Review & Giveaway : Barbara's Bakery 40th Anniversary, Original Puffins & Shredded Oat Cereals

In celebration of their 40th Anniversary, Barbara's Bakery hooked me up with the most adorable pack of goodies from their product line. Cute cute cute! Here's what I found in my kit:

• a Puffins Organic Cotton Canvas Tote Bag
  
• Full size boxes of Shredded Oats (Original) and Puffins (Original) Cereals
  
• Single serve bags of Puffins (Original), Puffins (Multigrain), Shredded Oats (Original), Shredded Oats (Blueberry Burst) and Organic Wild Puffs (Fruit Medley).
  

When I was a kid my mom always made me sure my siblings and I only ate the "healthier" cereals. Oh, how I longed for cereals with strange, glowing colors and boxes covered in ADD afflicted characters. Mom's disapproving, wagging finger always reminded me there was to be none of that in my life. The one cereal that always made me feel a little bit like I was breaking the rules was Barbara's Puffins. While Barabara's puffin mascot was no psychotic cartoon luring me to sugar-ville, it was something my mom bought that actually tasted good... and you know, the puffin was cute too. Now Barbara's Bakery is giving their cereal boxes a makeover and I'm pleased to announce that our favorite Puffin friend is still on the box. Here's some info about the makeover directly from Barbara's Bakery:

"Barbara’s makeover celebrates 40 years of natural food heritage with four new delicious cereals and a completely new sustainable carton design! Barbara’s proudly debuts three new High Fiber cereals, each offering at least 40 percent of daily fiber needs and 50 percent whole grains, as well as Multigrain Puffins, the newest addition to the popular Puffins ® cereal line, with gluten free and Prebiotic NutraFlora health benefits. Starting in Fall 2010, all Barbara’s cereals come in 100% recycled, sustainable GreenChoice cartons (North America’s only certified recycled paperboard). Barbara’s products aren’t only good for the body, but they’re good for the environment, too!"

In honor of Barbara's Bakery's 40th Anniversary they are also conducting a very awesome contest, here's some more info from Barbara's:

To celebrate this exciting time at Barbara’s, we’d like to invite you... to consider your own all-natural food makeover by entering the Barbara’s Natural Makeover Contest for a chance to win the ultimate natural makeover! All you have to do is submit a video sharing your family’s worst food habits, your questions about eating natural foods, or what you’ve done to try and change your family’s habits by November 30, 2010. One winner will be chosen to receive a consultation with celebrity nutritionist Cheryl Forberg, RD, plus a trip to the Napa Valley in Northern California, where Barbara’s began making healthy and natural food 40 years ago. More information about the contest as well as tips for leading a balanced lifestyle can be found at www.BarbarasBakery.com .

So do Barbara's product's still hold up to my childhood expectations? Here's the verdict on the two full size cereals according to the others in my household:

Puffins (Original) Cereal is a puffed corn flour based cereal that has a small hollow area in the center. The puffed feature of the cereal keeps it light and airy, but it's thick walls help it to maintain a nice crunch in milk. The cereal has a wonderful corn and oat flavor and a delicate sweetness. Yumminess!

The cereal is quite filling despite being puffed, but is also not too heavy. There is 5g of dietary fiber in 30g of cereal (the amount which is pictured above) which is a good 20% DV for fiber according to the Puffins packaging. I remember begging for these as a kid whenever I saw them at Trader Joes and my mom always said "yes"- high five!


The Shredded Oats Cereal have a shape similar to the original Puffins cereal but are more dense and a little less sweet in taste. They have a wonderful clean flavor, and are reminiscent of a lightly sweetened oatmeal (without the sogginess). This is a cereal that kids and adults are likely to both enjoy, but it is particularly nice for older folks who maintain a little bit of a sweet tooth (don't we all?). The cereal is sweetened with unsulfured molasses, giving it a nice, smooth sweetness that is a little more complex and less "sugary" tasting than refined sugar cereals.

Shredded Oats and Penguins Original are suitable for vegetarians. Barbara's Bakery offers many cereals and snacks which are suitable for vegan & gluten free diets as well. To see a list of all Barbara's products which are suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, gluten free or other special diet, click here.

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In celebration of their 40th Anniversary, Barbara's Bakery has generously offered one of my readers an adorable 6" Puffin beanie plush of their own!

*To enter all you need to do is visit the Barbara's Bakery website and leave a comment letting me know one product you like or you'd love to try!

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Please leave a separate comment for each entry! Also make sure to leave your email address in one of your comments or have your email address visible in your profile.

This giveaway will end on August 11, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST. Open to US readers only. Good luck!

Giveaway winner: Haylee

**I was sent a sampling of Barbara's Bakery cereals, a tote bag and plush for review purposes and allowed to post my thoughts at my discretion. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post & was not obligated to give a positive review of the product. All opinions expressed here are mine.**