Two Healthier Eating Choices Made in the USA: GrandyOats and SNØ

Mar 15, 2021 by Chef David

The number of healthy food options continues to swell on grocery shelves as consumers increasingly focus on diet and wellness. This is also true in the kosher culinary marketplace, where new companies often apply for and receive kosher certification.

Two new healthier products which have won OU certification are a grain-free snack called GrandyOats and the exotically titled SNØ (pronounced “snuh” with a sort of nasal twang), a sugar-free candy made from northern birch bark.

GrandyOats has been manufactured in Maine since 1979, and while not all of its varieties are kosher, enough of them are to make them an interesting selection. SNØ is reminiscent of other breath mints, but, as its name suggests (it means “snow” in Norwegian), it offers a very different mouth experience.

Coco-Nutty Crunch

Among the OU-certified varieties of GrandyOats is Coconola, gluten-free granola, which comes as a three-pack. It offers a rich, coco-nutty crunch in three flavors: Original, Super Hemp Blend, and Chocolate Chunk.

GrandyOats

Loaded with coconut, cashews, pecans, sunflower, and sesame seeds, Coconola contains nothing artificial. Its sweeteners are wholesome organic honey, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Its rich coconut taste means non-coconut lovers should beware. The product is also packed with energy. Coconola also features kosher-certified Coffee Crunch.

I must confess that my favorite was Hemp, which combines its full-bodied crunch with a rustic taste.

Super Convenient

With its bold flavors and heavy nut content, Coconola is more of a treat than most granola, which I usually think of as more like a topping for cereal or yogurt.

GrandyOats tastes homemade, and each 9-ounce bag suggests quarter-cup servings that range in calories from 150 (original) to 160 (Super Hemp) and 170 (Chocolate Chunk).

The easy re-sealable bags are a plus that allows snackers to taste, savor, and store the treat without fuss or mess. Coconola is convenient to grab-and-go, and its packaging design, complete with a transparent window, makes it easy to see how much is left in the bag.

Family Business

The company’s name grew out of conversations between the founders and their friends, some of whom thought the whole idea of a homegrown enterprise nurtured with mounds of organic oats, nuts, and honey was a bit “grandiose.”

According to the company’s spokesman, when GrandyOats first came out, the founders realized “you don’t have to be related to have a family business.”

Over the years, GrandyOats has remained true to its vision of championing environmental causes, “prioritizing people and the planet.” They keep artificial ingredients out of their recipes because as they say “we believe you can’t fake good taste.”

Since 2015, they have used solar energy, and they pride themselves on buying local whenever possible.

 Like Snowflakes Each Piece Is Unique

SNØ is a mint with only two ingredients, xylitol, a natural sweetener with real health benefits that comes from birch bark; and other natural flavors, including oils, essences, and extracts from melons, berries, and other edible plants.

SNØ has a distinctive refreshing flavor and crunch. Some of its flavors are similar to other mints and candies on the market, but, right off the bat, SNØ offers a wonderful difference: Each piece is different in shape and appearance. Like the snowflakes from which it gets its name, no two pieces of SNØ are alike.

The taste, however, is consistent.  It pleases the palate with unadulterated freshness, cleansing and freshening the breath.

I have to admit to being guilty of popping other breath mints in my mouth, often by the handful, in order to create a flavor explosion. With SNØ, there is no need. Just one unique piece lets the experience begin immediately.

Xylitol

Using xylitol is one of the keys to SNØ’s flavor. A natural sweetener found in some vegetables and fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, mushrooms, corn husks, and oats, it is as sweet as sugar but has 40 percent fewer calories and 75 percent fewer carbohydrates.

In addition, xylitol, which is used in many sugar-free gum products, promotes a neutral PH measure in the mouth, the value necessary for balancing acidity and basicity. It reduces acid and blocks bacteria, which is why it is actually good for the teeth. 

It also absorbs heat from the mouth, leaving it cool while it stimulates the salivary glands, which makes the mouth water.

Environmentally Friendly and It Looks Good

SNØ is different from other mints, mostly because its xylitol comes from birch trees in the forests of the United States, Canada, and the Nordic region of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, as well as their associated territories of Greenland and the Faroe and Åland Islands. The company adds water to the trees’ bark and cooks the pulp. Studies show that this process is 84 to 99 percent more environmentally friendly than the method called acid hydrolysis, the process commonly used to extract xylitol from corn.

SNØ’s packaging is a pleasure. The company really got it right, using simple 1.5-ounce metal tins that close securely to keep the mints fresh. They have a two-year shelf life.

This delicious, kosher palette-cleanser and breath freshener is not only guilt-free because it contains no sugar; it also looks really nice on the shelf.