Pantry: Wild Oats
"At school I was known for my granola the way some people are known for their chocolate chip cookies," says Kelly Flatley who started Bear Naked a year after graduating from the University of Virginia in 2001. Now she and her business partnerand childhood friendBrendan Synnott produce 300,000 pounds of granola a year. The cereal, a moist blend of oats, raisins, dried cranberries, almonds, pecans and walnuts, stands out because of its clean flavors and the excellent quality of its ingredients. Two new nutless varietiesHigh Protein (in which some of the oats are replaced with soy flakes) and Apple Spicewill hit stores this month ($5 per lb.; 203-325-0705 or www.eatbearnaked.com).