Friday, September 04, 2020

Pamela's Products

Update Review, 2020

When I last encountered Pamela's Whenever Bars, I liked the concept, but didn't care for the single flavor I could find: Oat Cranberry Almond.  So when I finally found another flavor, I eagerly tried it, even though it too wasn't necessarily my first pick.
Oat Raisin Walnut Spice.
"These cinnamon filled, tasty snack bars are delicious and offer whole grains, antioxidants and are gluten-free. Made with gluten-free oats, chia seeds and lightly sweetened with agave and coconut sugar, Pamela’s Oat Raisin Walnut Spice Whenever Bars offer a satisfying snack whenever the desire strikes."

This bar had a similar base as the one I tried before, just with raisins instead of cranberries, walnuts instead of almonds, and additional spicing.  It was the same kinda soft, kinda crumbly, almost an oatmeal-cookie but not sweet texture, but the flavor was entirely different.  It was ... aggressively spiced?  Too spiced for me.  Cinnamon, cloves maybe, and many others.

Maybe if you like spice cookies, or get exited at pumpkin spice season, this would be for you.

Update: I had another  This time, I liked it even less.  It was still soft and slightly crumbly and almost like an oatmeal cookie, but it had a lot of chia seeds and grit to it.  It wasn't as aggressively spiced this time, which was good, and I liked the chunks of walnut, but overall, just not for me.

Original Review, March 2017

Another day, another random gluten-free snack bar to try.  As you know, I'm always on a quest for good grab-n-go snacks to have stashed in my bag when I'm out and about.  Bonus points for things that make easy breakfasts, as I dash out of a workout in the morning.

Pamela's makes an assortment of products, including baking mixes of all types (pancakes, breads, brownies, cookies, cakes, cornbread, biscuits, scones, waffles, pizza crust, etc), cookies, fig bars, flavored graham crackers, all gluten-free.  Those items didn't really interest me though, so I only tried the "Whenever Bars":
"Made with gluten-free oats, chia seeds and lightly sweetened with agave and coconut sugar, these bars offer a delightfully filling and great tasting snack whenever you need one."
Whenever Bars come in 6 flavors: Oat Blueberry Lemon, Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut, Oat Double Chocolate, Oat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Oat Raisin Walnut Spice, and Oat Cranberry Almond.  Unfortunately, I was only able to try the least interesting variety, Cranberry Almond.

The bars all use the same oat/chia/flour blend base with agave/coconut sugar, and are a soft style, intended to be perfectly suited for, well, "whenever".  I opted to have it for breakfast.
Oat Cranberry Almond.
"Delicious chunks of cranberries play with savory slivers of almond in Pamela’s Oat Cranberry Almond Whenever Bars."

This is the last of their flavors I'd pick if I had a choice, but, alas, this is the only variety I had (I really don't remember where I got it).

The bar is actually twice as big as what you see here, but, it had broken in half.  Which is an indicator of the texture, it was soft and crumbly, almost like an oatmeal cookie.  In that sense, it did seem pretty suited for "whenever", as claimed.  If you like soft, fairly healthy, oatmeal cookies, this could be a dessert or snack.  The oat content and not-too-sweet nature made it fine for a breakfast bar too.

I'm not a fan of chia, but it wasn't too distracting in this bar.  I'd prefer it not be there, but, it wasn't too strong.  I liked the extra crunch from slivers of almonds.  But what I didn't care for was the cranberries, as anticipated.  Dried cranberries, to me, are just a step up from raisins.  I just don't want them.  I give Pamela's credit though, they weren't dried out and hard, they were plentiful, and nicely tart.  But, you have to like cranberries, and I don't.

Overall, I liked the texture, and I do agree with the "whenever" naming, but, this flavor just wasn't for me.  I'd still be happy to try others.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts with Thumbnails