What I Didn't Know About Wheat Germ

It can be toasted or raw. And there's a type of tofu called silken tofu, which is often used as a substitute for dairy products, but it's not refrigerated. Soy protein powder can either come in giant jars or individually-sized packets. Oat bran is dispensed from a plastic container like candy.

These are all discoveries I made a couple weeks ago on an outing to Ellwood Thompson's. It's not often that I go to a food store and feel lost, but most of the items I sought aren't normally on my grocery list. Davy and I were inspired by Alton Brown's show about homemade energy bars, so we decided to use his recipe for protein bars.

Despite everything we learned at Ellwood Thompson's about natural and wholesome products, the most relevant finding was that these ingredients taste healthy no matter how you combine them. Not so healthy that the bars aren't edible, but just enough that I don't think I'll be having more health food adventures anytime soon.