Ozery Bakery

Morning rounds.  Did you know these were a thing?  I did not, until I discovered Ozery Bakery products in the grocery store.  Morning Rounds as their signature creation, a way to mix up your morning carb choice.

"Two brothers, one big idea. Since 1996, the Ozery family has been inventing alternatives to traditional bread products that are made from hearty whole grains, fruits, and seeds. Everything we make is intended to help you eat well and feel good."

But let me back up.  Ozery Bakery is a Canadian company, on a mission, like so many, to offer healthier for you options, in their case, incorporating whole grains, fruits, and seeds.  In addition to the aforementioned Morning Rounds, their original product, they now offer a smaller "snacking rounds" version, several types of buns, pitas, and brioche for sandwiches, and now even crackers and a granola-like crumble.

I've only ever tried the breakfast offerings of Morning Rounds and Snacking Rounds, both available in a variety of flavors.

Morning Rounds: Toastable Fruit and Grain Buns

"Start your day off right with Morning Rounds, the fruit and grain bun that will make you want to ditch those unhealthy doughnuts, muffins and pastries. We only put in what's delicious, like pieces of real apples, whole oats and seeds. With Morning Rounds, breakfast and snacks are a no-brainer—the hardest part is choosing one out of our four delicious flavors."

Ha, get me to ditch my regular decadent morning baked goods?  We'll see about that.  Still, I was interested in the idea of the morning rounds ...

These are somewhat hard to describe.  They are sorta like thick pita bread.  Maybe pita bread crossed with a bagel?  But loaded with seeds, fruits, and seasonings.  Really a unique product.  Any topping you'd put on toast, bagels, english muffins, or the like works with them: butter, jam, cream cheese, peanut butter, uh, nutella ...

The package recommends the freezer for storage.  We tried heating them directly from frozen and they easily got soft and fresh after just a couple minutes in the toaster oven at 400 degrees.  They also suggest that you can just leave them out to thaw overnight.  Either works, and they really are convenient to have on hand in the freezer.

The Morning Rounds are available in five flavors: muesli, apple cinnamon, cranberry orange, multigrain, and blueberry.  Two flavors, date & chia and cinnamon raisin, have been discontinued.

Muesli.

"Toastable, portable breakfast buns full of sweet sulfite-free apples, plump raisins and a mix of oats, flax seeds, sunflower seeds and other nutritious grains. It’s all the ingredients you need to fuel your day."

I started with the muesli, drawn in by the name, having just returned from Australia where I ate muesli every day.  Such a thing there.

I simply warmed my round in the toaster oven, from frozen, for a few minutes, at 400 degrees.  I was shocked at how fresh it seemed coming out of the toaster oven.  Soft, steamy, like a fresh baked pita-bagel!  These are a remarkable product in this sense alone.

The base of the muesli flavor, besides flour, sugar, and other basics, is a bunch of seeds (flax, sunflower), dried fruits (raisins, apples), and a "multigrain mix" of cracked wheat, cracked rye, crushed flax seeds, millet, cracked triticale, barley grits, sunflower seeds, and rolled oats.  So much stuff going on.

While I loved the form, and I loved the freshness, I didn't really care for this variety.  The seed mix just wasn't for me.  Too bitter, and not a mix that I liked.

I added some cream cheese and treated it like a hearty bagel, but certainly not a flavor I wanted again.  This could totally work well for egg and cheese sandwiches though, or even a lunch sandwich ... if you like seeds and healthy things.

***.

Snacking Rounds: Fruit and Grain Snacks.

Snacking Rounds as basically mini Morning Rounds.  They are available in only two varieties, apple cinnamon and cinnamon raisin.  Several others Cranberry Orange, Muesli, Banana Cocoa, and Cherry Cocoa) have been discontinued.

Muesli.

"Muesli Snacking Rounds are the perfect fruit & grain-filled bite. Muesli Snacking Rounds are so full of flavor we eat them plain, but they're also great topped with low-fat cream cheese! "

The muesli snacking rounds, as expected, were exactly like the morning rounds, just, mini. 

Again I thought they were a great product, fresh, so easily warmed in toaster oven, but this wasn't the right flavor for me.  I did like the mini size, much better for, well, a snack, or just easier portion control.  Or to make a mini egg sando?

***+, because I liked the form even more.

Apple Cinnamon Snacking Rounds.

"Apple Cinnamon Snacking Rounds would be a great addition to school lunchboxes. Filled with juicy dried apples and a hint of cinnamon, they make wonderful mini peanut butter sandwiches."

Next, I tried apple cinnamon, again not a flavor I was excited for, but picked by my partner.

The apple cinnamon too have a sourdough and whole wheat base, with the expected apples and cinnamon, plus some bonus raisins.

They also warmed up beautifully.  The distribution of apples and raisins was perfect, just right to add chew, but not too much.  Cinnamon was evident but not dominating. 

My mother, and partner, both loved these.  "Better than cinnamon raisin toast!", my mom proclaimed.  "Much better than a cinnamon raisin bagel", he said.  I am just not into raisins, or this flavor profile really, so while I appreciated the product, I wasn't as thrilled as they.

These were best slathered with some butter, which melted in perfectly.

****.

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Cranberry Orange. 

"Cranberry Orange Snacking Rounds are full of dried fresh cranberries and fresh oranges. The perfect bite-size substitute for an unhealthy muffin or breakfast pasty. Great with your morning coffee or tea!"

Finally, I moved on to another variety, not one I was particularly excited for though: cranberry orange.  My mother selected these, as she loves cranberry and orange, but those are never my top choice.

The cranberry orange have a totally different base, whole wheat and sourdough, without any of the seeds and other goodies.  As you'd guess from the name, they have cranberries and oranges two ways (crushed and pureed).

And ... yup, they too were far better than I expected.  They warmed up well, the cranberries were nicely distributed just like the raisins, and the orange accented it well.  Again, not my first choice of flavor, but these were quite good for what they were.

Also best slathered with butter.

***+.