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Review by Mike Eberhart, author of the Gluten-Free Blog, and the cookbook "Gluten-Free & Wheat-Free Gourmet Desserts" "...Enjoy Life positions this product (as they do many of their products) as "allergen free", since they avoid all common allergens (meaning: no wheat, gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, corn, potato, sulfites, sesame, or casein). Whew! What a list! Thankfully, I'm only worried about the gluten-free status, but it's nice to know that people with many other dietary restrictions can also safely enjoy this cereal. What really got my attention with the Cinnamon Crunch Granola is my history with the product. I actually tried this product a couple years or so ago, and did not like it at all then. In fact, I have never bought it since, and even passed on a free-sample handout at a store a while back since I had bad memories of it. So, when I saw the box of cereal among the samples, I was thinking "oh my, do they really want me to review that?"  I then noticed this purple-starburst pattern on the box that said "NEW crispier crunchier taste!" Aha! Now I couldn't resist trying it. Curiosity made me wonder if it was just marketing-hype or for real. I'm so used to "new and improved" labels on products where there is no noticeable difference, I couldn't help but be skeptical. And, since they claim to have addressed one of my big issues with the product in the past - it was lacking both taste and texture - I had to give it a try.
I am very glad I did try the granola! It is remarkably improved on many levels! Enjoy Life has gotten the Cinnamon Crunch Granola right! First off, it delivers on that "crispier and crunchier" claim in a serious way. In fact, it is so wonderfully crunchy, that I feel compelled to warn all you gluten-free readers to be careful especially if you eat it dry - it is not your typical textureless gluten-free cereal, and, you best prepare your teeth for some really hearty chomping. I don't think it'll break your teeth, but it'll surely give your jaw a workout. And, this is a good thing. I'm so sick of having to eat cereals that are lacking a serious crunch; this was a most welcome change. Next, I figured I would force the product to fall short instantly just by wetting it down with milk. Crunchy when dry is one thing, but to remain crunchy when wet is quite another. Again, I am delighted to report that this Cinnamon Crunch Granola holds up in milk even better than "normal" (oats, wheat, gluten-containing, etc) granola - in fact, I timed its durability. :) The larger chunks were still very hearty and crunchy even after 15 minutes in milk! That is exceptional, and how they accomplished this with gluten-free, all-natural ingredients is remarkable to me. The cereal has a great rich cinnamon flavor too, just as one would expect from a product called Cinnamon Crunch Granola. The only thing that isn't 100% accurate with the product is the picture on the front of the box -- the actual cereal is considerably darker in color than what is shown on the box (if you can tell in my above picture of the box, and the bowl of cereal). Someone probably thought it looked better for marketing purposes to show what appears to be a more commonly perceived image of what granola should look like, rather than the darker chunks you will see once you open the box. I understand, having photographed food quite a bit, how difficult it can be to make each bit of food look its best, but one thing I will not do is show a picture that is different from what my recipes create - it's a personal peeve of mine. Lucky for Enjoy Life, their granola is quite tasty, since if it was not, I would really rip them over this photographic faux pas. The bottom line: Enjoy Life has definitely improved this product over the past few years. I can quite honestly say that instead of avoiding this cereal, I am going to go out of my way to purchase their Enjoy Life Cinnamon Crunch Granola from now on. I have wanted a good breakfast granola for a long time, and now I have found one. And, I already made sure I could eat multiple bowls of the stuff at once without reaching "burn out" - 3 servings worth was no problem at all, and I could have eaten more..." - Read more from Mike. Where to Buy: Enjoy Life products are available in many natural food grocers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Distribution has also begun in Dillon, Fry’s, King Soopers, Kroger, Smith’s and Wegmans stores. See their website for a store locator or to purchase online.
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