Taste Test: Bear Naked Native

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Oct 3rd 2008 @ 1:06PM

Granola was one of the staples of my childhood. It was always in the house and we ate it with milk for breakfast, with yogurt for lunch and straight out of the jar as an afternoon or evening snack. Sometimes my mom would make batches of it up from this recipe but as life got busier, she would resort to buying bags of it from the bulk bins at the local health food store.

So going into this particular taste test of Bear Naked Native, I brought along with me my years of granola eating experience. My first encounter with these two new flavors (Mango Agave Almond and Yumberry Goji Currant) were during lunch. I settled down with a bowl of yogurt (Pequea Valley, to be precise) and sprinkled a few spoonfuls of the mango flavor on top. I crunched my way through and then did the same with the yumberry variety.

The granola itself was wonderful - perfectly seasoned and toasted, crunchy but not so much so that it endangers your teeth. The fruit, particularly the mango bits, were a bit stickier and more resistant to the tooth than I typically like in granola, but the flavor was so good that I was inclined to forgive them.

The next morning, I determined to try out the granola with milk (as it is the standard serving method). I discovered that milk is the true medium for these varieties of granola, as they relaxed just slightly (which they didn't do in the yogurt) but didn't get soggy or mushy (I imagine that would happen if you let them sit for extended periods of time, but I ate mine promptly). The fruit even softened up nicely in the milk, releasing even more flavor in the process.

There is only one problem with this granola and that is price. It's expensive stuff (I saw it at my local grocery store for $6.49 for a 12 ounce bag). At that price tag, it is out of reach of my regular breakfast budget and I imagine that this will be true for many of you as well. So know this. It's tasty stuff. It would make a great addition to a special occasion brunch buffet. If you mother-in-law if visiting and has fancy, healthy food tastes, buy this granola. Otherwise, why not try to make your own?

Filed Under: Raves & Reviews
Tags: bear naked native, BearNakedNative, breakfast, granola, mango agave almond, MangoAgaveAlmond, taste test, TasteTest, yumberry goji currant, YumberryGojiCurrant

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-03-2008 @2:09PM rahul said... i buy it directly from them it's slightly cheaper or i buy it on amazon, you get a pack of 12 but it's worth it
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10-03-2008 @7:00PM DK said... I bought some of this at Costco and hated it. My husband wanted to know if it had been contaminated with petroleum products. It has awful.
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