Food Review: Rollagranola

 Reviewing food is difficult so I rarely attempt it. Everyone's tastes are different. However when I was offered some granola to try earlier this year I couldn't resist. Granola or muesli has been my breakfast on every backpacking trip whether overnight or multi-month since my first one over forty years ago. Cereal like this is my commonest breakfast at home too. I'm always happy to try new versions.

Rollagranola comes in twelve varieties, available in either 300 or 350 grams at £4.99 each. All of them are vegan and gluten-free and contain no artificial additives or added sugar.

Rollagranola's recommendation of 40 gram servings provides around 150-200 kcalories depending on the variety. That's about half what I want for breakfast in the hills so each box contains three to four servings for me. I add dried milk powder and sugar too. I find a filling breakfast is important when walking.

Two of the varieties I've tried are oat-based - Absolutely Chocolate and Awesome Almond. The first of these is 11% chocolate. I found the taste delicious but overwhelming. It's great for eating a handful as a snack but for breakfast I prefer to mix it 50/50 with porridge oats for a less strong taste.

Awesome Almond is my favourite of the four I tried. Mixed with dried milk and a little sugar this makes a satisfying breakfast. The basic ingredients are oats (34%), almonds (16%), and dates (13%). It also contains sunflower seeds, dessicated coconut, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, flax seeds, apples, avocado oil, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. I'd be happy to eat this for breakfast day after day on a long walk. 

The other two I tried, Berry Caveman and Zesty Caveman, are both cereal-free 'paleo' ones. I found them quite tasty but better as snacks than for breakfast unless mixed 50/50 with porridge oats or muesli. Both have very high nut contents (over 39% for Berry Caveman and over 44% for Zesty Caveman) plus seeds, dried fruit and more. The Berry Caveman is the sweeter of the two. The Zesty Caveman has ginger in it and quite a spicy kick. Both are strong tasting and good as trail mix, either on their own or mixed with other ingredients (I'd add dried fruit). 

Rollagranola will certainly find its way into my pack again, especially the Awesome Almond, and I'll try some of the other varieties too. Pecan Maple Twist sounds good.