Special K Granola with Cranberries, Pumpkin seeds and Almonds [Review by @NLi10] PLUS CONTEST

A short while ago our friends at Kellogg's sent me some of their new Granola.  I like granola, but don't tend to buy Special K products (as my partner says it's like real cereal but without the fun), but I couldn't resist trying this one out.  After all - I've written about a fair few granolas on here, some amazing and some just a bit boring.  This one promised to be worth a shot as it has both nuts and seeds alongside the fruit and granola.  It also came with a tea towel and a canvas bag - result!

Cat not included.  

We are unusually not going to be reviewing the red variety (has raisins so is not for me) but the green.  Fortunately the green variety is the one with the cranberries in it which is automatically good - as is the fact that Kellogg's are recognising that not everyone that wants a healthy cereal likes raisins.

The bag is optimistic as usual and promises that it will do 8 portions.  Instead of strategically weighing it out to have their specified amount and automatically being disappointed I piled about a fifth/sixth of the bag into a bowl and set to work.

The first thing I noticed is that it's not all that sweet.  This goes along with the Special K philosophy of being healthy so don't expect that hit of sugar or honey here.  The flavours are not quite as earthy as a Lizi Shaw granola, and the texture isn't as insanely varied as the Dorset Cereals ones are due to there only being a few different ingredients, but there is a place for this.

While this is not going to win awards in any particular category I think that Kellogg's may have found the right balance here.  It's easily light enough to eat before work (I tend to treat granola as a weekend cereal), it's not so chewy that it takes ages to get through one huge bit of dried fruit, it's satisfyingly filling without making you feel stuffed.  I'll see how quickly this goes down, but I do think it's something I can see myself buying again.

The flavours are not all that sophisticated here, it tastes of the things in it with no roasting or trickery going on, but they are nice.  It's one where you'll be hunting out the nuts and fruit as you go for that little sweet hit.  I definitely liked this, and am tempted to pick out the raisins from the other variety so I can give that a try too.

PRIZE ALERT:

Kellogg's are so confident that you'll like this granola too that they have given us another two packs to send to one lucky winner.  All you have to do is comment below and I'll use some kind of sophisticated randomisation method to pick a winner. 

The usual caveats apply- contest only open to residents in the UK and you'll have to supply us with your address if you do win. People who write for this blog or work for Kellogg's are not eligible - if you can't be contacted within a week of winning we will pick someone else so either make sure your e-mail is attacked to your comment profile or leave something like a Twitter ID and we'll be sure to let you know.  Good luck - and feel free to share the contest with other cereal fans.

Contest closes in one week on the 8th March 2014

                                                                 PRIZE ALERT