To honor all those busy times when a small cereal bar helped you make it through a hectic day at work, start celebrating Granola Bar Day right away! Each year on January 21st, National Granola Bar Day recognizes the considerable nutrition and energy found in one wholesome granola bar.

Nutritious, yummy granola is typically based on rolled oats full of proteins and useful fibers. It’s been an increasingly popular type of breakfast food since the 19th century but wasn’t compressed into a snack bar before the 1970s. There’s been a dispute on who invented granola bars, but Stanley Mason remains accredited for creating this compact form out of loose granola by pressing it. To produce a firm bar, granola is bonded with honey, butter or syrups, and it is then baked. The exception are so-called chewy granola bars which are either briefly baked or completely raw.

The biggest fans of granola bars are hikers and other outdoor sporty types whose energy depends on highly nutritious snacks. Although there are no records of how Granola Bar Day started out as a food holiday, we should keep it up to promote a healthier lifestyle. The perfect way to celebrate it is to throw a home-made granola bar party for friends and show off with some original recipes. Just throw in your favorite fruit, nuts, spices or chocolate and be creative!