This Granola's Not For Goblin
Written: Oct 31 '09 (Updated Oct 31 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The fiber
The whole grain
Lack of unnatural ingredients
Expeller pressed granola oil
Cons: May not appeal to boys or ghouls
No potato content
The Bottom Line: Haunted by the price paid for this granola, I seek peace and pacification in potatoes.
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| nagels's Full Review: Breadshop Granola SuperNatural with Almonds & Rais... |
So which is preferable he wondered, a pair o' normal bowls of cereal or just one bowl of Supernatural cereal with almonds and raisins? The idea of experimenting with the supernatural worried this feet-on-the-ground Potato Head. Although the box felt and looked normal, he wondered whether howling specters or transparent phantasms would escape from the box to fill the room and take up residence in his house. He'd have to call Ghost Dusters who would suck up the spirits in a giant spirit vacuum. Yet on the positive side, he wondered if eating this SuperNatural cereal would give him special powers like levitation, clairvoyance, telepathy, or telekinesis. Since the potential powers outweighed the negative, he decided to go for it, to open and eat this Breadshop Granola, the SuperNatural with Almonds and Raisins.
Arrowhead Mills, a division of the Celestial Group, is the maker of the Natural Foods Breadshop Granola line of cereals. These granolas are made with locally grown, whole grains and all natural ingredients. The "delicious" granolas made by Arrowhead Mills are available in quite a few recipes: crunchy oat bran, strawberry & cream, raspberry & cream, blueberry & cream, triple berry crunch, pralines ‘n cream, mocha almond, Vermont maple, cinnamon raisin, honey gone nuts, ancient grain, and of course SuperNatural with almonds and raisins.
SuperNatural Granola with Almonds and Raisins
This other worldly blend promises 26 grams of whole grain,( two times on the box front) 3g of fiber, and 5 grams of protein per serving.
Ingredients: whole grain oats, chicory root syrup, brown rice flour, expeller pressed canola oil, brown rice syrup, raisins coated with vegetable glycerin, puffed rice, cashews, sliced almonds, puffed corn, natural flavors (maple, and butter [from milk] vanilla), oat bran, rice bran, natural vitamin e and ascorbic acid (for freshness).
A serving size is ½ cup or 50g, and the 13ounce box contains about seven servings.
Per serving:
220 calories
70 calories from fat
8g fat
0mg cholesterol
5mg sodium (low salt)
34g total carbohydrates
3g dietary fiber
10g sugars
5g protein
On the back of the box is a recipe for supernatural cookies made with two cups of Breadshop SuperNatural Granola, one cup of organic stone ground flour and other ingredients.
My Experience with the SuperNatural
I'd been eyeing this cereal with the surreal name for months, drawn to the SuperNatural promise. However, the six dollar a box price tag at the local Weis Supermarket was too supernatural for me. One day I happened to see it in the Super Fresh for about five dollars, still too pricey, but curiosity got the better of me.
Looking more closely at the ingredients, I notice the inclusion of puffed rice and puffed corn. I'd never cared for any of the puffed cereals but thought the puffy stuff within would be overwhelmed by the whole grain oats, the chicory root syrup, the brown rice, and especially the expeller pressed canola oil.
My first reaction was that this did not resemble any granola I'd previously experienced. I anticipated big, crunchy chunks, whole raisins, and readily recognizable pieces of nuts. There are more small pieces than big chunks in this granola, giving it a specktral appearance. This cereal is sticky, but light, with airy puffs mixed in with whole raisins and little pieces of oats. The light brown color reminds me of sugar smacks.
I'm eating this SuperNatural cereal from the box and from a large pile poured out onto a napkin as I write this review. Granola is sticking to my Potato Head sweatshirt and falling onto the floor and on the keyboard keys. It tastes just as it did when I first opened the box and had a bowl of granola with milk for breakfast. It's quite bland and unremarkable, not resembling any granola or cereal I've ever eaten before. In fact the cereal is so devoid of crunch that I check the expiration date to make sure I don't have a box that expired several years ago. My box doesn't expire for another two months. Though almonds are listed in the ingredients I haven't seen or tasted even a sliver.
Futilely I rev up my taste buds to extra sensory mode in an attempt to detect and analyze the phantom flavor. Something unrecognizable registers, but it's neither sweet, not sour, nor salty; I could've just eaten the box to experience such an unrecognizable, disembodied flavor.
As I sample the cereal now Evie and Piper sit beside me. Evie, the vac rustle, hesitates then eats the granola pieces offered to her. Piper sniffs her "chunk" and turns her back. Evie makes a disproportionate amount of chews for such a soft cereal. I'm thinking it might be sticking to or between her teeth. Piper is finally trying a piece but is taking a very long time to finish the tiny tidbit.
I pause and look around the room. There are no incorporeal voices, no apparitions, and no change of temperature. With great disappointment I feel no infusion of supernatural powers. Evie, however, still has her eyes glued to me expecting a few more samples of this cereal.
Finally -
No, I would not recommend this disappointing cereal, and certainly would not buy it again, even at three dollars a box. I may try another Breadshop Granola in the future to see if I have a more positive experience. SuperNatural may be super in the natural department, but is not super in flavor or texture.
Tomorrow I may sample a box of the recently purchased Brainola cereal to see if it makes me smarter. Stay tuned.
Thank you, John the Brewman, for adding this item so quickly.
Recommended:
No
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