Let me start this review off by stating that I am not gluten intolerant, I’m not a coeliac and in general I don’t need my snacks on the go. However, what I am 100% proud to call myself is…a snacker. So, when an opportunity comes along to try out some Nairn’s gluten free snacks, regardless of what they’re ‘free of’ and what health benefits they proclaim to have, in my opinion a snack is a snack and I want to EAT IT!
As you all know I’m a bit of an oat lover (ummmm have you seen my flapjacks?!?!) so any snack with oats in it is fine with me. And it’s not just the taste and texture that I love, it’s the fact that these tiny flakes are absolute energy power houses. Yep, oats give you a slow release of energy, which helps make you feel fuller for longer and stops you (or at the very least, helps stop you!) reaching for the biscuit tin mid-morning.
Plus, if you’ve had your biscuit fix for breakfast why on earth would you need more? Ummmm well yeah OK, so there’s always room for more biscuits, right. Check out my Nairn’s gluten free snacks review and decide for yourselves.
Breakfast Biscuit Breaks
These gluten free biscuits are available in Oats & Berries and Oats & Apricot flavours. I was sent the Oats & Berries flavour to review (I sooooo would have chosen that flavour myself!) so let’s get eating!
You get 4 packs in each box and each pack contains 3 biscuits. I’ll be honest, they do look a bit like baby biscuits, you know those rusk type things, but if you can get your head around that then it’s all good. The first mouthful is ever so slightly dry, almost sand-like in texture, however keep on chewing and the sweetness kicks in and the chewiness of the berries adds a more pleasant feel. Because they are quite dry, they make the perfect dunking biscuit, so make sure you have your morning brew at the ready. Each biscuit contains 65 cals, so that’s 195 cals per pack, a little steep you might be thinking, but is that’s you’re breakfast then that’s not too bad going. They’re not meant to be a treat, they’re aimed at busy people who need a nutritious, ‘free from’ breakfast alternative that can be easily transported and scoffed on the run, which is exactly what they are.
Snackers
So, I’ve tried the sweet snacks, let’s move onto savoury. Snackers are bite sized crispy oat snacks that are again gluten free. I have the Cheese flavour pack to try, but they are also available in Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar and Smoked Paprika flavours.
The cheesy flavour starts off really subtle, but it’s a really pleasant taste that develops in the mouth and the more you eat the cheesier the experience. They’ve been baked instead of fried, which means the calorie content (105 cals per 23g bag) is less than that of say a bag of crisps. One major plus point for me is that they don’t taste too salty. Some savoury snacks have that annoying habit of making your mouth dry up and leaving you gagging for water for the rest of the day, but not these.
These are great on their own as something to bung in your lunchbox, or perhaps to see you through that afternoon slump, but they can also be crumbled up and scattered over a salad a bit like croutons, or even on soup. And if you wanted to, you could take them out of the packet and serve alongside a cheeseboard or with some crudités and dips as an appetiser if you’re having friends round for dinner.
To sum up, both the sweet and savoury snacks are in my opinion totally scrummy and I would now consider adding them to my weekly shop if I had a week where I needed convenient and healthy food.
You can find out more about the Nairn’s gluten free snacks along with the complete range of products over on the Nairn’s website.
*Products gifted for review.
