I have been eying these toaster pastries for a while. I have a special love in my heart for Pop-Tarts, but as an adult, it is sometimes hard to justify eating them.

The other morning, as I chatted to a friend online, she told me she had to run and go warm up her “fibrous Pop-Tart”. Somehow, the fact that she was eating these made it acceptable, in my mind, to finally break down and make the purchase.

As I made one of these at work the other morning, a coworker commented that I was “kidding myself by thinking these were healthy.” I quickly reminded him that he eats three cookies every single day with his lunch. Let’s see if these were worth alienating my coworkers….

Smell: I went with the “Brown Sugar Cinnamon” variety, so when toasted they smelled sweet and spicy. (Also, am I the only one who truly believes this should be “Cinnamon Brown Sugar” not “Brown Sugar Cinnamon”?)

Appearance/Texture: Not shockingly, they look like Pop-Tarts. The crust is a bit darker, reflecting the presence of whole grains. Also, the layer of icing on top is not as thick as a Pop-Tart. The filling was a tad stickier than your average toaster pastry, but it was shockingly similar. I don’t know why I was so surprised to see this, but I expected something a lot funkier.

Taste: Like Pop-Tarts! Shocking, I know. These, perhaps, might have been a little better than Pop-Iarts. This is a bizarre thing to say about something like a toaster pastry–it is essentially dessert for breakfast–but I think the taste was somewhat complex. Now, I am not saying it rivals lobster risotto with truffle oil, but for a treat with such humble aspirations, I was digging on the slight nuttiness of the wheat and the perfectly balanced sweetness of the sugar and cinnamon.

Final verdict: At 190 calories, 4 grams of fat and 5 grams of fiber, as well as 15 grams of protein, this is a reasonable breakfast. Some oatmeal or an egg white and an apple are definitely a more balanced choice, but if you are looking for a sweet treat, this won’t break the nutritional bank. I was actually really impressed with these and happily chowed down on them all week. Health food and junk food all rolled in to one? Yes, please.

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Lemmonex writes almost daily about food, life, and her raging ego at her blog, Culinary Couture.

10 Responses

  1. Marvo

    Tried the chocolate fudge version. It was decent. But these have roughly the same nutritional values as regular Pop-Tarts, except of course, for the fiber.

    Reply
  2. Chris

    Like you said – pop tarts are just like chocolate muffins for breakfast – they are dessert, and a wonderful dessert at that.

    Is that the right dessert?

    Desert.

    Reply
  3. rossitron

    hahahaha, i’d love to retort, “well you eat three cookies each day with your lunch!” love it.

    i’m not kidding. i’m going to be looking out for opportunities to say this.

    Reply
  6. GennaRae

    I totally agree that it should be “Cinnamon Brown Sugar” vice “Brown Sugar Cinnamon”.

    Reply
  8. moon

    I gave up on the idea that anything of the sort constitutes breakfast, that stuff shouldn’t even be in the breakfast aisle. If I buy that, I buy it planning that it will be dessert. At least the whole grain fiber in it makes it a slightly healthier dessert than usual, so I might try it and see if it’s just as good as pop tarts, but I’m sure I won’t be kidding myself that it’s a healthy breakfast. Sometimes I buy kiddie breakfast cereals and call that dessert as well, but certainly not breakfast….

    Reply

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