Speaking of new fans, Granola Girl vegan organic granola can now be purchased from Price Smart Foods (part of the Overwaitea Food Group) in North Vancouver across from Capilano Mall. Another beautiful local store called Nourish Market at Lynn Valley Village also carries Granola Girl.  It is a worthwhile visit to Lynn Valley to visit Jeff at Nourish who can introduce you to all the amazingly delicious (not to mention, hard-to-find) products that come from BC that you might expect to find at local farmer’s markets. Conveniently, it’s now all under one roof at Nourish Market!

While we are on the subject of LOCAL, I was fortunate enough to travel to Salt Spring Island for the first time.  If you have not yet been, this magical place is a must visit! Salt Spring Island is the perfect 3 day getaway for foodies who want to experience relaxation and gorgeous organic and locally grown food. It was a first for me to be excited about a $9 salad at the Treehouse Cafe and a fabulous dinner at Market Place Cafe where most of the food on the menu is grown locally.  If travelling to SSI, don’t miss the local farmer’s market on Saturdays from 10-4, visit the Fernwood Dock (pictured above) and Fernwood Cafe to get your Granola Girl fix, pick up some cheese from SSI Cheese (and visit the goats who produce the milk for your cheese!), visit Foxglove Farms, take a hot yoga class, get a massage at the spa and enjoy the wonderful hospitality of Beverly and Len at the Wisteria B&B Guesthouse (where 2 course breakfasts are to-die-for!)

Hopefully all the April showers will bring about beautiful May flowers.

Enjoy your month  and create amazing days for yourself every day! Fuel yourself with Granola Girl and keep on munchin’ =)

Granola Girl at Waikiki Beach

***THE PRIZE***
All entries will be put into a raffle to win 2 tickets to EAT VANCOUVER on June 1-3 at BC Place and 6 bags of GRANOLA GIRL granola! Deadline for submissions will be May 18, 2012 at midnight

you must also send your photo to getgoodstuff@thegranolagirl.ca with subject line “GG on my vacay” and include
~ your name
~ your phone number
~ e-mail
~ location where the photo was taken

Only the winer will be contacted and announced on our facebook fan page (be sure to become a fan!)and the winner must be able to attend the EAT VANCOUVER show in Vancouver, BC in order to win both prizes (2 tickets + 6 bags of Granola Girl granola)

February wrapped up on a high note; on the 27th, Granola Girl attended “Meet Your Maker,” organized by Farm City Folk, where April met local BC farmers, food processors and retailers who passionately support BC grown products. Lunch included a generous buffet of exclusively BC grown and processed products. Needless to say, seeing beautiful, locally grown food was an unforgettable experience.

The month of March was brimming with excitement as we delightedly left behind the dark days of winter and welcomed the long-awaited springtime. Along with increased hours of sunlight and some warmer days, March also brought some exciting Granola Girl events!

On the first day of the month, the Granola Girl spent the afternoon at UBC handing out samples to students eager to get their hands on some vegan, organic granola. Granola Girl spent the afternoon handing out over 300 samples and introducing her delicious granola to the UBC student community. Among the students anxious to try the enticing samples were my friends Ting, Ellie, and myself. All it took was one cup of Granola Girl with coconut milk and we were sold! Three more real life granola girls to add to the growing fan base!

St. Patrick’s day also brought some good luck our way this year. On March 17 Granola Girl handed out over 800 samples to hundreds of hungry runners who had just completed the St. Patrick’s Day 5k put on by Running Room. Seeing their faces light up after trying a bite of GG was so worth it!

GG volunteers: Ludi, Tracy, Ellie and Baljit

Looking back, the month of March has been a magical month indeed. But of course, you will be seeing more of Granola Girl around Vancouver in the months to come! Next month, the Granola Girl will be at the Make It Spring Show (April 20^th -22^nd)

Also, in the spirit of springtime, GG fans have a special opportunity to channel their travel bug vibes! Take a bag of Granola Girl with you on your next vacation (or stay-cation) and post a photo for a chance to win two raffle tickets to Eat Vancouver and SIX bags of Granola Girl you will also have to e-mail the photo to our e-mail: getgoodstuff@thegranolagirl.ca! The deadline is May 18^th and more information is available on Facebook!

