Raley's Muesli Crunch

A while ago, you may recall that I randomly reviewed soup from Raley's, a local-ish grocery store.  Why?  Because they have this amazing "Try-It" program where you get to try things, for free.  In exchange, you provide feedback.  Given how much I love freebies, trying new things, and giving opinions, this obviously very much appeals!  Sometimes they add coupons to your account so you can pick up the items yourself (like the soup), other times they send you the items directly, and often, they include something special in the box as well, like the adorable soup bowl and soup spoon I received with the soup trial, that I still use to this day.

I failed to photo and write about it, but the most memorable program so far was the Raley's Salad Dressings, of all things.  They sent us a bottle of Raspberry Vinaigrette that was honestly the tastiest salad dressing I've ever had.  Ojan and I both dramatically increased our salad consumption for as long as the bottle lasted.  We even split the bottle in half and brought half to our office to use there at lunchtime.  It was amazing.  Other program's I've done include a "Movie Night" program consisting of assorted microwave popcorns, "Italian Dinner" with sauce and parmesan cheese, an awesome selection of teas, a hazelnut spread ... the list goes on and on.  Sadly, I didn't photo or review any of those.

More recently, I was invited to try the "Muesli Crunch".  I eagerly accepted.  When I first spent time in Australia and discovered muesli, I was smitten.  Of course, that was bircher muesli, which is pretty different from other forms of muesli.  But the Raley's muesli is imported from Switzerland, so I had hope, although the "crunch" in the title had me slightly concerned.  Muesli shouldn't be THAT crunchy, right?  Doesn't that make it ... granola?  It is available in five flavors: Apple and Coconut Crunch, Honey and Wheat Crunch, Almond Crunch, Red Berry Crunch and Chocolate Curl Crunch.

Almond Crunch.

I was sent a box of the Almond Crunch flavor.  I probably would have picked the Red Berry or Chocolate Curl, but I wasn't upset with this selection.

I quickly poured out a little sample.  I was rather surprised by what was inside the box.  I expected something softer, for sure.  Then again, it is called crunch.  The muesli was hard clusters ... it looked like regular granola?  Undeterred, I dug in.

Almond Crunch: Close Up.

The aforementioned clusters are made from rolled oats, roasted whole almonds, wheat flakes, and "cereal crispies", plus sugar, raw sugar, honey, and coconut flakes.  If I was going into this expecting granola, I would have been pretty happy with the cluster size and crunch.  Expectations changed, I moved on.

The box suggested many ways for me to enjoy my muesli.  With cold or warm milk.  With yogurt.  Right out of the box.  On top of my ice cream.

I started simple, right out of the box.  It was crunchy, the name is apt.  But, it just didn't taste like much.  Sweetened, sure, but, there wasn't any other spicing or complexity.  There were a generous amount of whole almonds, adding even more serious crunch.  But still, not much flavor.  As something to just much on, it didn't satisfy.

I added milk, and then soy milk, hoping to transform it, but, alas, that didn't really help either.  I quickly gave away the rest of the box.