The Simbree company, makers of the Simbree Bites I reviewed before, also make some good granola. One new flavor is Cocoa Almond Cherry Granola, which I am reviewing today.

I got really excited about this because two of my favorite treats in any sort of snack food are dried cherries and cacao nibs (which are like natural chocolate chips, but not really “chips,” and just plain better.)

As expected from a natural company such as Simbree, the granola is packed with healthy ingredients, which are listed below:

Organic buckwheat flakes, organic quinoa, organic agave, dried unsulfured cherries, almonds, cacao nibs, sunflower oil, pure vanilla extract, cocoa powder.

Judging by the natural ingredients, and the use of buckwheat and quinoa rather than wheat and oats, I’d say this granola is very low on the Glycemic Index. Even the agave sweetener is a low GI sweetener.

Another cool fact – this is made in the USA.

A 1/2 cup serving of granola gives you:

Calories 230
Total Fat 9g
Total Carbs 35g
Dietary Fiber 4g
Sugars 14g
Protein 5g

It’s also important what you’re not getting:

Sodium 0mg
Cholesterol 0mg
Trans Fat 0g

Overall, this is about as healthy as any cereal or snack food can be.

So let’s do a taste test of the Simbree Cocoa Almond Cherry Granola…

I remember my parents always growing buckwheat when I was growing up, and I think I even planted some of my own buckwheat. Unfortunately, I never liked the buckwheat pancakes my dad made. I still don’t like buckwheat stuff like that.

But the buckwheat flakes used in this granola are great! Both the buckwheat and quinoa provide their own unique, tasty flavors. I can’t say I prefer them over oats, but it’s a good change of pace.

And of course, I love the cherries and cacao nibs!

I can’t really compare this to anything else, as I’ve never had a cereal or granola based on buckwheat or quinoa. All I can say is that it has a unique taste, and it’s good.

I tried this with and without milk, and it was good both ways. It does not get soggy in milk.

(I didn’t try it in yogurt or as a hot cereal because it was so good plain that I finished the entire container rather quickly.)

There are only a couple downsides, but these apply to all high-quality snacks.

First, granola is calorie-dense and easy to overeat. One of these containers holds six 1/2 cup servings. I would consume it as one 3 cup serving! As healthy as it is, you could easily get fat if you buy this all the time and don’t ration it appropriately.

But I won’t be buying it all the time, because the second downside is the price. Amazon.com sells 3-packs of Simbree granola for about $20, which comes to about $0.85 per serving. (In the current economic climate, I have to give up certain luxuries like high-end granola to make sure I have fresh, high-end parts on my racing bike.)

Compared to Bear Naked, is the price outrageous? Not at all. It seems a little more expensive, but that’s probably because the ingredients used in this stuff are expensive. Plus, stores like Giant, Wegman’s, and Whole Foods carry plenty of other granola that is even more expensive than Simbree.

My final verdict is…

This is not your ordinary granola. If you are sick of regular cereal, or just want something unlike any granola you’ve ever had before, try this Simbree granola. I won’t be making it an everyday meal, but it’s good for an occasional snack (especially since it’s more natural than your average processed cereal.)

Official website: www.Simbree.com

Who is king of the miniature energy bar variation? Is it the Simbree Energy Bites or Dancing Star’s Chunks of Energy?

Since there are only two products out there like this (that I have had,) I figured a head-to-head death match would be a good idea! (But since that didn’t work out, I settled for a taste test!)

The Test: Simbree Bites vs Chunks of Energy

Round 1: Flavors
Chunks really came out swinging in this round, landing well over 10 hits thanks to a plethora of flavors containing fruits, nuts, and even seaweed! Chunks has flavors for every palette, while the Bites are limited to three flavors, which are all quite similar. (They’re all oat bites, just with different additions.)

Winner: Chunks

Round 2: Price
This one took some calculations, because the two products are sold in different ways. [Chunks come in 5 or 10 lb bags, while Bites come in bags, containers, and tins!) So this is a rough estimate, but here we go…

By serving size, Chunks come out around 50 cents, while Bites are around $1. Chunks cost about $35 for the 5 lb bag, and $55 for a 10 lb bag. When I calculated the cost of 5 lb (80 oz) of Bites, it was more than the $55 for 10 pounds of Chunks!

Winner: Chunks

Round 3: Packaging and Purchasing
As mentioned previously, Bites are available in bulk and conventional packaging – big bags, small bags, containers, and tins. Chunks, however, are sold only in bulk. That doesn’t make a lot of difference if you live near Whole Foods (or a similar store) where you can dish them out yourself, but if you have to order online, you have to go with a minimum of 5 pounds of each flavor!

However, there is a benefit to the bulk sales – less waste! With bulk purchases, there are no individual foil wrappers to litter the trails!

Winner: Bites

Round 4: Honey
While I love that Chunks have honey, the Bites contain wild blackberry honey! You don’t see that everyday!