My joining of the Granola Girl family couldn’t have come at a better time. With the stress of school and my post-grad future looming above my head, being a part of a sustainable, organic, forward-thinking startup has reminded me never to settle for anything but the best (especially when it comes to granola) and has assured me of just how contagious positivity can be.

Hoping you all had an equally fabulous March!

Best wishes from one real life Granola Girl

Ludmila Andréa

After participating in many demo’s at the retailers carrying Granola Girl organic vegan granola, I have come up with a list of comments and FAQ’s that GG would like to address. Here is one of them:

Q:  “What is the calorie count, sugar and fat content?”

To which GG would reply: 130 calories for 1/3 cup, 6 grams of sugar and 7 grams of fat. Although it isn’t much, why worry about calories if what you are consuming are GOOD calories. Wouldn’t you choose to eat delicious and wholesome granola over a bag of chips or a sugary chocolate bar? I know…some days, I want the bag of chips too but generally we know what’s the better choice, right?

Over the years, I have heard of many fad diets which limit or eliminate certain foods such as bread/ carbs/ fat/ sugar etc. Granola Girl believes in a healthy *balanced* diet of *natural* foods.  Granola Girl is more concerned about PORTION control and overall calories consumed. Keeping this in mind, you can eat anything you want! I learned from the book “French Women Don’t Get Fat” that if you overdo it on chocolate croissants and brie one day, the next day you would go easy on the calories and feast on homemade leek soup. Balance is the key, n’est-ce pas?

1/3 cup of GG granola is plenty when you top a big bowl of fresh fruit and berries and a (small) dollop of ultra-rich greek yogurt (not the low-fat stuff either). How about a 1/3 cup of GG granola over a bowl of unsweetened porridge and sliced bananas?

Granola Girl contains the GOOD fats:

-Monounsaturated fats (found in almonds and canola oil)

-Polyunsaturated fats (found in pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds which, btw are also high in Calcium!)

-Essential fatty acids, GLA (an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent) and Omega 3 and 6 from hemp hearts

Q:  Aren’t Saturated fats “bad” fats?

GG: Generally saturated fats should be limited but the saturated fat found in GG granola comes from organic dried coconut.

To quote http://zentofitness.com/the-benefits-of-coconut-oil-water-flesh/:

“First of all lets banish the myth that Coconuts are high in cholesterol, they are not. The fat from coconut is considered saturated but it is actually called Lauric Acid which is a type of fat which is easily absorbed by the human body and used instantly as energy.”

Coconuts are the perfect superfood! ’nuff said.

Thanks again for all your love and support. Granola Girl is now in 20 stores… Hip hip hooray!!

1. Prepare Irish steel cut oats as directed. hopefully you are not in a hurry because this can take up to 20 minutes or more…but oh, so worth it!

2. Peel and slice soft pears into cubes.

3. Gently warm a cup of almond milk.

4. Set aside fresh or frozen blueberries in your cereal bowl. We stocked up on fresh blueberries from a local farm in Richmond and froze them so we can continue to enjoy having blueberries all year long.

5. Assemble your perfect cold-winter’s-morning gourmet hot cereal: big scoop of cooked Irish steel cut oats on top of frozen blueberries, add sliced soft pears, drizzle with pure maple syrup to taste, top with Granola Girl “The Original” vegan organic granola, pour warmed almond milk around your mountain of hot oats.

6. Enjoy.

Granola Girl has been pounding the pavement and it has *REALLY* paid off.  It is true that whatever you set your mind towards manifests into great rewards! Granola Girl is continually finding her way into your favorite local grocery stores namely, Stongs on Dunbar St, Save-On Foods Park and Tilford, Save-On Foods Cambie, Pharmasave at Kind Edward Station, Victoria’s Health on upper Lonsdale and Gourmet Warehouse on Hastings.  All these stores have joined the Granola Girl movement to eat natural foods, be active in the community and support local small businesses.  It’s all one big happy family!

