Nearly 1/3rd of daily fibre requirement, low sugar impact, reasonable calorie content, coconut flavour, suitable for veggies and vegans
Significant saturated fat levels, not guaranteed wheat free, tastes bland
My problem with doing a review of granola is I don’t like it. I find it dry, generally too sweet and frankly, boring. Also another issue I have is that it is often touted as a health food; falsely in my opinion.
Generally granola contain grains (usually oats), nuts (usually roasted, thus destroying the value of their essential oils) and sugar (cleverly disguised as something that sounds ‘natural’ suggesting ‘healthy’). The end result is that commonly this kind of cereal is high in saturated fat, sugar and calories. The health argument is that it is high in fibre and recognised health foods which is supposed to counter balance any negatives.
However for me, this is not the meal I chose to start my day.
As a result the 500g bag of Lizi’s Granola sat unopened for a week or so before I finally took the plunge. Normally I would compare whatever I’m reviewing with other products but eating one lot of granola is enough for me; I’m not going to wade through another brand.
The founders of this granola is Lizi Shaw and her husband. They set up the company in 2003 to sell their own range of breakfast cereals uniquely focusing on low glycaemic load (GL) which essentially concerns the impact the food has on blood sugar levels (read about it here). They have done this very efficiently and effectively; now they have a variety of different flavours all based around the central theme of low GL.
Their basic granola (which they sent me) comes in genuinely resealable bags. It is easy to see individual flakes of baked rolled oats pumpkin seeds, linseeds and sunflower seeds as opposed to clumps. Apparently it also comprises chopped nuts too although I couldn’t actually identify those.
Taste-wise the main flavour that comes through is desiccated coconut; which I love. If however you hate it, then this granola will be a no-no for you; it’s listed third in the ingredients. I was also pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t overpoweringly sweet either. Overall though its a bit bland.
Lizi’s granola is genuinely (if arguably) healthier than many of its contemporaries. The predominant reason being is the low GL. I did have a quick look at Dorset Cereals (another popular brand) Strawberry and Redcurrant granola’s online info as a comparison. This was based on 45 g serving as opposed to Lizi’s which is a more realistic and generous 50g serving.
Basically despite the larger portion, Lizi’s had lower amounts of calories and sugars (occurring as carbs). It is higher saturated fats; providing nearly 20% of the recommended daily amount. It didn’t match the protein content which was a third higher in the Dorest Cereal granola. Although, despite the smaller serving, Lizi’s had almost twice as much fibre.
All in all if you enjoy this kind of cereal, to generalise from a nutritional standpoint, I believe Lizi’s is arguably one of the best of the bunch. This granola will have significantly less impact on your blood sugar plus the fibre content and protein should help you to feel fuller longer, supplying slow release energy.
Plus on balance whilst more calories, this is a far better way to start your day than a piece of toast and coffee!