Healthy Hermits?

If there is one company that understands healthy, vegan treats, it’s definitely Newman’s Own Organics. With a product line that ranges from oxymoronic juicy dried fruits to rich dark chocolates to health-ified Oreo’s, I’ve tried a majority of the Newman’s products. And honestly, I’ve loved 99 percent of them.

A product about which I’d heard rave reviews but hadn’t tried was the so-called addicting Hermits. As I made my weekly (and unnecessary) trip to the Farmacy Monday, I gathered an acorn squash, an apple and oat bran, and then I spied a glorious package I simply had to purchase:

Hermits, you're now mine.

Having snacked on these a few times over the past two days, I felt as though a proper review was in order.

Newman’s Own Organics Hermits Original

Cost, monetarily: $4.59. This is far too expensive, but I have an issue. If I’ve really wanted to try a foodie product for a long time, I get impulsive and buy it eventually. I’m only this way with food, I swear.

Cost, nutritionally:

Hmm. Did not check stats before eating. Whoops.

I’m not one for abiding serving sizes, counting calories, counting carbs or counting sugar grams (been there, done that, not going back). However, Newman’s seems to have stuck to the hermit theme, as a serving size is one solitary cookie. Additionally, that one cookie has 80 calories, 10 grams of sugar (which means I’ve consumed 30 grams of sugar today, solely from these Hermits!) and little fiber and protein. In comparison to its more commercial competitor, Fig Newtons, this doesn’t look so hot. According to the Daily Plate, one can enjoy two Fig Newtons for 90 calories and 12 grams of sugar. While I’d rather have two for closer to the caloric price of one, I’d also like pure ingredients.

Ingredients: Organic unbleached wheat flour,  organic raisins, organic molasses, organic sugar, organic palm fruit oil, oats, organic figs, raisin paste, spices, leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), salt, rice bran extract. Having taken a closer look at this, it can be seen that a lot of the sugar comes from raisins, molasses, figs, raisin paste and, well, still sugar. It makes me feel a teeny bit better.

Size and appearance:

Keep in mind I have man hands.

This seems to be a decent, snack-sized cookie that’s rather dense. Take a closer look:

I spy whole raisins.

The rich molasses color automatically made me think this is going to be delicious. Throw whole raisins and visible oats in the mix, I was more than ready to taste it.

Taste and texture: The first flavor that overwhelmed me was ginger. Ginger isn’t listed on the package, but it’s very present. Cinnamon hung in the background while the sweetness of raisins sang front and center. The molasses wasn’t as strong as expected, nor was the cookie as sweet as “10 grams sugar” would have one think. The texture was perfectly chewy and dense, as bits of oats give the outer layer a bit of bite. In fact, the texture is what makes these suckers addicting for me.

Overall: The true test of what I think about these cookies can be proven with the answer to one question: Would I buy these again? Despite my concern with the single serving size and grams of sugar, yes. Because as long as I’m eating relatively healthy ingredients in delicious goodies, I’m happy.  Now I just want to try the two other Hermits flavors as well. Cinnamon and Ginger, I will find you.

The Newman’s crew couldn’t have said it better:

Truth.

Question: What new-to-you food product have you tried lately?

 

---