Bear Naked Opportunism
Oct. 6th, 2008 12:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsBear Naked is a brand of granola that has recently been making a push in our neighborhood. Two big billboards, and suddenly the stuff is appearing on the shelves in every grocery store in the city. I've had it, and found it good enough granola but hardly remarkable. The billboard is catchy, though.
Since cereals were on the shopping list, I took a look at Bear Naked and its competitors. And I was struck, as I was looking at the nutrition information, that Bear Naked was so much better in the sugars and other "fast" carbohydrates than any of their competitors. I mean, startlingly better.
I took a closer look and realized that Bear Naked said "Serving size: 1/4 cup," whereas every other cereal has "Serving size: 1/2 cup." I mean, who eats a quarter up of cereal in the morning? A half cup isn't terribly much.
Scaling up the serving sizes so they were all the same, the generic "organic" store brand, "Back to Nature" actually came out on top. Better price, less sugar-- excuse me, "evaporated cane juice"-- about the same amout of protein. Slightly less fiber, but the price/performance was overall excellent compared to the others.
Obviously, the assumption here is that even people who look at the nutrition facts block will forget to check the serving size, assuming that every cereal uses the same serving size. But to be so blatant about it as to make the bullshit alarms go off was just stupid of 'em.
Since cereals were on the shopping list, I took a look at Bear Naked and its competitors. And I was struck, as I was looking at the nutrition information, that Bear Naked was so much better in the sugars and other "fast" carbohydrates than any of their competitors. I mean, startlingly better.
I took a closer look and realized that Bear Naked said "Serving size: 1/4 cup," whereas every other cereal has "Serving size: 1/2 cup." I mean, who eats a quarter up of cereal in the morning? A half cup isn't terribly much.
Scaling up the serving sizes so they were all the same, the generic "organic" store brand, "Back to Nature" actually came out on top. Better price, less sugar-- excuse me, "evaporated cane juice"-- about the same amout of protein. Slightly less fiber, but the price/performance was overall excellent compared to the others.
Obviously, the assumption here is that even people who look at the nutrition facts block will forget to check the serving size, assuming that every cereal uses the same serving size. But to be so blatant about it as to make the bullshit alarms go off was just stupid of 'em.
Just make the stuff
Date: 2008-10-06 08:24 pm (UTC)For one 8-10 cup batch:
8-10 cups of rolled regular oats, or a mix of rolled grains: oats, kamut, barley, triticale, other grains (but not rolled rye, unless you really think you'd like the taste)
about 1/4 cups oil (I like to use nut oil, both for the taste and because it's probably healthy
1/2 cup honey
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered or sliced almonds (or other nuts)
sometimes a cup or so of coconut
a cup or so of raisins, if you like raisins in your granola.
preheat oven to 350 F. Dump the grains onto a baking sheet with sides, and let them warm a little while the oven comes up to temperature. Measure the oil into a glass measuring cup, then swish it around the sides (to help the honey not stick). Then measure the honey into the same cup, on top of the oil. Warm slightly in the microwave unless it's pretty darned runny to start with.
Put the grains and nuts in a large bowl. Add the honey and oil. Mix thoroughly. Put the mixture back onto the baking sheet, and bake at 350 F (or 375 F, if you're willing to pay careful attention, as it will burn much faster) until the mixture is as brown as you like it, stirring (carefully) once or twice. add raisins when it's done.
Store in a sealed container, once cool.
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