Gayle Lanphier is the co-owner and co-founder of Sarah’s Sweet & Savory Snacks, a delicious granola market located in York, PA. She is also a Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist. On the product website, you can find her answering visitor questions in a section called “Ask The Dietician.”
Since its’ beginning, the company continues to grow with a larger menu, far beyond just Granola.
Welcome to Sarah’s Snacks Cafe and Market
Interviewer: This establishment is Sarah’s Snacks Cafe and Market. Is it more for people who are eating here or is it for people that take away?
Gayle: These are people that mainly just take away.
Interviewer: Which hat do you like wearing best? Medical or food?
Gayle: Food.
Interviewer: Okay. So we can talk about food then.
Gayle: We can talk about food.
Interviewer: What foods do you most enjoy making?
Gayle: Well, I’m a Vegetarian, so I choose to make foods that are, obviously, vegetarian. I personally enjoy a lot of vegetables. I do eat eggs and fish, only if it’s very fresh fish. So, when I cook I just make a lot of grains and vegetables. I use a lot of oils, seasonings, and spices. That kind of thing.
Healthy Eating And Gardening
Interviewer: Are you a gardener? Do you have a garden?
Gayle: I don’t have a garden. I did, but the home I live in now is lots of big trees and so we have shade and there’s nowhere for a garden.
Interviewer: I feel like I’ve gotten that question 85 times since showing up in the York, Lancaster, and Lititz areas.
Gayle: I would love to have a garden. But, I have no space for a garden.
Interviewer: Do you have a particular favorite vegetable? Then I’ll ask you if you have a favorite fruit.
Gayle: Boy, my favorite vegetable is probably zucchini at this point. Beets have grown on me quite a bit. Of course, the leafy vegetables, kale and collards, and spinach. Fruit-wise, I would have to say probably, I’m not a big fruit eater. Surprisingly, I do eat a lot of apples and bananas.
Interviewer: I have known you for about an hour, so I’m not gonna say it surprises me.
Ask The Nutritionist About Smoothies
Gayle: I like fruit, I just don’t eat many berries. I like a lot of berries. It is more for me about incorporating it in my diet in a drinkable form. I do a lot of smoothies and throw frozen fruit in there. Other times it is a lot of fresh fruit.
Interviewer: So what kind of berries? Strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries?
Gayle: Strawberries. Yes. Blueberries. Yes. Raspberries. No. Blueberries and strawberries are always there mainly because they’re easy. They are like grapes, that are easy to grasp.
Interviewer: Raisins?
Gayle: Ooh, I do eat dried fruits. I love dates. Dates are my new superfood, for me, because it’s quick, it’s easy, lots of iron and fiber. Yes, it’s concentrated and yes, it is lots of calories.
Interviewer: I could about a blog post that focused on the history of dates. I was just wrapped up in fascination. You could track it along with the growth of the Muslim religion. Through the Middle East and into Africa. The dates are really interesting.
Gayle: You don’t need to eat that many. So I’m the kind of person that when I’m full, I stop eating. I just like to get up in the morning and eat a minimal amount of food. Just enough to get through my routine. I work out in the morning, so, I don’t want to eat anything heavy. Going out on an empty stomach is bad. Therefore, I do my best to eat a lot of dried fruits early. I make things with dried fruits like I make my Cookie Dough Bright Cookies.
Nut Knowledge
Interviewer: What’s your favorite nut?
Gayle: Almond and almond butter. Yeah. I don’t know much about how we get them for the Sarah Snack Granola. We just buy the fruits and nuts. We don’t, or, I don’t research it. I should investigate more the source, but, I don’t.
Interviewer: Well, it’s a fascinating topic. I think people want to know. I really think that people will want to know in the future. They’re not worried about where their fruits or vegetables are. When they get an egg, they don’t need to know the name of the chicken it came from. But, I can see farms having real followings online and in supermarkets.
Gayle: People do want to know, especially if it’s been imported with all the new food safety regulations. We get a number of those questions at Ask The Nutritionist. It’s getting very interesting bringing things into this country. But, I feel that there’s a rub between actually knowing the source of where your food comes from versus just reading the package. Food companies can write things on the package and it meets the healthy labeling criteria. It’s not really what you think of as local food. Local could be from the neighbor’s garden or local could be, from 150 miles away. It could be from a warehouse that’s local. It could be so much that you have to actually find out where your food comes from.
Products Local To Pennsylvania
Interviewer: So, this is certainly a store you manage. How many things in here are local?
Gayle: Truly local?
Interviewer: How many products are from here in Pennsylvania? Maybe specifically to the York, Lancaster, and Lititz areas.
Gayle: In this store right now, the honey is Pennsylvanian and that is local.
Interviewer: I’m looking at the honey.
Gayle: So, raw honey, that is absolutely local.
Interviewer: Apples?
Gayle: The apples are local.
Interviewer: All this over here.
Gayle: Rice is. One hundred percent. I don’t have apple butter because the apples are locally grown. The gee, well no, that’s not local. It’s locally made but that butter is not local. At least out west, Idaho, or Iowa. I think they have several mills. That maple syrup is from New York. If you really want to eat that you’re gonna really limit your selection of materials. Food just moves. That’s the way it is, especially, when it’s in season, out of season. It moves around.
