The Good: Does not taste bad, Healthy, Affordable
The Bad: Does not taste at all like Pumpkin Pie, Not at all filling
The Basics: The Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares are an all-around disappointment, though they are pretty healthy.
Whenever I buy a snack on clearance, I immediately feel either excited or some sense of understanding. Most of the local stores that have a clearance rack clearance food only when the product goes out of season. Having been eating healthy with my wife with the Nature Valley Granola Thins Peanut Butter crispy squares (reviewed here!), I thought I would grab the Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares when they went out of season after Thanksgiving. Sadly, the Pumpkin Pie Granola Thins were clearance equally for being unimpressive as for the change in season.
Basics
Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie 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 Pumpkin Pie crispy squares are individually-wrapped granola treats.
Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie 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" on each side 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 Pumpkin Pie crispy squares without their wrappings. Unwrapped, these look like granola bars that have been frosted on one side.
Ease Of Preparation
Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie 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 Pumpkin Pie crispy squares; they are a snack that is ready to go from the box to the mouth.
Taste
Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares smell very much like Pumpkin Pie. The scent is not as robust as virtually any other pumpkin pie flavored product. This surprised me because the spices in pumpkin pie are not too different from those of granola bars, so it seemed like it would be an easy transition.
On the tongue, Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares have an entirely sugary and sweet flavor when the frosting side is placed down on the tongue. As the frosting wears off the dry, cinnamon flavor of the granola bar comes through. There is almost no flavor of nutmeg and there is no clove flavor in these Granola Thins. These do not actually taste at all like Pumpkin Pie; in fact, when I was eating one of these and kissed my wife, she asked where I got the Peanut Butter granola bar!
The Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares have a very dry aftertaste that does not fade for quite some time and tastes a little sweet, like honey. Otherwise, these Granola Thins just dry out the mouth.
Nutrition
Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares are actually not as bad on the health scale as most sweet or 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 November would have expired in late 2014.
Each .6 ounce (17 gram) serving of Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares has 80 calories, thirty 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 70 mg of sodium, which represents 3% of one's RDA of sodium. There are a smattering of vitamins and minerals, but nothing significant and 11 grams of carbohydrates. There is a dietary note that the Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie 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 Pumpkin Pie 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 Pumpkin Pie crispy squares.
Cleanup is simple as well. Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares are a dry food and thus leave no mess behind. The Pumpkin Pie frosting coating on the bottom melts pretty easily and these might leave crumbs behind, but they are not excessively messy. The frosting may be easily washed off.
Overall
Nature Valley Granola Thins Pumpkin Pie crispy squares are a healthy snack, but one that does not taste at all like pumpkin pie, making it disappointing.
For other snack foods, check out my reviews of:
Marathon Smart Stuff Crunchy Chocolate Crisp Snack Bar
Sheila G's Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle
PB Crave Coco Bananas Peanut Butter
2/10
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© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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