Pure, simple ingredients. That’s what Sarah Kaminski of local granola company Best Ever Granola swears makes her granola — you guessed it — “the best ever.”
Her granola, which is gluten-free and vegan, is based on a combination of rolled oats, coconut oil, raw nuts and seeds, toasted, thick-cut coconut, and pure PA-made maple syrup. “We only source the best ingredients,” she said. “ We source locally as much as we can, and what we’re sourcing that we can’t get locally passes through as few hands as possible before it ends up in our product.”
“People get so pumped when they look at our ingredient list and say ‘There’s a granola that doesn’t have 27 grams of sugar or break my teeth when I bite into it,’” she added.
Sarah, who previously worked as a health coach and consultant, started Best Ever Granola mid-pandemic. “I had to come up with what I was going to do because people just froze and weren’t spending. Who knew when we would start to recover, or when people would start investing money in health coaching again,” she said.
“Our original granola recipe was part of our meal planning series, so I said to my husband, ‘We have that really good granola recipe. What if we just packaged it and put it out there?’”
So, on Thanksgiving of 2020 and in her three-rack home oven, Sarah launched Best Ever Granola. Within a few months, she had outgrown her home kitchen, moved to a commercial space in Squirrel Hill, and expanded her footprint to reach all corners of the city.
And, even though she’s left the world of consulting and coaching, Sarah’s commitment to health and simple, clean ingredients hasn’t changed:
“My mission always has been how can I teach people lifestyle changes, things they can do that will be sustainable, simplifying the food they buy and simplify what you make and that goes into your body,” she said.
“I think you guys do that so well at Harvie,” she continued. “Everything that you offer… it’s pure, simple, local — our values aligned in that way.”
For the summer, Sarah and her team at Best Ever are offering a seasonal flavor, Lemon Blueberry Thyme. It’s filled with the flavors of fresh thyme and sweet blueberries (when it’s baking, it smells just like a blueberry muffin!).
Add a bag of their original granola — this flavor is a Harvie favorite for the satisfying, delicious bite of salt in every spoonful — lemon blueberry thyme, or dark chocolate chia to your next order!