Product Review: Kind Granola- maple walnut and dark chocolate & cranberry

Posted on | June 16, 2012 | No Comments

Kind, which formerly only made gluten free fruit and nut snack bars has branched out and is now making gluten free granola. The flavors available are vanilla almond clusters, peanut butter, cinnamon oat clusters, oats and honey clusters with toasted coconut, maple walnut clusters, and dark chocolate with cranberry clusters. I purchased two flavors to try from my local grocery store for $5.49 each.

If you follow this website you know how much I love granola. I am always willing to try new granola. Kind’s new granola is no exception. I tested maple walnut clusters, and dark chocolate & cranberry clusters.

Each bag was 11 oz, and lasted about two weeks. The granola came with large clusters, smaller clusters, and individual oats. I liked this because the clusters were perfect for munching while the individual grains are better for breakfast with milk or yogurt. The granola featured with multiple grains: gluten free oats, brown rice, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, and and quinoa. This was a fantastic for me, because I find it hard to get a variety of grains in my diet. A big bonus was all the grains besides the oats were hardly visible. For someone like me this isn’t a big deal, but for my husband who won’t go near quinoa with a ten foot pole, this was a plus. There wasn’t much flavor besides the dark chocolate and maple walnut. This made the granola very mild, and not over-flavored.

The bag was reclosable which kept the granola fresh and was very convenient for on the go snacking. I first tried the maple walnut clusters with chia and quinoa. The maple flavoring seemed very light, hardly distinguishable, and I hardly saw or tasted any walnuts. The granola was still delicious tasting, but plain. It was almost the same with the dark chocolate and cranberry clusters. There was a slight chocolate flavor, but I did not taste the cranberries at all.

If you’re looking for a robust, flavorful granola I suggest you go somewhere else. If you want a multi-grain granola with a light flavor you’ve found it.

Rating: 4 stars

Pros: multi-grain, variety of flavors, variety of cluster sizes

Cons: mild flavor

*review submitted by Kristina

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Ingredients (dark chocolate and cranberry clusters): whole grains (gluten free oats, brown rice, millet, gluten free oat flour, amarenth, buckwheat, quinoa), evaporated cane juice, dark chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, spy lecithin), canola oil, chicory root fiber, cranberries, sugar molasses, sea salt, naural vitamin E, sunflower oil

Ingredients (maple walnut clusters with chia and quinoa): whole grains (gluten free oats, brown rice, gluten free oat flour, amaranth, millet, quinoa, buckwheat), evaporated cane juice, canola oil, chicory root fiber, walnuts, chia seeds, maple syrup, molasses, natural maple flavor, sea salt, natural vitamin E

Nutritional Snapshot (1/3 cup): 130 calories, 3g fat, 23g carbohydrates, 7g sugar, 3g protein

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Want to try Kind gluten free granola?

Use the Kind store locator HERE to find a grocer near you, or purchase online at vitacost.com or in bulk from amazon.com: