Golden Girl Granola: Small Batch Granola Artisanal Crunch Flavor Review
- Steve Fiore
- Jun 2
- 5 min read
I think I have tried every granola brand on the market based on the selection in every major grocery store in a 20-mile direction. It wasn't until 2 years ago when I found the one that my wife and I love, Golden Girl Granola.
Of course, this is not to be confused with the great sitcom, Golden Girls, or the lighthearted fast talking drama with a slightly different name, Gilmore Girls. But more on Golden Girl Granola in a bit. Let me share with you how we got here.
If you know me by now, I am a big fan of products that are made in small batches that can only be produced by individuals or small businesses. These products are made with love and care and you can taste it in every bite. Similar stories include Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate Review: The Intersection of Art and Flavor and Smugglers Notch Maple Works Review: Elevating Breakfast With Wood Fired Flavor to name a few.
When I first met Mary Beth, she lived in the area of MetroWest Massachusetts, which is about 40 miles west of Boston. If you talk to someone in Boston, you would think we live in Ohio based on how far they believe it is outside of the city, but the reality is its only an hour drive to get to into town. Yup, people from Boston refer to their city as town, like Beantown. Very opposite from where I grew up in New Jersey where we referred to New York City as "the city".
Not far from where Mary Beth lived was a discount retail store called Spag's. This store was a destination for so many people in the area to get a wide range of products from hardware to deodorant, all at great prices. I think I made the visit to the store once or twice over the years before it was sold and then ultimately out of business. The store was empty for a few years to the best of my recollection. Back to Spag's and the location further down in the story.
Mary Beth and I got married in 1998 and then in 2000 moved up to Grafton, MA. We initially put a $1,000 deposit on an attached condo in Shrewsbury MA, actually not far at all from the original Spag's location. It turned out that the condo design we wanted was not available in the location we picked as they were building the condos. As a result, we backed out and started looking again.
One of my thoughts was to look for a house not far from a grocery store, Stop & Shop, a store with a good reputation. I figured if they selected an area to put their stores, it was already a good location for Mary Beth and I to plant our roots. As we started looking, there was an open house in Grafton, MA and we wound up buying our first house. If you are curious, it was about 1 mile from Stop & Shop, so my approach worked.
The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip:
"Life will take you down many windy paths. As you meander along, you will find unexpected treasures. Keep your eyes open for what is possible."
Stop & Shop was our go to place to shop for many years and then the area where we lived really started to grow. The headquarters of Staples and EMC (which was sold to Dell) brought in an influx of people to the area. With the population growth also came new grocery stores. Initially, it was Wegmans, which had a cult following in the east coast and had 25,000 people shop in the first weekend. We made it the second weekend. Then after that was Market32, a division of Price Chopper. Both Matthew and Michael worked at Market32 during high school and college.
The last big store to arrive was Whole Foods, which found a home in the old location of Spag's. I know many of you, at least here in the United States, knows about Whole Foods and the good quality they offer. The other thing that Whole Foods does a really nice job with is to honor the location that it is moving into. If it was previously a historic bank, it would try to keep some of that theme. In the case of Spag's, there is a homage to Spag's across one of the walls, which is a really nice touch to make a very big chain feel a bit more local and personal.
Small Batch Granola
Based on the 4 different grocery store chains I referenced above, along with a few independent stores and a few farmers markets, we tried just about every granola around. It wasn't until my 3rd or 4th try at Whole Foods when I landed on the small batch granola from Golden Girl Granola. Whole Foods has a few of their 7 varieties including the Original, Forest Maple, Chocolate Decadence, and Home Sweet Honey. We have tried them all and love every one of them.
Mary Beth often puts the granola in her yogurt and I typically eat it plain as a snack in the afternoon or as a topping in my Acai bowl. It wasn't until I went on their website where I found they have 7 different varieties including one I would still like to try, Blueberry.
I was also very excited to see that they also sell their granola at a few local farms. Mary Beth and I made a trip a few weeks ago to Lilac Hedge Farm in Rutland, MA for ice cream. We picked the location because it also had a little shop to buy things like eggs and their own meats. Golden Girl Granola was on their shelves as well and we picked up a few while we were there.
As an aside, I was just thinking about the pictures I will be taking to share as a part of this post. To give you a sense of what is actually inside the bag, I will be putting it in a small dish and taking pictures. The problem is we usually only open one bag at a time and now I will be opening up 4 at once. I guess I will be eating a lot of granola in the next few weeks!
Frequently Asked Questions
How many varieties does Golden Girl Granola offer?
Currently, Golden Girl Granola offers 7 varieties including Original, Chocolate Decadence, Home Sweet Honey, Forest Maple, Blueberry, Creative Cranberry, and Truly Tropical
Where did the idea of their logo come from?
The logo image of the little girl with pigtails was created by their oldest daughter, Jacquie and a childhood love of Pippi Longstocking.
Is the granola handmade?
Yes, each batch of granola is hand measured and baked with love from the mother/daughter duo of Deborah & Jacquie
Start Your Own Granola Sensory Experience
If you are looking to upgrade your snacking experience, Golden Girl Granola will satisfy your cravings and elevate your sensory experience. Try it today and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.
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