Nuts About Granola was recently honored as being a part of The Top 10 Featured Stories in the Keystone Edge.

The article gives an accurate portrayal of how this small idea to raise money for a triathlon competition turned into the well established business that it is today while highlighting its core principals….always using the freshest ingredients with local ingredients.

You can read the full piece here.

Just a reminder, if you haven’t entered yet, we’re giving away a bag of Plain Jane Granolaand Shiloh Farms Sprouted Pancake & Waffle Mix. You have until Tuesday, February 7th so head over here now and enter.

Looking for the perfect Valentines Day gift for your sweetheart?  Or maybe you’d just like to give a little something nice to yourself this year.  Either way, we’ve created the perfect bundle of granola love just in time.

Photo courtesy of Kath Eats 

Kath Younger of Katheats.com is currently running a special promotion on this set via her Open Sky store.

For only $20 this includes 4 2oz bags each of….

• Lover’s Combo (Chocolate Peanut Butter)
• Chocolate Mint Cookie (Vegan)
• Mexican Hot Chocolate

Head over to Kath’s site now and grab this hot deal while you can!  There’s only 1 day to take advantage so don’t miss out.  

Nuts About Granola (NAG) is excited to announce a brand new production facility in Leola, PA, that will be home for manufacturing their granola. In an effort to expand local high-quality products and serve the community, NAG and Shiloh Farms were selected to fill a 19,000 SF manufacturing facility that belongs to a local non-profit organization, The Susquehanna Association for the Blind and Vision Impaired (SABVI). The partnerships will employ as many as 15 people, the majority of whom will be blind or vision impaired.

Shiloh Farms specializes in wholesome, healthy, all-natural food products that include sprouted grain breads, sprouted flours, pretzels, dried fruits, nuts, flours, grains, cheeses and more; about 90% are certified organic. “The new facility will include separate equipment dedicated to wheat-free, gluten-free production, so we’ll be expanding our line and introducing new, certified gluten free products- something our customers have been asking for,” said Peter Horvath, Shiloh Farms Director of Marketing and Business Development.

By partnering with Shiloh Farms, NAG will be able to expand their own brand and those of others via co-packing contacts. “All three companies are committed to producing superb, high quality products to serve our community,” Said Sarah Lanphier, CEO, Nuts About Granola.

Have you tried any Shiloh Farms products?  Have you tried any NAG products yet? Would you like the chance to try them both?

Simply leave a comment on this post stating one Shiloh Farms product and one NAG product that you would most like to try and you will be automatically entered to win a bag of Shiloh Farms Organic Sprouted Pancake & Waffle Mix AND a bag of NAG’s Plain Jane Granola.

Earn an extra entry for each: (leave a separate comment for each)

• Like NAG on Facebook
• Follow NAG on Twitter
• Subscribe to the NAG Blog 

Who doesn’t love a good cookie?  I’m sure there aren’t many that would ever turn down a warm gooey chocolate chip cookie piping hot from the oven.  As delicious as that may sound, it’s hard to compromise including cookies into your everyday diet without the added guilt.

That is unless you consider these…..

These two bite almond butter granola cookies have virtually no sugar, are low in fat, and can actually be considered good for you!  What a better reason to have a cookie a day.

Two-Bite Almond Butter Granola Balls

(adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie’s Oatmeal-Raisin Breakfast Cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 C Rolled Oats
• 1/4 C Plain Jane Granola
• 1/4 C Almond Butter
• 1/2 C Apple Sauce (no sugar added)
• 1/2 Overripe Banana
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 3 T Chocolate Chips (I used chocolate covered sunflower seeds)

Last fall, Nuts About Granola was approached with an innovate business endeavor to manufacture four different granolas for a new product of Greek yogurt that has recently hit the US.  Alpina Foods, established in 1945 by two Swiss Entrepreneurs, has become one of the most recognized dairy companies in the world.  Aplina runs 9 industrial facilities in 3 countries and is bringing their line to the US with their recent factory in Batavia, NY and plans to make their name known with their latest yogurt and granola line.  When the company was looking for someone to create a unique and artisanal granola product for this venture,  they stumbled upon Nuts About Granola and saw it as the perfect it.

