I live in a small village on the outskirts of Ottawa, Ontario, and love looking at the Ottawa River from my front deck and the Torbolton Forest from my backyard. I walk my daughter’s dogs in the forest in the winter and on the long sand beach in the summer. The local Community Centre is a short walk from my home.

Inside, the Community Centre has a branch of the Ottawa Public Library, a well furnished gym, two event spaces and, my favourite, the Commercial Kitchen where Gran's Ola is made.  The Kitchen is well equipped with a large commercial oven, commercial fridge, commercial mixer, commercial dishwasher and a huge stainless steel island. It is inspected regularly by Ottawa Public Health.  Perfection!

Although I have type 2 diabetes and it is controlled by medication and diet, I created Gran’s Ola to find a vegan, quick and healthy breakfast that would not spike my sugar, would be healthy, has enough protein to keep me from feeling hungry longer, and is quick and easy to prepare.  I add plant based yogurt some days, and soya beverage other days.  Always I love to add blueberries and raspberries.

I wanted to create this delicious, whole plant and healthy granola for myself, my family and friends. And so, the Original Recipe was born. Over time, my friends let me know they were sensitive or allergic to coconut and/or almonds.  So, I created the Deluxe Recipe which has no almonds or coconut.  They love it!

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And a new offering in May 2025: The Grain-Free Blend!  It has no grains, extra coconut, cinnamon, almonds and pecans along with the all the seeds found in the Original and Deluxe blends.

I bake Gran's Ola in small batches, always doing my best to have it free from oats, gluten and dairy, and using dates as the sole sweetener, along with a generous mix of healthy nuts and seeds. I’m using a commercial kitchen which means it is used by others so I can’t guarantee my ingredients are free from allergens.

I am also working on a few other new initiatives:

• a new granola blend without nuts that can be used in nut-free facilities such as schools, and

• two types of granola bars: one without nuts for the schools and one with nuts for the rest of us.

Watch for these new offerings!