It is time to finally face the flax. So many foods brag about how they include ‘flax’ and it is sort of getting annoying. I finally decided to try and figure all this flax craziness out and determine if this is just another dumb trend like the overuse of acai, that preys on the health conscious consumer.
This is why you are supposed to eat this stuff
Flax apparently is good for you…or at least that is what the packaging of this flax-based product told me. Filled with protein, omega 3s and plenty of fiber, flax clearly seems to be something we should all be stuffing our faces with. But if something is going to become a staple in the Fed Up HQ, then it needs to be more than just healthy…it has to be damn tasty too!
I am always coming across products that brag about how they have flax included in the ingredients. But I have no idea what the Hell the flavor of flax is supposed to be. My favorite wraps that I use to make my flat-bread pizzas are apparently filled with flax. But I have never noticed any sort of ‘flaxy’ taste. They just tasted like plain old wheat wraps to me….
My favorite flax-filled wraps have no ‘flaxy’ taste
So I decided I needed to product more dedicated to this mysterious ‘flax.’ I noticed that Enjoy Life makes a cereal that looks to be heavy on the flax. Enjoy Life has already earned my respect because they make some damn good granola. I figured I could count on them to make another tasty breakfast product and I decided to give their flax cereal a try.
So how did my flax-focused experience go…
Time to face the flax
Well, for starters I did not feel like a toddler eating this stuff for thanks to their NOT being a stupid cartoon character being plastered on this cereal’s box. And the back of the box was used for ‘pro-flax-propaganda’ which constantly reminded me how this stuff was supposed to be good for me. I then gobbled down a few of the rabbit-feed-looking pellets which made up this cereal and slowly savored the taste. There was a definite crunch, which was awesome. It tasted ‘dry’ and had strong grainy, nutty notes. I had to assume that this nuttiness and the intense flavors of ‘grain’ was due to the flax. It was enjoyable but definitely needed something sweet to make it work. So I topped some yogurt and berries with the stuff and found I had made a freaking awesome breakfast!As a bonus, Enjoy Life’s Flax cereal really kept its crunchy texture despite sitting on top of the yogurt for some time! Like most sane people, I HATE soggy cereal, and was truly grateful for how this stuff can hold up.
Flax cereal + yogurt + berries = tastiness
Admittingly when it came to pure taste, the flax cereal could not compete with some of my favorite finds, or my usual breakfast crack. But it was healthy and it definitely kept me feeling full for a long time.
After thinking more about this flax-stuff I figured I could get creative and find a way to make it really work in a meal that was even tastier than topping yogurt. I took a bunch of cottage cheese, mixed in strawberries, and piled on the flax cereal followed by a big douse of maple syrup. THIS WAS PERFECT.
So am I am ‘flax-convert’? Not really. It was good. It was enjoyable. But I already get my fiber and other vitals from plenty of things I normally scarf down each day; so I am not actively seeking its health benefits. As for taste, if I want a purely nutty taste, I have to go with some peanutty decadence in the form of PB Puffins. But if you want something that offers that grainy taste with a nice nutty vibe, that ALSO delivers on the health front, flax just might be for you.
