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`Bar bar khao'

It's handy to bite into or slip into your backpack. The rectangular granola bars are here and slowly being discovered

PHOTO: S. MAHINSHA

NUTRITION IN BARS Granola bars easily fit into your backpack

You've been working late and feeling hungry. You want to reach for something filling and energising. Among your options now is the granola bar. Its makers claim that the four-by-one-and-a-half-inch nibble kicks you into an active lifestyle. Nutrition bars are here and slowly being discovered.

The granola bar may be lean food with no oils and little sugar, but it has a rich history. It began life in mid-nineteenth century with American women baking bread at home using whole-wheat flour just because their preacher Sylvester Graham said so. He had told his parish to avoid white flour along with meat and alcohol. Nutrition in the form of Graham flour and Graham crackers became a conscious consideration in colonist kitchens. Soon after, Dr. Jackson of New York was heard promoting a healthy diet. He developed the "granula", palatable sheets of Graham flour, baked twice until crunchy and stored as small pieces.

Granola or cereal bar?

In 1876, a Dr. John Kellogg became Director of Battle Creek Sanatorium, Michigan. To add pep to the monotony served as food, Dr. Kellogg baked his own whole grains granula, and when sued by Dr. Jackson, quickly named it granola. He tried to sell his concoction but it didn't exactly set America's hunger on fire. He then switched to cereals. One recipe named Grape Nuts tried out by Charles W. Post tasted success as the world moved into the next century. Granula, Granola and Ganolietta were registered as trademarks in the U.S. for whole grain products crumbled and baked until crisp.

Sugar-spiked cereals ruled the breakfast table in the 1960s, when the health food market exploded. The hip whole grain, natural granola bars went "hippie" at the Woodstock Festival. In the 1990s, the "low fat" granola made its debut to keep with the contemporary craze. Today granola bars have gone mainstream, but maintain their connection with the hippie culture.

So, what is in this rectangular piece of fitness? Nuts and rolled oats that are visible. Honey and natural ingredients (soy protein, fibre) for which you need to take the promo's word. On the plus side, the granola bar is dry and crisp. Raisins and dates are common ad-ons. It tastes good even when cold. It is non-perishable.

For the soft-toothed idli-ites, there is the under-baked, chewy, better-textured version. Choose from Banana Nut, Oats N Honey, Peanut Butter, Cinnamon, Maple, Brown Sugar or Apple Crisp. Or buy the wholesale pack. Put a bar in your kid's snack box. Lock a couple in your office draw in the computer table. Make room for it in your hiking backpack. Soon nutrition bars might be the rushing-out-to-work parents' breakfast, rushing-out-to-play kids' school lunch. But before we raise a toast to the bar, let's think. Is it as healthy as it claims to be? Or is it just another biscuit? The granola bar, even one with the best combo of nuts, oats and fruits is just a snack. It should be munched with fresh fruits, veggies, rotis and other stuff for a balanced diet, not instead of. It may be low carb, but it is still carb and calories.

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