Help build our kitchen laboratory

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When I started Granola Lab back in 2010, I always envisioned I’d have my own little granola factory. After five plus years of working in other companies’ kitchens, the dream of a real granola laboratory is finally here! Granola Lab’s new home is an airy, light-filled industrial space in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a blank slate ready to be filled with equipment and stocked with supplies. 

There are many ways for a business to finance a project like the one the Lab is embarking on, including loans and crowdfunding. One solution that combines the best of both these worlds is Kiva Zip, a non-profit, “character based lending” platform that facilitates 0% interest loans to entrepreneurs like myself. Basically, you can support Granola Lab in a very direct and simple way: make a microloan!

This week (June 1-5), Kiva will match all loans given by new lenders invited by current borrowers. Since we already get matching funds from the MetLife Foundation, your loan will be three times as helpful! You can lend Granola Lab as little as $5…which you will get back. I would be ever-so-grateful for your support.

If you would like to support me, please follow the step-by-step instructions listed below. Use the link provided as this is the only way your loan will be tracked as coming through me.

THANK YOU!

(1) Click the following link: https://zip.kiva.org/loans/14181/i/zn3c 
(2) Select the amount you would like to lend in the panel on the right-hand side
(3) Click the orange “Lend Now” button
(4) Click the white “Register” button
(5) Enter your full name, email and desired password in the appropriate boxes. Check that you have read the Kiva Terms of Use
(6) Click the orange “Register” button
(7) You should be redirected back to your checkout basket. Confirm the amount and click “Checkout”
(8) Choose to “Pay with your PayPal account” or “Pay with a debit or credit card”
(9) Fill out your payment information and click the orange “Pay” at the bottom of the page

Get Gingersnapping: now with candied ginger!

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A new day has dawned for one of Granola Lab’s original flavors. We’ve re-formulated Get Gingersnapping, eliminating the raisins and adding in candied ginger for a spicy-sweet punch. It’s wicked gingery! 

We love raisins, but recognize that they’re not universally adored. We’ve found delicious crystallized ginger bits that should more than make up for any sense of loss felt by the pro-raisin camp. Plus, the new recipe is closer than ever to a gingersnap cookie (without all the sugar).

Are you ready to give the new Get Gingersnapping a try? It’s 20% off through the end of May (click on the store tab). Our retail partners will begin receiving the new formula soon, so keep your eyes peeled. 

GRANOLA LAB IS FIVE!

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Last week marked Granola Lab’s 5th anniversary, a rather significant milestone in the life of a small business. If you’d like to learn a bit more about this delightful occasion, read our newsletter from the hallowed date, March 25th. To celebrate, we’re running a BIG SALE! All items in our web store are 20% OFF through April 21st. That’s a long stretch of savings. The sale is active here on our site (just click on the “Where to buy” tab), as well as on our Etsy shop.

Look at those cute tin-tie coffee bags and the hand-drawn logo (by the lovely Marisha Chinsky).

Thanks readers, customers, friends for all your support!

Granola Lab in Whole Foods Upper East Side

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Granola Lab is finally available on the UES! We’re proud to be included in the new two-story Whole Foods Market on the Upper East Side, our first location in that neck of the woods. Granola lovers can now get Cranberry Cashew Compound, Activation Energy, and Elemental Formula at this Whole Foods outpost.

The new 39,000 square foot space boasts several Upper East Side exclusives, such as the Cheese Club (a monthly program where members get three cheese curated by the resident cheesmonger, crackers, and a condiment), and locally made hand-sliced salmon (try the Scottish-style smoked salmon or the Brooklyn-style nova lox).  

The UES store is located at 1551 3rd Avenue, between East 88th and East 87th Streets. The 1st floor opens at 7:00 am and the full store opens at 8:00 am. It’s open seven days a week and closes at 11:00 pm.

Granola Lab looking comfortable on the shelves at Whole Foods

Cheesemonger in the Fromagerie

 

 

RECIPE: Cranberry & Chocolate Chip Granola Cookies

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I didn’t know cookies were a Christmas tradition until well into my 20s. I was raised on chocolate cake and apple crisp, ignorant of office cookie-swaps and holiday parties with sky high plates of sugary stars and trees, gingerbread men and snickerdoodles. I ate cookies, of course, just didn’t realize they were a big deal!

Last year, I started tinkering with an old favorite cookie recipe from my teen years, Trail Cookies (source unknown). Back then, I’d throw in whatever random cereal was in the kitchen cabinet along with nuts, raisins and any other dried fruit that happened to be available.

Today’s version includes a generous scoop of Granola Lab’s Cranberry Cashew Compound, chocolate chips, and extra dried cranberries for that festive element. Granola Lab sold these small-but-satisfying cookies at last winter’s Smorgasburg and other events around NYC, making addicts out of our regular customers (and fellow vendors). If you’ve been jonesing for these sweet bites, bake a batch at home!

