Artisan granola specialist My Favorite Indulgence slow-roasts gourmet granola in small batches. The result is very flavorful, and crunchier than most granolas.

Flavors include Granola With Nuts, Nut Free Granola and Chocolate Mocha Granola. But a timely seasonal gift is the Pumpkin-Spiced Granola (it’s available year-round).

Made with certified non-GMO ingredients on a base of oats, the rich flavors derive from real pumpkin, spices (cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg), almonds, walnuts, dried cranberries, brown sugar and maple syrup.

A 10-ounce pouch is $9.95. There’s free shipping with a purchase of three pouches or more. Handsome gift wrapping is available.

Alas, the individual snack pack size is temporarily sold out, but keep checking: They make great stocking stuffers and party favors.

Get yours at MyFavoriteIndulgence.com.

THE HISTORY OF GRANOLA

Granola was invented as a healthy breakfast food in 1863 by Dr. James Caleb Jackson, owner of a sanatorium* in upstate New York. It was the world’s first dry, manufactured breakfast cereal.

At that time, the standard American breakfast was a cholesterol-laden hot meal of eggs, bacon, sausage and beef or chicken, hot cereal, biscuits, toast, butter and jam—a British tradition that evolved to fortify the gentry for a day of sport. (The less wealthy had a ready supply of eggs from their own eggs; fresh eggs also were easily accessible to city folk.)

Granula became granola when Dr. John Kellogg, who founded a sanatorium in the midwest, produced a similar product with the same name. So, “granola” was born of a trademark lawsuit.

Check out the history of granola and the difference between granola and muesli.
 
*Also spelled sanitorium and sanitarium, it indicates a medical facility for long-term illness. While many specialized in the treatment of tuberculosis and other diseases that were not curable before the advent of antibiotics and other medications, others catered to the affluent in a more spa-like environment, where their digestive problems and other discomforts were treated with a regimen of rest and good nutrition.