The Good: Does not taste bad, Healthy, Affordable
The Bad: Does not taste much like peanut butter, Not at all filling
The Basics: The Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares are not likely to satisfy a dieter’s hankering for peanut butter!
Despite my wife being forced off her low carb diet by the antibiotics she needed to take when she got sick, we still have a number of generally low carb foods kicking around our home now. Coming on the heels of the Nature Valley Granola Thins Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter crispy squares (reviewed here!), I thought I would try her Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares. Unfortunately, these lack a robust flavor that would make them worth recommending and they left me disappointed.
Basics
Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares, for those who are not familiar with them, are multigrain granola bar blocks. General Mills has marketed their Granola Thins line as an alternative to full granola bars. The Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares are individually-wrapped granola and peanut butter treats.
Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares come individually wrapped in a box of ten. The standard size box that I have found is 6 oz. The Granola Thins are almost a square approximately 2 1/4" by 2" by up to 5/16" thick. While I usually rail against the environmental impact of such things, it is hard to imagine that the Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares without their wrappings.
Ease Of Preparation
Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares are simple to enjoy; all you need do it open the box and unwrap the crispy squares! There is no trick to eating Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares; they are a snack that is ready to go from the box to the mouth.
Taste
Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares smell entirely like peanut butter. The scent lacks even the hint of granola, as the peanut butter dominates the bouquet!
On the tongue, Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares have a surprisingly weak flavor to them. While they smell like peanut butter and one side has the texture of peanut butter, these lack anything remotely resembling a bold flavor of peanut butter. Instead, the oats and granola side entirely overwhelms the flavor palate and the dominant taste is dry and grainy. Interestingly, the hint of cinnamon (which is not actually in the ingredients) and honey is stronger than the peanut butter flavor.
The Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares have a very dry aftertaste that does not fade for quite some time.
Nutrition
Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares are actually not as bad on the health scale as most salty snacks are. Given that the ingredients are led by whole grain oats, sugar, and vegetable oils, it might surprise salty snack eaters to learn how generally good these granola snacks are. These have a shelf life of at least half a year, though the box we bought in October would have expired on January 26, 2013, had I not eaten it before that!
Each .6 ounce (17 gram) serving of Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares has 90 calories, forty of which come from fat. There is less than a gram of dietary fiber. While there are 4.5 grams of fat and a gram of protein, there is a disproportionately high 85 mg of sodium, which represents 3% of one's RDA of sodium. There are a smattering of vitamins and minerals, but nothing significant and 10 grams of carbohydrates. There is a dietary note that the Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares includes peanut, soy, egg, milk, and several types of nut ingredients, which prevents them from being Vegan compliant or Gluten-free.
Storage/Clean-up
Kept in their wrappers, Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares will remain fresh for a while and as long as the wrappers are sealed, one suspects they will last indefinitely before getting stale. I've never had to deal with issues of freshness for my Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares.
Cleanup is simple as well. Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares are a dry food and thus leave no mess behind. The peanut butter coating on the bottom has the potential to melt and these might leave crumbs behind, but they are not excessively messy.
Overall
Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares are a healthy snack that one wishes were a bit larger and more filling with the same nutrition, but are otherwise decent for those who are minding any number of dietary aspects.
For other snack foods, check out my reviews of:
Orville Redenbacher's Butter Gourmet Popcorn
Cheez-It Cheddar Jack Snack Crackers
Planters Flavor Grove Jalapeno Pistachios
4/10
For other food and drink reviews, please click here to visit my index page!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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