I love granola; there’s something about the hearty, earthy deliciousness of granola that I just can’t get enough of, particularly when paired with thick creamy yogurt. I’ll admit when I first went gluten-free I was disappointed to discover that although oats themselves are gluten-free they are so often grown in adjacent fields and processed in the same factories as other grains that cross contamination is a very real concern.
Unfortunately finding gluten-free granola that I didn’t make myself has been a bit of a slog, particularly when you also add in my need to keep things nut-free. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to connect with the folks from Martin’s Marvelous Naturals at the Vancouver Gluten-Free Expo and had the opportunity to taste their products. After one bite, I knew I had to share them; read on for a chance to win your own prize pack of Martin’s Marvelous Naturals products.
Both the granola and the crisps are made with Canadian grown, non-genetically-modified pure oats that are RS ELISA Certified. Not only are their products gluten-free, they are also nut-free and kosher and produced in a facility that is free of tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, sesame, eggs, fish and shellfish. The facility does however process dairy as the crisps contain buttermilk, but the granola is dairy-free.
My favourite thing about Martin’s Marvelous (aside from the taste) is that they are a local company from Burnaby, BC that uses locally sourced, natural ingredients. Using local ingredients not only supports and stimulates our local economy, it’s also good for the environment. The further the ingredients and products must travel to reach the consumer, the more fossil fuels are consumed, which ultimately leads to an increase in air pollution.
But I digress, Martin’s Marvelous Granola comes in two flavours, sunflower seed raisin and pumpkin seed cranberry; I had the opportunity to test out the latter and I admit I ate it every day until it was gone. The granola has a perfect balance of salty, crunchy pumpkin seeds, sweet, tart cranberries and the unmistakable chewiness of perfectly roasted oats. As an added bonus, the granola also contains hemp seeds, which boosts both the omega and protein content. If you’re not a fan of pumpkin seeds, you need not worry, I confess I’m not all that fond of them myself, but in Martin’s Marvelous Granola, they are perfect.
Martin’s Marvelous Crisps come in four flavours: rosemary lavender, pumpkin seed cranberry, chocolate mole and date & olive tapenade. I had the opportunity to test out the rosemary lavender crisps and was amazed at the flavour combination they provided. Packed full of sunflower seeds, raisins and hemp seeds the rosemary and lavender flavours are very subtle and not overwhelming in the least. The crisps are crunchy, salty and sweet but not too brittle. They soften up perfectly when topped with deliciousness such as my toppings of choice, cream cheese and some homemade apple butter.
Read on if you want to try out Martin’s Marvelous Naturals products, we are giving away FOUR prize packs containing one box of pumpkin seed cranberry granola, one box of rosemary lavender crisps and a reusable shopping bag. Enter using the Rafflecopter form after the jump.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received products from Martin's Marvelous Naturals for the purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own.
