Weil by Nature's Path Organics Veri-Berry Hot Oatmeal - a Product Review

Andrew Weil, M.D. is expanding his health empire with a business pairing with Nature's Path Organics. Say hello to a bevy of new products bearing his name, produced by Nature's Path Organics. I'm a regular consumer of Nature's Path Organics Products, mostly their cereals.

The family testers were hard at work this morning. We decided to give the Veri-Berry Hot Oatmeal a test run for breakfast. I particularly appreciated the simplicity of making this breakfast - and while my 13 yr old didn't tackle making breakfast, he easily could have poured the mix into the bowl, boiled the water, measured it, stirred it into the bowl and served us. Simple, easy food can be important whether you're camping or just trying to get out the door in time.

Both children, who are used to dad's gourmet cuisine and mom's simple home cooking had a few comments on the sweetness scale. Veri-Berry Hot Oatmeal was super sweet for us. Indeed, the second ingredient in this product, right after the organic rolled oats, is organic sugar cane juice. We appreciated the variety of other grains that were added to the Hot Oatmeal (organic wheat flakes and organic barley flakes), as they added some texture to the otherwise slop-like texture of just plain oatmeal. We liked the small pieces of organic dried cherries, organic dried raspberries and organic dried cranberries, as they also added texture and flavour to what might otherwise be bland and unappealing. I was personally pleased to discover that there was no tinny metallic flavour to distract me from enjoying this breakfast (which I have experienced so much with other instant oatmeal).

This product would appeal to hikers/campers who want a quick simple meal on the go and who don't have a problem shipping out their waste. It also would offer college students a quick and fairly nutritious start to the day. A single serving only has 150 calories, 2% of a person's daily value of allowed fat, 4% sodium, 16% of daily fibre, 25 g of whole grains and 4 grams of protein. While it might be good, nutritionally, for your average desk jockey, it's hardly satisfying, really, for anyone who is as active as our family is. My son and I both opted for a second serving so we would have the energy to accomplish our goals for today.
This product is produced in a facility that contains nuts, so may not be suitable for those with nut allergies. It is certified Organic and Kosher.

Where Nature's Path and Dr. Weil have done well, for the most part, in the packaging of this product. Packaged in the Nature's Path 100 recycled paper boxes, the box comes with eight kraft brown paper envelopes which hold the product within them. True, the paper envelopes are recyclable, and made from recycled paper, but it does seem to be terribly over packaged. In just one meal, my children and I used five packages. That's an awful lot of paper that needs to be recycled for just one meal.

Another thing that we really feel is important to point out is that this product contains 10 g of sugar per serving. It is hidden in the ingredients description with a reference to "organic sweetened dried cranberries". Call me weird, but I happen to like the tartness of the cranberry without the added sugars (and that still doesn't tell me how those cranberries were sweetened). With such a focus on unnecessary sweetening agents in our food recently, we thought this an important concern for Nature's Path to consider.

I would love to see Nature's Path offer this product, with some changes to their recipe to drop the sugar content to saner levels, in either a recycled paper box with a recycled plastic scoop for measuring serving sizes, or a re-sealable recyclable plastic container with a scoop for family consumption.

While I know that, on average, consumers are willing to pay up to 25% more for products that are certified organic, I found the $4.79 USD price (on their website for US clients only) a deterrent to purchasing this product for my family. Then again, I guess I'm a little old fashioned: I don't mind waiting the fifteen to twenty minutes it takes to prepare the non-instant oat and barley flakes.