The Grandest Granola of Them All

My eldest daughter, Bianca, is slowly making heads turn with her new creation, Wit’s Sweets and Savouries Granola. The snack was recently featured in a foodie blog in ‘When in Manila’. It has also been selected as one of only five fresh new products worth trying out in Manila Bulletin’s Lifestyle section under ‘Best Food Forward’ last November. And it also got great raves in a new product video advisory by Busyqueenphils.

So what’s all the rave about this treat? If you’re looking for something new that’s delicious and healthy; something that surprises your palate, and then  leaves you craving for more; and if you’re looking for something that’s proudly Pinoy, then this granola’s got everything – and more – for you.

Now meticulously prepared in four different variations (spiced, tasty, zesty and tangy), it’s got an all-star line-up of ingredients which include dried mangoes from Cebu, crisped rice locally produced, chili flakes from the recently-flooded farms of Davao Oriental (we’re helping them get back on their feet too), rolled oats from Australia (the only import in our squad), and a bunch of other role-player ingredients all handpicked by food enthusiast Bianca. It’s got no nuts (perfect for those who have problems with uric acid like me), and even the sweetness is enhanced solely by brown sugar and honey.

But the star of the team will have to be the cacao nibs. They are the very reason Bianca came up with the granola, as the beans are produced direct from Gran Verde, my wife Wit’s farm in Calinan, Davao City . Wit and her siblings inherited the farm from their father, who was also cacao grower and a ‘sikwate’ aficionado. That makes three generations of cacao cultivation in the family. Besides the dried and roasted beans, the farm also offers quality seedlings, budwood and even cacao workshops conducted by Wit herself. But that’s another story in itself.

An Indonesian cacao expert once said that while Indonesia may have huge farms that produce great quantities of cacao for the world’s chocolate needs, the Philippines’ cacao farms are by far producing better quality cacao, and a lot of these farms are found in Mindanao, particularly in Davao.

If you’re fond of chocolates, but would like to acquire more of cacao’s health benefits, cacao nibs are the way to go. All the anti-aging, anti-oxidizing, brain-boosting, mood-enhancing and cardiovascular health perks championed by dark chocolate can be found even more potent in the roasted cacao nibs.

And that is what Wit’s Granola is all about. A new healthy option that’s hopelessly addictive, with a smooth slow blend of abundant flavors. With each bite, you wonder which part of your taste buds will celebrate next. Once you get to the heat, you’ll want to put it out with more. So what are you waiting for? Come and try it!!!

(Notice how packed the granola station was compared to its neighbors?)