Cranberry & Chocolate Chip Granola Cookies
Yields 24
A dairy-free chocolate chip cookie recipe featuring Granola Lab's Cranberry Cashew Compound granola.
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
  2. 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  3. 1 egg
  4. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  5. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  6. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  8. 3/4 cup rolled oats
  9. 1 cup Granola Lab Cranberry Cashew Compound granola
  10. 3/4 cup dried cranberries
  11. 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheet(s).
  2. In a large bowl, cream together coconut oil and brown sugar with an electric mixer (or by hand, vigorously). Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
  3. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into liquid mixture, then stir in oats, granola, cranberries, and chocolate.
  4. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonful onto baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until slightly brown around edges.
Notes
  1. Feel free to adjust the granola:cranberries:chocolate chip proportions.
  2. Butter may be substituted for coconut oil.
GRANOLA LAB http://granolalab.com/

Malt & Mold Arrives in Gramercy

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The smallest store carrying Granola Lab products is a wee beer and cheese shop on East Broadway called Malt & Mold. Though diminutive, Malt & Mold stocks a wide variety of provisions, fills growlers with a rotating selection of superb craft beers, and runs a weekly tasting series. They know how to maximize! Proprietor Kevin Heald and his business partner Caitlin Nish opened a second location of their successful venture just three weeks ago. The new shop on 362 2nd Avenue in Gramercy has a bit more elbow room, but the same classic look and great selection.

There’s our granola, nestled between jam and tapenade. Can’t argue with that! And speaking of good neighbors, Malt & Mold is located right next door to Pushcart Coffee. The Pushcart crew has been very kind to Granola Lab over the past year and they make a damn fine cup of Joe. Two reasons to visit 2nd Ave between 21st and 22nd Streets sometime soon.

Brooklyn Made: redefining the golden arches

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It’s been over a month since the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce announced their first group on certified Brooklyn Made products and Granola Lab’s Gold status is starting to sink in: we’re feeling snazzy, shiny, and oh-so official. Many of our fellow Brooklyn manufacturers have made the Chamber’s list, with a rating of gold, silver, or bronze, depending on the percentage of their business that occurs in the borough, as well as other factors.

We’re so proud to be a part of Brooklyn’s resurgence as a manufacturing hub and grateful to the Chamber for drawing attention to GL and our fellow hard-working Brooklynites. And what a cool logo! See how the M in Made is an image of the Brooklyn Bridge? It’s a subtle design choice, as opposed to the garish overuse of the Bridge in many logos and advertising images.

If you want your business considered for Brooklyn Made certification, follow this link.

 

 

Getting away? Don’t forget the granola!

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The dog day doldroms are here! That’s not a bad thing: we all need a mental and physical break. Whether or not you’ve checked out for the season, you still need to feed yourself. Seems like a good time to highlight a few summery retailers selling Granola Lab.

August is the perfect time to visit a local farm and buy direct from the source. Granola Lab is for sale at two Upstate NY farm stores: Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie and Fishkill Farms in Hopewell Junction. Fishkill is celebrating peach season on August 16 with their annual Peachtopia festival. Sounds juicy!

We know lots of New Yorkers’ favorite vacation spots are out on Eastern Long Island. Seaside getaways are the best! The Montauk Juice Factory will keep you going with healthy juices, light fare, and Activation Energy for breakfast. Fishers Island in Long Island Sound is a more remote escape. Fishers Island Gourmet, attached to the Pequot Inn, sells our granola and lots of gifts and tasty provisions.

So go hit the forests, fields, and beaches and enjoy this perfect weather!

Anthropologie Pop-up Market this Saturday

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Saturday shoppers, take note! Our friends at Good Eggs, Brooklyn’s premier grocery delivery service, are hosting a one-day pop-up market at Anthropologie‘s Soho store. It’s going to be loads of fun and undeniably delicious! Here are the details:

 

We’ll be joined by Krumville Bake Shop, The Jam Stand, and many others.

 

Trade show weekend: Brooklyn Eats & the Fancy Food Show

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Granola Lab is exhibiting at Summer Fancy Food Show this year for the very first time. The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring an entire pavilion of Brooklyn makers and we’re so pleased to be included amongst such a great roster of local food companies. If you’re attending, our booth is number 4747. Don’t be a stranger.

We’ll be attending this Friday’s local trade show as well. Brooklyn Eats is a worthy precursor to the big event, showcasing over 50 Brooklyn food producers. There’s lots to see, smell and, of course, eat! Brooklyn Eats is open to the public from 10 am until 3 pm, followed by a trade-only period from 3 to 5. It’s located at a major food manufacturing hub: the Pfizer Building at 630 Flushing Ave.