Review of 'Kashi' GOLEAN Crunch! Honey Almond Flax

Kashi -- GOLEAN Crunch! Honey Almond Flax 
Overall Rating: 4/5
Summary: really crispy and well-textured (almond slivers, rice crisps, honey, etc.); medium sweet; and delicious. I had this with unsweetened soy milk and it was still perfectly sweet. I could have used a bit more almond slivers, though. And, I think toasted almost slivers would have been even better. Note that not all Kashi cereals are non-GMO. This cereal is not. I probably won't buy it again, but you can check out the list of their non-GMO cereals here.

Where to buy: Fortinos, Shopper's Drug Mart



Ingredients: Kashi Seven Whole Grains & Sesame Blend (Whole: Hard Red Wheat, Brown Rice, Barley, Triticale, Oats, Rye, Buckwheat, Sesame Seeds), Soy Flakes, Brown Rice Syrup, Dried Cane Syrup, Chicory Root Fiber, Almonds, Whole Flax Seed, Whole Oats, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Honey, Salt, Natural Flavor, Mixed Tocopherols For Freshness.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 cup
Calories: 200
     Calories from fat: 45
Total fat: 5g
     Saturated: .5g
     Trans: 0g
     Polyunsaturated: 2g
     Monounsaturated: 2.5g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 140mg
Potassium: 350mg
Carbohydrate: 35g
     Fiber: 8g
          Soluble fiber: 4g
          Insoluble fiber: 4g
     Sugar: 12g
Protein: 9g
Calcium: 4%
Iron: 8%

So, despite the great ingredients, it is a GMO product, whatever that is worth to you. After all, not everyone is on board with boycotting GMOs and on board with a blanket labeling of all GMOs as bad for your health. The nutritional profile is great! For 200 cals, there's a good amount of healthy fats, super high fiber and protein and a nice dose of iron. Added with some milk, and you have a boost of calcium, etc. It's a great breakfast.


Other 'GOLEAN® Cold Cereals':

• GOLEAN® Cereal Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble (vegan)
• Cereal Crisp! Cinnamon Crumble (reviewed here)
• Kashi -- GoLEAN Crunch! (reviewed here)
• GOLEAN® Cereal Original

Brand:

• "Nine of our foods are now officially Non-GMO Project Verified including Autumn Wheat, Cinnamon Harvest, Island Vanilla, Strawberry Fields, 7 Whole Grain Flakes, 7 Whole Grain Puffs, 7 Whole Grain Pilaf, Simply Maize and Indigo Morning." (kashi.com)
• Phasing out GMOs: "That's why today Kashi announced a big initiative to increase the company's availability of organic and Non-GMO Project Verified foods. By the end of 2014, all existing Kashi® GOLEAN® cereals and Kashi® Chewy Granola Bars—representing Kashi's biggest offerings—will be Non-GMO Project Verified. Beginning in 2015, all new Kashi foods introduced into the market will contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients and will also be Non-GMO Project Verified" (read article here).
• "The soy in Kashi cereals comes from soybeans that have had a gene inserted to protect the soybeans from the herbicide Roundup, which kills, weeds," according to USA Today (read article here).
• Kellogg, which owns Kashi, contributed $600 000 against the non-GMO proposition 37 (read the Huffington Post article here)