Review - Bakery On Main Granola

Brand:  Bakery on Main

Flavor:  Apple Raisin Walnut Gluten-Free Granola

Where to get it: here @ BakeryOnMain.com

                A long time ago, I went on one of those popular prepackaged food diets (one of the most popular ones here in the US). I didn’t work, but they had a cereal packet that I was OBSESSED with. It had little balls of whatsit (as does this granola) and things that looked like Cheerios. It was ridiculously expensive, and of course even more so if you tried to order it outside of one of their weekly meal plans. I said goodbye to that cereal, and have yet to find anything like it…until now.

                This is marketed as granola, but it’s not really like any other granola that I’ve had. I typically like to mix my granolas into a yogurt, which I would not recommend with this, as there are no oats to get deliciously al dente, and the circles (that you can see in the picture) are corn-based. I dumped this stuff into a mug with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and BAM! I was right back in fancy cereal town! Sweet, cinnamon-y, apple-y deliciousness. As a granola, I say nay. As a cereal, I say yay!

                 

               

Tastes like:  Apple-y cereal

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Kosher, vegetarian, Gluten-free, vegan

What’s in it:

Review - Purely Elizabeth Granola

Brand:  Purely Elizabeth

Flavor:  Original Ancient Grains Granola

Where to get it: here @ PurelyElizabeth.com

                This is my new favorite thing - unique, tasty, really just flat-out spectacular granola. It tastes great right out of the bag, but I especially like to dump it into my yogurt. It has enough grains that it will sog up a bit if you let it sit in there long enough, which I love to do. It also has enough “other things” that it doesn’t completely sog up into a worthless carb-bomb. The ingredients are also not your “every day” panel of oats and sugar, you’ve gotta love being able to work millet and amaranth into your diet. I can confidently say that if I never ate another type of granola, I’d be satisfied with this one for the rest of my days.

                 

               

Tastes like:  The best granola in all the land

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Non-GMO, Certified organic

What’s in it:

Review - Metragenix Granola Oatmeal Bars

Brand:  Metragenix

Flavor:  Granola Oatmeal

Where to get it:  here @ Bodybuilding.com

                I look at the wrapper and I imagine some kind of yogurt-coated, oatmeal-y, perhaps slightly crunchy bar…that is probably pretty good. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, this bar fell flat. I need that oat taste, you guys. Stop trying to keep it away from me. I realize that oats = carbs, so maybe stop naming low-carb stuff OATMEAL…or worse yet, GRANOLA OATMEAL, aka carb-on-carb action. Stop it. Call it something else. I’ll be less disappointed and then I won’t have to write rambling reviews full of way too much emotion about a simple protein bar. Bottom line, this tastes nothing like oatmeal, granola, or anything else you might think it tastes like from looking at the wrapper. There should be a tub of protein powder and a bottle of liquid synthetic sweetener on the wrapper. Would you guys buy that?

               

Tastes like:   Neither granola nor oatmeal

Taste rating:  4/10

What’s in it:

Review: Kind Oats & Honey Bars

Brand:  Kind

Flavor:  Oats & Honey

Where to get it: here @ Advantage Nutrition

The “rectangle” style of Kind bars are mostly grains, whereas the “bar” style of Kind bars seem to be mostly nuts. These are so yummy, I like to break off tiny pieces and eat them almost like trail mix. The coconut in them adds more texture than flavor, so it doesn’t taste at all like a tropical-flavored bar. I also really like that they’re flat and thin, as opposed to long and thick (filed under:  things that sound dirty but aren’t). Plus, you can toss it in your bag, and it can’t get squished, because it already comes squished. Bonus.

               

Tastes like:  A really, really REALLY good granola bar

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Non-GMO, All natural

What’s in it:

Review: Skinny Girl Banana Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Bars

Brand:  Skinny Girl

Flavor:  Banana Oatmeal Dark Chocolate

Where to get it: here @ Drugstore.com

                I LOVE all things banana. Unfortunately, it’s one of the WORST artificial flavors ever invented. When banana-flavored things are bad, they are OMG-GET-THIS-AWAY-FROM-MY-FACE-DO-YOU-HAVE –ANY-DIRT-I-CAN-CLEANSE-MY-PALATE-WITH bad. In this particular product, they do it the right way. I didn’t have high expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. The chocolate isn’t too bitter or overpowering, the banana flavor comes through, but not in a slap-your-mama kind of way, and the bars are really soft and oat-y. A bit high on the calorie side (180) for me to pound these as snacks on a daily basis, but if you’re under your calorie threshold, or just worked out super hard, this is a great treat.

Tastes like:  The perfect balance I’m always trying to find between chocolate and banana

Taste rating:  8/10

What’s in it: