So Kashi, who makes some of my favorite cereals, has expanded into a few more areas. Frozen entrees, check. Crackers, check. Snack bars, and even pizza? Double check. COOKIES?! CHECK!!!

They have 3 varieties of cookies: Happy Trail Mix, Oatmeal Dark Chocolate and Oatmeal Raisin Flax. Of course I skipped over the oatmeal ones and got Happy Trail Mix:

Happy trail Mix. “Naturally Yummy.” “No Hydrogenated Oils – Zero Grams Trans Fat – All Natural.” SO natural, that in fact, they provide a “freshness” packet along with the cookies that you are instructed NOT to eat. Let’s see how this turns out…

So they’ve got this 3-part thing going on to their cookies. You open the box, then you gotta open the bag, then slide out the tray:

When I first picked up the cookie, I noticed it wasn’t hard like other cookies. It was pretty soft and I was holding the cookie very delicately in fear of smushing it.

(do you like that little sideways smiley we got here?)

It’s a good-sized cookie, keeping the calories at 130. I bit into it — ugh! a little oatmealy. Not as bad as Pepperidge Farm’s Crunchy Granola Cookies though. I actually got used to it really quickly. This cookie is bursting with different textures: 7 whole grains, sesame, raisins, coconut, peanuts, sunflower seeds, cranberries and walnuts are to thank. There’s crunch in the softness, and softness in the crunch. Also, don’t expect a sweet cookie, either; the only sweeteners here are evaporated cane juice crystals and honey. It tastes ok. Less than ok to me, because I hate oats (but I love granola..??), raisins and coconut. The coconut taste is pretty prevalent to me (maybe because I dislike it I notice it?) and I hit a raisin every once in a while.

Because Kashi is a “healthy” brand, let’s go into their nutrition facts. 130 cals for this snack, which is not bad. 4g fiber and 2g of protein, plus 7g of sugar… meh, I’ve seen worse. Not ideal, but I’ve seen worse in snack bars. My real beef with this cookie is that there are NO vitamins or minerals listed at all. For something that boasts “7 whole grains” I would really expect to find more nutrition in here. Compared to a regular cookie — let’s take Pepperidge Farm Soft-Baked Chocolate Chunk Milk Chocolate – it’s almost the same. 150 cals, 1g of protein and you even get 6% of your DV of iron. BUT you lack the 4g of fiber that Kashi has.

• Taste: 6
• Crust and center moistness: soft with different ingredients that crunch all over
• Value: 8 cookies for $3.49 at Target — pretty good
• Overall: I’ve got my anti-oatmeal working for me here, so I’d pass (I also hate raisins and coconut). The lack of real nutrition in this cookie doesn’t make me feel guilty when I choose to pick up another cookie instead. 6