Have you seen the Granola Girl delivery truck en route? Having our logo on the family car has also increased our exposure around the city. Sometimes, I’ll even get an e-mail from someone who was behind me at a red light saying they saw the logo and went to the store to buy a bag. If you see our GG truck, holla or honk or send an e-mail. We love that!

Now, onto the “Question of all Questions”! And the question is….Is Granola Girl Gluten free? And the answer is…Granola Girl is NOT gluten free but Granola Girl IS wheat free. Our ingredient list mentions Organic Oats and we use Anita’s organic oats, which is not certified gluten free.  We are told by Anita’s Organics that they thoroughly clean the machines between milling different ingredients but again, they are not certified gluten-free.  Certifying oats is a challenge because the oat fields  would need a 1 mile perimeter between fields that grow wheat and what about the “wind factor”?!?

Those of you who are Celiac or on a strict wheat free/gluten free diet due to severe allergies should not be consuming oats that are not certified gluten free –and you should check out Ed’s Gluten–Free grocery store on Arbutus Street! But if you are like me, with a wheat sensitivity and are OK to eat Oats, well…stick with us and continue to love Granola Girl!

Keep on munchin’

The love and support we receive is overwhelming! From small grocery store owners to the individuals we meet at local events…You love Granola Girl and you have made a choice to eat our delicious all natural organic vegan cereal to kick start your day. Vegan or not, our granola is enjoyed by everyone!

While we honor the amazing progress that has happened in the past year, Tanya and I are buckling our seat belts for a new adventure in 2012.  We have established a marketing plan that focusses on joining community events where we aim to keep spreading granola love to all who will listen and take a free sample! You already know once you’ve had that first mouthful of The ORIGINAL, you will want more and you will want to tell all your friends about the best tasting granola you have ever tried!

Here are a few 2012 Granola Girl resolutions that we can all benefit from:

Try new activities outside your comfort zone. Attend an event by yourself and meet new people (this is really scary for some of us!)

Have a vegan food day once a week (if you are not already vegan).

In cold weather, do hot yoga. In warm weather, ride your bike.

Find a healthy balance of family time/partner time/me time (most important!)

Create a sacred space in your home for meditation, quiet reading or getting the creative ideas in your head onto paper.

Connect with like minded people who share their wisdom and offer encouragement to pursue your passions.

Eat breakfast and have an amazing Granola Girl day, every day!

Feel free to share some of your resolutions for 2012 on our facebook page!  https://www.facebook.com/thegranolagirl

Granola Girl is honored to be featured in the same article as the Spirit Junkie guru, Gabrielle Bernstein and conscious community locals, Julia King and Kate Muker  (Conscious Divas), Susan Washington (Master Success Coach) and musical talent/yogi Will Blunderfield.

This is what Granola Girl is all about.  Our aim is to continue building the conscious community and extending the message of love, following your passion, and personal growth to the newbies who desire positive changes in their lives. This community is within your reach and shifts happen because you make it happen!  Look for those like-minded individuals that you connect with effortlessly. Find creative and fun individuals who inspire you, support your dreams and make it happen.  Give yourself permission to be the soul you were created to be!

There is an enormous amount of talent and wisdom right in the city…you won’t need to look far! A great start is attending a Diva Date night either in Vancouver or West Vancouver.

Diva Date Nights have enriched my life by providing an arena to connect with women who are on a similar journey of self discovery. Conversations are guided by conscious-minded facilitators who are there to remind us of the things we already know or read about in the collection of self help books by our bedsides! From Baljit Rayat’s “Stepping into your Power” to Susan Washington’s “Stop Over Thinking Things!”, I have grown so much in learning how to balance my life. One particular fun night was with Taaja Kayler who taught us how to “Own the Room” by learning how to walk the red carpet because “confidence is sexy”!  Take this confidence walk to your next party or low-key events like walking into your office or shopping at the grocery store for vegan granola… you will surely get noticed in a positive way!