Winner: Bites

Final Score

I can’t really choose between these – both are good, just slightly different…

Want a taste of New England, or something exotic like spirulina? Get Chunks of Energy. Yearning for the Pacific Northwest and that sweet wild blackberry honey? Go with Simbree.

(Us cyclists are the real winners, as we have these two tasty, healthy energy foods to choose from!)

My final verdict is…

OK, if I really had to choose one, I’d go with the Chunks of Energy, because of the flavor variety. I could eat them for years without getting bored!

But for now, since I don’t have to choose, I’ll go with both!

Further reading:

Simbree Healthy Snacks Website

DanStarCo Chunks of Energy

I just got word from Simbree that they are making a couple small changes to their Energy Bites. These changes don’t really affect my review, but just in case you are interested:

1) They have upgraded from regular brown sugar to organic brown sugar. Great news if you like to buy organic products.

2) They are removing soy from the product. If you are allergic to soy, that’s great news!

And as long as they still contain oat bran, peanuts, sunflower seeds, etc, there should be plenty of protein.

Who would have known that the energy foods market is full of multiple variations on the tried-and-true “bar” format?

I recently reviewed the Chunks, have mentioned Bloks, and now have to try some Bites.

You have to love the “out of the box” thinking! Energy bars are so 2005!

That’s why I’m testing these Simbree Energy Bites, which are small, bite-sized versions of the quintessential cycling treat, the energy bar.

The best way to describe these is… taking healthy energy bar ingredients, mixing them up together, and cutting them into little bite-size squares. Imagine taking some rolled oats, nuts, and seeds, and mixing them together with some honey. (Yes, these are quite similar to the “Chunks of Energy” I reviewed earlier.)

How do they look?
They look very moist and chewy, and the pistachio flavor (pictured below) looked best because of the green pistachio pieces in there. All of them have a similar ‘bird seed clumped together in honey’ look. (I’m not sure how that sounds, but it entices me!)

They also look like they’ll stick to your hands. Well, if it gets warm, they will stick to each other. But luckily they didn’t make my fingers all sticky on the journey from bag to my mouth.

And the taste?
They taste just like they look. Moist overall, but with plenty of texture from all the little goodies in there. They are sweet, too, thanks to the honey in them.

How about the price?
The price seems to come out somewhere around $1 per serving, which is basically the same price as most energy bars. However, you can buy these in various size containers, so you have some bulk discount options. (Bags pictured above are 6 ounce bags.)

For something of this quality (i.e. an energy bar with healthy ingredients,) it’s not bad at all.

Any health benefits?
These bites are on the healthy side for energy bars. The ingredients are all-natural (no processed crap in here) and some are organic. Just take a look at the pistachio ingredients list below:

Rolled oats, wild blackberry honey, dry-roasted peanuts, ground soybeans, brown sugar, oat bran, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, pistachios.

Coolness – wild blackberry honey! I had to do some research on this, but it looks like high-quality honey that is only found in the Pacific Northwest! (Good thing Simbree is based in Seattle.)

Now it’s time to do a taste test!

The Taste Test

Oat Bites with Peanut, Almond, Pistachio
Tastes like a mix of rolled oats and honey, with some peanut pieces in there. I could only taste the pistachio if I took a small bite that had a large Pistachio piece in it. I love pistachios and anything pistachio flavor, but these didn’t really deliver that pistachio knockout. (They’re still good, just don’t buy them looking for a solely “pistachio bite.” They’re more of a “mixed nuts” flavor.)

Oat Bites with Walnuts and Maple
Starts off with that familiar maple walnut aroma. Then the taste is a mix of sweet honey with a hint of maple, and then some walnut flavor. The first try, these seemed to hit my taste buds with a little bland flavor and sweet flavor, which kept alternating back and forth. That was kind of odd, but they were still pretty good.

The second time I had these, the flavor seemed much more powerful, and really had that maple walnut goodness! (Maybe my taste buds were worn out the first time?)

Oat Bites with Cashews and Coconut
I popped these open when I wasn’t even hungry, but then I couldn’t stop myself from eating them! There wasn’t an overwhelming cashew or coconut flavor; they were just plain “good.” The coconut was noticeable, and I guess even cashews themselves won’t have an overwhelming cashew flavor, but this cashew/coconut combo just had it. (Whatever “it” is, these had it, and they sure were good!)

My favorite?
It’s hard to say. Something with the Cashew Coconut had an overall goodness, so I’d say it’s my favorite, but the Maple Walnut is a nice, sweet flavor. I guess that puts Peanut/Almond/Pistachio in last place… it’s not bad at all, but the mixed nuts flavor wasn’t as exciting for me as the other ones.

My final verdict is…

These taste good and are quite healthy. Get some! (At least give them a shot as something to rotate in with your current energy bar choice.)

Not in stores near you? Try Amazon.com then – they have Simbree bites in red tins, big containers, or small bags.

Official Website: Simbree.com (which includes more info and a complete online store)