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I have long been a fan of Bakery on Main’s great tasting gluten-free granola so was excited when my fabulous friends at Bakery on Main sent me a sampling of some of their products I have always loved along with some new products and flavors for me to try.

My favorite local supermarket’s gluten-free section carries only two flavors of Bakery on Main granola, the Apple Raisin Walnut and Nutty Cranberry Maple granola varieties and I have long been a fan.  I always knew that Bakery on Main had other flavors but never actively sought them out – though after tasting some of their new items, this is going to change.

Let’s start with their traditional granolas.  I sampled their Apple Raisin Walnut and Nutty Cranberry Maple both of which I have enjoyed for a long time.  First, the Nutty Cranberry Maple has a perfect balance of tangy (from the dried cranberries), sweet from the (honey, cane juice, and maple flavor), and nuttiness from the nuts and seeds that make up the body of this wonderfully crunchy granola. 

Similarly the Apple Raisin Walnut is equally as delicious but quite different from the Nutty Cranberry in both taste and texture.  The Apple Raisin variety is again, perfectly balanced between the sweet fruit and rich nuttiness of the seeds and nuts.  All of the great ingredients are tied together with the wonderfully earthy maple flavor.  I have to confess, I was never a fan of walnuts – actually I don’t really care for them – but I LOVE this flavor, walnuts and all.  You don’t get the bitterness that is often associated with walnuts in this mix so it has definitely made a convert of me.

The Extreme Fruit and Nut granola was a new flavor to me and has quickly become my new favorite (though, can you really choose a favorite child).  I love the complexity of this one.  Not only do you get some of the delicious standard ingredients but this one adds coconut, apricot, raisins and a host of nuts (pecans, Brazil nuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts) that really help it live up to its extreme label.  I simply could not get enough of this one.  The fruit and nuts were the stars of this one and they were, again, perfectly balanced so that you could really enjoy both the sweet goodness of the fruit with the really rich and robust taste of the nuts and grains.

Oh, and if you think that you are buying the same granola with different flavors added, think again.  Bakery on Main keeps it interesting with subtle differences to the make-up of the granola base for each flavor that makes each one a truly unique experience.  Do not kid yourself that this granola is just for breakfast.  I love to sprinkle it over ice cream as it is the perfect topping.  I ave also been known to eat a bowl with milk for dessert

Now on to some delectable new (to me) Bakery on Main products…

First up is their Fiber Power Gluten Free Granola Triple Berry…whew, that’s a mouthful.  The fiber boosted variety was a real stand out in the products I sampled.  It had a really wonderful texture being extremely crunchy but the flavor is where this one shines.  There are subtle flavor notes that sneak up on you with this one.  You get the wonderfully earthiness of the oats and flax coupled with the sweet kick of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries, rounded out with a wonderful sweetness that has a subtle kick of lemon on the back end of the flavors.  This is a complex variety that I urge you to give a try – not to mention it has 9 grams of dietary fiber and 3 grams of soluble fiber.

The final products I sampled were Bakery on Main’s Granola Bars.  No, that is not a typo.  Honest to goodness real soft granola bars.  I found myself tossing one of these into my bag each morning for a quick breakfast once at the office.  These wonderfully portable snacks are essentially the bar forms of some of Bakery on Main’s granola flavors.  I tried the Cranberry Maple Nut and Extreme Trail Mix bars and they are just as good as their bagged counterparts.  These will definitely be making it into my gluten-free travel packs that I take with me when traveling the globe.

So, if you are looking for great tasting granolas and portable treats, look know further than Bakery on Main.  You can view their full product portfolio on their Web site where you can also find a local store that carries their products or order right on the site and have their items shipped right to your door.  Oh, and while you are there, join there Eat Better, Live Better Club to get their newsletter and $1.50 off your next order.
 
 
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Continuing with Gluten Free Mike’s Favorite Things here is one from the recent archive.  Quite possibly the best thing about this granola is that it tastes like granola.  Now, I know what your thinking, GFM shouldn’t granola taste like granola?  Well, my friends in a perfect world, yes, but in our sometimes bizzaro gluten-free world we often get items that claim to be like their gluten-filled counterparts but tend to taste completely different – not Deb and Lynne’s.  Think back for a moment to your lunchboxes of yesteryear.  Remember a green foil wrapped granola bar that actually came two to a pack?  This granola tastes exactly like that (to me anyway) though it is wonderfully softer than the bars which could easily destroy your teeth.  Deb and Lynne’s flavors are also a bit more sophisticated than honey and nut.  I really do eat this all the time and love it as dessert by itself or over ice cream.  That reminds me, I have to place a new order.  Do yourself a favor and give this a try.

I recently had the opportunity to sample all three varieties of natural gluten-free granola from Deb and Lynne’s.  They make Simply Cinnamon, Nut n’ But Seeds, and Cha Cha Chai varieties of granola. 

The Simply Cinnamon was really very good.  It was perfectly sweetened with pure maple syrup which made it sweet but was not overpowering.  The granola itself was fantastic.  It was not hard as s rock (which granola sometimes can be) but rather wonderfully soft clusters that held together but alleviated any worry of damaging a tooth on any rock hard bits.  When milk was added, the granola really shined as they milk was quickly flavored with the essence of spicy cinnamon with the hint of maple syrup sweetness.  I also tried the cinnamon variety on some plain vanilla ice cream and it made for a FAB topping that perfectly complemented the creamy texture of the ice cream.  To be even a bit more decadent I added a bit of gluten-free chocolate syrup and was in absolute heaven.

The Nut n’ But Seeds variety was also quite delicious.  It had a great nutty flavor from the assortment of seeds in the mix.  I loved the pumpkin seeds which paired perfectly with the flax, granola, and other nuts in the mix.  This variety was also perfectly sweetened with just a hint of maple sweetness so as not to take away from the complexity of this granola mix.

Finally is their Cha Cha Chai variety which was quite possibly the most unexpected taste sensation of the entire portfolio.  This variety is really where the brand shines because it is so very different from any other granola I have come across to-date.  The chai was terrifically spicy and from the first bite I fell in love with the mix.  I have to be honest, I am not a chai drinker and was a bit hesitant to give this one a go but the taste was so unique (in a very good way) that I just could not help myself and the sample-sized bag was gone in one sitting.  If you are looking for something that has a bit of a spicy kick and changes the breakfast playing field, then I highly recommend giving this one a try.

You can check out Deb and Lynne’s complete product line and learn a bit more about the company on their Web site.