Bear Naked Granola

I'm pretty picky about my granola.  I like a specific style.

Granola

I was recently at an event where Bear Naked was giving out granola samples.  It didn't look like the sort of granola I'd like, as there were no clumps.   I want legit clumps, as I like to eat it by the fingerful.  Sure, I also put it on top of greek yogurt, or sometimes sprinkle it on ice cream, or, rarely, add milk to it, but mostly I just like to munch on it.  With my hands.  I'm a snack foods girl, a serious muncher.  Granola sans clumps is no good for this.

Bear Naked makes a slew of different granolas, some of which sound great like Maple-Licious Pecan and  Chocolate Elation.  Some sound ... intriguing, like "Fruit & Nutty Goodie Bag".  Others are loaded with protein, flax, or are reduced fat.  They also make energy bars, layered snack bars, and trail mix, all featuring their granola.  I didn't get to pick my samples, but received two different granolas to try out, neither of which were the flavors that sounded most appealing, but, I'm not one to turn down a freebie, so, I tried it.

While I still didn't like the clumpless form of this granola, the flavors were good, so if you like clumpless granola, this could be for you.  My favorite granola remains locally made Worthy Granola.

Coconut Almond Curry.

"Our savory, sweet mix of soft-baked granola, coconut, whole almonds and cashews, blended together with the spicy zang of Eastern curry is outta this worldly!"

The first sample I received I really wasn't excited for at all.  Coconut almond curry?  I'm not opposed to savory granola, but, don't generally like curry flavors.

Given the flavor, and the visual appeal of the granola, I was pretty certain I wouldn't like it, but I tried a few bites before passing it off to Ojan.

As I could tell from visual inspection alone, it had no clumps.  Strike one.

In the mix along with barely toasted oats was shredded coconut and almonds, as expected given the name of the product, plus curry powder, made up of cumin, turmeric, red and black pepper, cardamom, fenugreek, and coriander.

It tasted like, well, curry.  I didn't like it, but if you like curry, and are interested in a savory granola, I'm sure this product could be interesting.  It did have some sweetness from honey, brown rice syrup, dried cane syrup, and maple syrup,  but the curry made it pretty savory overall.

Certainly not my thing.

Sea Salt Caramel Apple.

"This yummy granola pairs the sweetness of caramel with the tart and tanginess of an apple, all topped with savory sea salt for a truly incredible and unforgettable flavor."

Well, huh.  This was good.

I'll start with the negative - obviously, the form.  I like my granola to have big clumps.  I like to munch on it.  Munching is hard to do with this style of clumpless granola.

But, this really was tasty.  Simple granola flakes, sure.  But also in the mix were dried apples and hard caramel candies.  It was a bit strange to bite down on the hard caramels, but, the caramel apple flavor was pretty awesome.  The sea salt was unexpected.  This was a sweet granola, but, then the salt was very pronounced as well.

This mix was ok to munch on, but really, it just demanded to be sprinkled over an ice cream sundae.  Which I promptly did.

Granola Bites

"Bears aren't the only source of bites around here. Delicious, bite size and portable for those on the go. It’s the perfect snack."

Eventually I discovered that Bear Naked makes a product much more suited for me: granola bites!  little snack size nibbles of their granola.  These sounded quite promising.

Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt.

"There's an old bear saying: Chocolate at night, bear's delight. Chocolate in morning, better get hoarding. This sage advice helped inspire our Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Granola Bites, featuring Fair Trade Chocolate and sea salt with a blend of peanut butter and cashew butter, whole grain oats, sunflower seeds and millet. "

I did like the form factor, not clumps as I was hoping for, more deliberate chunks, but still, quite munchable.

And I did like the decent size chunks of quality dark chocolate, and the pop from the sea salt.  But ... I didn't care for the base, the sunflower seeds and millet aren't really my thing, but I think it was the cashew butter that threw the flavor off for me, it just trended too bitter.

So, better form factor, quality chocolate, but not the ingredient mix for me.

Peanut Butter & Honey.

"Peanut Butter & Honey Granola Bites are made of dark roasted peanut butter, whole grain oats, honey, pumpkin seeds and millet."
I was even more excited for the peanut butter bites, as I adore peanut butter.  And again, awesome munchable form factor.

The peanut butter aspect was great.  But ... much like the dark chocolate & sea salt version, these had a bitterness.  I think the pumpkin seeds and millet caused it?

Sigh.  Gotta stop trying these.