The timing for President’s Choice to send me one of their care packages could not have been timed more perfectly. We have not been feeling well here and Saturday night I resorted to making protein shakes for dinner and popcorn for dessert. Thankfully for breakfast we had more “real” food to eat because of President’s Choice.
Throughout the week I have been trying out PC Blue Menu Thins Multigrain Bagels for breakfast.
When it comes to living up to advertising, these “bagels” really are thin. I mean, REALLY thin.
So thin that when I put them in my toaster on the bagel setting they absolutely refused to toast.
It ended up being quite anemic and not crunchy at all. The idea behind them being so thin (other than to cut down on carbs) is, “they’ll bring out the flavour of your favourite toppings.” As much as I love my wild blueberry freezer jam, I missed the doughy texture of bagels.
On Saturday I put them in the toaster on the bagel setting on high twice to finally get some colour on them. Slathered with peanut butter, my husband’s favourite, we were still meh about them. Now they were the texture of crackers, so crunchy that again, they no way resembled a bagel at all. More like burnt toast.
Nutritionally speaking, I compared them to my favourite bagels and was shocked to see that they had the exact same fat content. Two grams and yet this bagel was half the size! My regular bagels were 220 calories and these were 160, so that is a decrease. There was also a difference was in the carb count, from 43 grams to 29 and when it comes to fibre, up from two grams to four.
Would I recommend this product? If you are on a low carb diet and need to boost whole grains then yes, probably. You can pretend that this is really a bagel but seriously, it isn’t. Being originally from Montreal and growing up in a neighbourhood in Toronto where bagels were an actual food group, I can not pretend that this is a bagel in any way. It is a great idea for a fakeout but for me, for my special weekend brunches, I will indulge in the real deal.
For those on special diets I give this product three out of five wooden spoons. Personally, I can only give them two.
On Sundays I love making pancakes. Not being able to afford mixes after I moved out all those years ago, pancakes were one of the first things I learned how to make from scratch. The idea of whole grain pancakes was intriguing but after the bagel thins… I will admit to being wary of making PC Blue Menu Whole Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix. My husband has gotten used to my pancakes and really hates it when I change anything. I did warn him in advance though!
In order for these pancakes to be able to compete with mine, I had to add some cinnamon and vanilla to the batter. You still have to add your own milk, eggs and oil so really what you are purchasing is the grain, flour, wheat bran, sugar, salt, leavener….
I also added PC Organics Canadian Wild Blueberries on top of the pancakes as they cooked. I have been using these blueberries for years in my pancakes and my baking, they rock!
These pancakes seemed to take a long time to cook and did not get very large bubbles on the top so it was hard to tell when they were ready to flip.
As a result they ended up a little darker than I usually like my pancakes. These were pretty good but you could tell they were healthy and made with whole grain. It was evident in the texture and the flavour but it was not super strong.
If you are on a restricted diet and want to eat pancakes on a regular basis, this is a good choice for you. You get about 2 grams of fibre in each pancake and less than a gram of fat. The carb count is around 10 grams per pancake and the list of ingredients looks pretty basic, not a ton of filler. I love that there there are no saturated fats at all, something most mixes have a lot of.
For the health conscious, I give this product four out of five wooden spoons but I probably will not make them again. On the weekend I allow myself to indulge when it comes to brunch. For me, these are just too darn healthy for a Sunday treat.
I’ve seen those thin bagels on TV ads and was wondering about them — thanks for your review!
I agree, the fluffy bagel is the way to go, although my little one quite likes the thins ones, maybe they fit better in her smaller tummy.
I just bought two huge club packs of the wild blueberries on sale, OMG, my favourite as well! Can’t afford the fresh imported ones, produce is just insanely priced these days.
Also, have you noticed that they have a Blue Menu Turkey Bacon as well, saw it at my Loblaw’s recently, the slices looks so big, meaty and yummy! If you’ve tried it already, what did you think of it?
You’re welcome Debra! They’re pretty good, they’re just not bagels.
Ava, yes, fluffy and dense, that’s a true bagel. Oh I know, gotta get frozen blueberries, produce is ridiculous right now! For frozen, they’re fabulous.
I checked out their turkey bacon today thanks to you. It looks very meaty which is why I might take a pass. We like ours to get crunchy and the thicker kind doesn’t usually do that. Good to know though, I might get it for making other dishes though!
Thanks for the reviews. I don’t tend to be a fan of bagels – I usually find them too big/too filling; maybe I’d actually like the thins. 🙂
I always make my pancakes from scratch too, and I usually use the ‘white whole wheat’ flour (like Robin Hood Nutri Flour Blend) so I feel like I’m getting a bit more nutrition than I’d get from white flour.
Pancakes are so easy to make anyway…. Pancake mix seems like a false economy.
JavaChick, then these might be just the ticket for you! I have gotten the Nutri Flour and agree, that is an easy way to make homemade pancakes that are healthier. Sarah, I think for people who do not tend to have specialty flours at home this product would be a good idea but in general, I would rather make my own and save the money.