product known as granula was created and served to the elite visitors to the spa. Granula was made from Graham flour that underwent a special drying process.

The Next Phase

In the 1850s Dr. John Kellogg took granula to a more flavorful level. During this time, the healthy living movement was accelerating. Dr. Kellogg experiment with ways to make whole grains more palatable and exciting. As a result of his effort, a healthy breakfast cereal was created and given the name granola. Little else was done regarding this healthy grain mixture until the early 1900s.

Charles W. Post revived the idea of improving the flavor of grain cereal to entice more people to eat it and benefit from its healthy goodness. His addition of grape nuts enabled him to achieve his goal. As the health movement continued to gain momentum, fruits and nuts were added to the grain cereal to make it more flavorful, healthier and more desirable.

Today’s Special Needs

To keep up with the ever-changing health movements, you can now find keto granola, gluten-free varieties, reduced sugar varieties and numerous other specialty versions of what started as granula. Homemade versions and pre-packaged varieties among the most popular healthy lifestyle snacks.