Keep on munchin’ Granola Girl!

Last month, Granola Girl sponsored the Enspiring race and the participants and winners ended up with a couple bags of granola girl to replenish energy levels after a grueling race! Read more if you plan to join next year: http://enspireme.org/events

On Oct 2, Taste of Health distributed samples of GG The Original and I had the chance to meet the Vegan Project co-founder Bridget Burns. This website is a great (and visually pretty!) resource for local vegan fare and recipes you must try, whether you are vegan or just attempt to be on certain days! http://theveganproject.ca/ http://tasteofhealth.earthsave.ca/

Have you heard of the VEGAN PROM?!? Granola Girl donated a couple of bags and a t-shirt as raffle prizes. Sounds like a fun idea for all the creative hipsters out there to check out on November 5: http://veganpromyvr.com/

A face-to-face meeting with a twitter follower http://www.sweetonveg.com/ ended up with a great blog post about GG. Great to meet you Jennifer Vega! Here’s is Jennifer’s blog on Granola Girl: http://www.sweetonveg.com/2011/09/granola-girl/

Keep spreading the granola love ya’ll and thanks for sharing Granola Girl with all your friends. Then… as they keep dippin into your stash (because it’s hard to stop at the first fistful), you can tell them where to get their own bag!

Last year, I made an appointment with the only person who I knew could help me –a soul expert/intuitive healer. I had briefly met Baljit Rayat in 2007 through www.joshsmithtrainer.com and again for a Reiki session and then we attended a mutual friend’s wedding (www.smartbag.ca) in 2009. After going through a tough time and a little car accident, Baljit carried me through my 2 month healing crises and coached me in the right direction. As a soul expert and through the Akashic records, Baljit channels the answers to anything you could possibly want to know about your present self, your past and your future. Naturally I ask; “Do I pursue the granola business?” Her answer was “Yes, but although this will provide a good income for you, this is not your soul purpose.” Hmmm. The next obvious question is “What IS my soul’s purpose?!?” Baljit gazes upwards as she listens intently to her guides and nods “OK, what they’re (her guides) telling me is that you like to host parties. What I see is YOU in the middle of a Tea Party with a whole group of women.”

Oh-kaaay. Who?? Where?? When?? How?? I am bombarded with questions from my own thoughts. I am an impatient person. I like to know things like, 5 minutes ago.

The rest of 2010 was spent completing wedding cake orders for my previous company www.AprilCakes.com and a couple wedding shows. Then I decided I would focus on incorporating Granola Girl and start the branding and marketing process by January 2011.

While giving out samples of granola at Greens Market on customer appreciation day in last March, I was approached by a woman who invited me to her BNI chapter at Monk McQueens. It’s a lunchtime event (usually they are in the wee hours of the morning during which time I am making the kids’ breakfasts) so I agree to go. 45 members of this chapter got a sample of GG granola and I experience my first BNI meeting. First impression: It was cult-like, kinda awkward! Get me outta here! What?!? They want $600 a year for me to join plus $25 each meeting for a so-so lunch -Rip off!  One person on the panel exclaimed (in the most fake-enthusiastic way) he’s glad he didn’t stay home today because he was feeling sick because this was the most fun meeting he has been to in a while. WHAT?!? This was his idea of fun?! Again, weird.”

As I was racing out of the parking lot (couldn’t get outta there fast enough!), I thought “Why should I join this weird group of people I would never hang out with and PAY to hang out with them when I can hang out with some fabulous women I already know (and really like!), are all self employed entrepreneurs and have a lot of knowledge to share with me!?!” It was a big A-HA moment.

The first person I called was Baljit and “Serendipity Tea Party” was born. The Facebook page was created and the first Tea Party was held on April 7, 2011 -the same day as my birthday! https://www.facebook.com/SerendipityTeaParty

More about Baljit Rayat and Serendipity Tea Party in a future post…stay tuned!