Revive, a 0% fat Greek Yogurt paired with fresh granola, is designed to promote youth, vitality, focus and calm.  The functionality comes from the natural power of the ingredients used in its granolas.  Vitality is packed with super foods to help sustain energy; Calm is combined with honey and toppings that produces calm and serenity; Youth supplies antioxidants to keep your mind and body youthful; and Focus is rich in omega-3 fatty acids to help your mind stay sharp and focused.

Last year, Nuts About Granola was operating as a regional success and with their recent ongoing relationship with Alpina, they now have a presence along the entire East Coast.  Revive is expected to hit the dairy aisle in February so keep an eye out for it in your area.

Which one do you want to try!?

January is always a promising month of opportunity, new beginnings and positive change. It’s a time to evaluate ourselves and decide if we want to make any improvements in ourselves or lifestyle that could potentially make the upcoming year better than the last. But if you are like most people, your promises from last year may still have gone unresolved. Studies show that nearly 94% of Americans do not actually keep their New Year’s Resolutions or come even close to fulfilling an entire lifestyle change.

Source

Here are a few tips that should help making those promises a little easier to keep this year.

1. Set Realistic Goals – Its first important to understand what a New Year’s resolution really is and what exactly you are asking of yourself. If your overall goal is to be healthier and you’ve been practicing bad eating habits for most of your life, it’s unrealistic to think that you’re going to reverse 15. 20, 25 years and just on the turn of a dime you’ll turn into an elite athlete that eats perfectly.
2. Find Accountability- We all may set goals for ourselves but if we are only trying to prove them to us and us alone, it’s likely that we’ll fail. Make it a point to find someone that can hold you accountable whether it be a friend, spouse, family member, or boss. It’s a lot easier to talk ourselves out of a workout than it would be to let a friend down who is relying on you to meet them at the gym.
3. Be Specific- Rather than just give yourself a general task, such as “I will be more active in 2012” try to put exact objectives in what you want to achieve. For example, a better approach to this might be, “I will go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:30 p.m.”
4. Make an Action Plan- Rather than starting out with one daunting goals, create a series of smaller steps to reach it. Perhaps your resolution is to build a reliable emergency fund in your bank account. Write out the exact number that you wish to save and then follow that with small steps in order to realistically achieve that such as putting aside X amount of dollars from your pay check each month, depositing 50% of your annual bonus, and cutting out one luxury expense from your monthly budget to put towards savings.

As much as I believe in continually bettering ourselves for a healthier and happier life, I also feel that often times, more people jump on the resolution bandwagon without having a clear mindset of why they are making them. No matter what your reason may be, it’s important to remember to put some thought into what you are setting out to do. Just because you don’t think of something come January 1st, doesn’t mean it won’t be just as meaningful or effective in a month or two from now.

I’m so glad you guys enjoyed the Apricot Almond Granola Bars.

And now for the winner of the bag of Plain Jane……

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It was quite the busy year for Nuts About Granola (NAG).  Since the company was founded in 2008, it has grown significantly; however, 2011 opened many new opportunities, exciting developments, and life-changing campaigns.  Aside from making tons of well-loved granola, NAG began expanding its name beyond the local following in South Central Pennsylvania and got their products into the hands of thousands all over the country by raising awareness, providing quality service, and making hand-made, all-natural granola that is loved by so many.

Here are just a few of the highlights that went on last year:

May

• Opened a second stand at the Lancaster Central Market

August

• Landed contract with Alpina Foods to make their granola
• Produced Warrior Crunch in a effort to raise money for The Great Fundraising Act. Went on to be a sponsor at The Healthy Living Summit to continue the efforts for Susan.

September

• Official launch of Revive at the Natural and Organic Expo East

October

• Sarah ran her official first marathon

November

• Officially moved everything out of their house and apartment into their very own official headquarters
• Was awarded a bid to go into the SABVI food production facility in Leola and begun planning

December

• Holiday madness
• Set a new NAG record for most granola made and sold in one month.

As you can see, it’s been a great year and it’s only getting better.  2012 is only going to be even bigger with many exciting things to come.