Good & Gather Organic Mixed Berry Fruit Snacks

Next up in our household staple series: Organic Mixed Berry Fruit Snacks. These look more like citrus colors than berry colors to me. Know what I mean?

I think of "berry" things as being black, blue, purple, and red. These are yellow, orange, and pink, so I'm inclined to think: lemon, orange, and grapefruit. Nope. These little do-dads are...? Well, shoot. That's a good question. What flavors are they supposed to be?

The packaging shows what appears to be strawberry, raspberry, and maybe grape? Interesting. No blueberry? That would explain the lack of blue fruit snacks.

The ingredients list shows the following real fruit juices were used in these tasty, fruity morsels: apple, blackcurrant, carrot, and radish. Okay. I see why they didn't tell us what juices were actually in these things. Further inspection reveals the aforementioned fruit juices are used only for color rather than flavor. So what flavor are they?

The only juice mentioned in the list that's not in the context of "color" is apple juice. So...these are apple flavored fruit snacks. I feel misled.

Still, they're fairly yummy. They're not as yummy as their "mixed fruit" predecessor, but pretty darn close. 

At $10.29 for 20 baggies, they're quite a bit pricier than the other fruit snacks. I guess you're paying for the organic-ness. Also, these are not gluten-free. They do contain wheat.

I give these organic "berry" fruit snacks 7 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic Strawberry Shortcake Whole Grain Bars

GAG is back with another orgasmic—er, sorry—organic snack offering. It's for sporty, active, healthy individuals, and you can tell because there's a blue bicycle bursting through a debris field of giant strawberries, chunks of cheese, and angular white razor blades on the cover. I, personally, would have added an explosion, a bit of blood spatter, and maybe a dinosaur or two. But either way, it's obvious that this snack is not for the faint of heart.

Honestly, it tastes like plastic a little. I mean, the bars are dense, moist, and filling, which is good. There are 12 of them in there, which for $7.29 is a so-so value, IMO.

They don't taste much like strawberry at all. The "shortcake" is predictably less like real shortcake and more like the bread in a typical cereal bar. But make no mistake, these aren't cereal bars. They are whole grain baked bars—that's baked, never fried, in case you were wondering.

And they're gluten free. How's that possible? Ah. Oats and oat flour rather than wheat. That's unexpected.

I, personally, wouldn't buy these again. I bet the wife will like them a lot more than I do. The "strawberry shortcake" moniker is a stretch. The texture is better than the flavor.

I give these bars 6 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic White Cheddar Baked Corn Puffs

"Yeah, I want cheesy poofs!"

Ah, but do you? Do you really? Well, first of all, we have to realize not all cheesy poofs are created equal. Pretty sure the version Eric Cartman was craving wasn't organic. I'm also willing to bet it wasn't Target brand.

But hey, he might like these. They're vaguely cheesy. They're crunchy enough.

But they're also dry. I mean they aren't oily or greasy at all. Just look at that pic—not even a hint of a stain on that napkin. To me, that would usually be a good thing, but in this case...I dunno. It kinda creeps me out how dry these things are.

And Good and Gather Organic White Cheddar Baked Corn Puffs are stiff, almost stale-feeling straight out of the bag. They have the texture of styrofoam packing peanuts. They're more rigid than your run-of-the-mill cheesy poofs.

$6.39 for the 10 oz resealable bag. I know I said I'd only review trail mixes on this blog from here on out...but I lied. The local Target didn't have any new trail mixes that I hadn't reviewed yet, so here you go: another non-trail mix GAG review. 

The wife liked them okay, so I'll go easier on them than I might have for their final score.

I give these organic cheesy poofs 6 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic Strawberry Banana Instant Oatmeal

This is some good oatmeal overall, but it needs more of the fruit flavors—especially strawberry. Fortunately, we had some freeze dried strawberries on hand, which improved the taste significantly. It's organic, which is good. No pesticides used on these oats.

There are teeny tiny little bits of dried bananas and dried strawberries in the mix. There's also "strawberry juice" listed, but both of the strawberry elements appear in the "2% or less" part of the ingredients list. In my humble opinion, sweeteners don't get better than "organic cane sugar," which is what we're looking at here. Also, it's the second ingredient rather than the first, falling just after "organic whole grain rolled oats." So...pretty darn healthy by my standards.

I'm starting to wonder if Favorite Day is replacing Archer Farms and if Good & Gather (GAG) is replacing Simply Balanced. The beautiful wifey pointed out the other day that most of GAG's oatmeals are certified organic and have pretty healthy ingredients, while Favorite Day is specializing in things like "indulgent trail mixes" that are loaded with calories and sugar and generally aren't organic.

$2.99 for 8 packs of instant oatmeal. The wife likes it more than I do, and she's made repeat purchases of this product. I'd probably steer the score toward 6 or so, but she'd definitely put it in 8 or 8.5 territory. For her sake, I'll split the difference and throw out 7 stars.

I give this organic oatmeal 7 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic Confetti Cake Instant Oatmeal

Ah, the never-ending battle to make plain old boring oatmeal seem exciting. Confetti cake, huh? Kinda gimmicky, but hey, it worked on me. Why not "birthday cake oatmeal," I wonder.

Well, Nathan, because you would logically only have birthday cake oatmeal one day out of the year and you can enjoy confetti cake oatmeal year-round. Okay. I'll buy it.

But you know it's pretty much nothing but rolled oats and cane sugar in there. There's a tiny bit of rice flour, potato starch, and sunflower oil in the "colored bits," but those are just the icing on the proverbial cake. There's a dash of sea salt at the end of the ingredients, and voila, you've got a complete breakfast.

Did I mention all the ingredients are organic? That's a plus.

They colored the bits with all-natural food products like turmeric, anatto, and vegetable and fruit juices. That's kinda Trader Joe's-esque of Target. I don't remember seeing such holistic colorings from Good & Gather or Favorite Day before. The colors in the actual product aren't nearly as vibrant as they look on the packaging, but I can live with that.

The beautiful wifey and I both like it. Good & Gather Confetti Cake Oatmeal somehow transcends its simple ingredients and tastes fun and festive. I'll throw out seven stars. Why not? The value is there at $2.99 for eight packs of oatmeal.

I give this breakfast product 7 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic Apple Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal

Let's face it: oatmeal has never been the sexiest food in the world, but because of its convenience, affordability, and nutritional value, it's still a part of most people's diets. It doesn't take much to make it palatable: some milk, a sweetener, and maybe some mix-ins of some kind, and you're in business.

Now if you've got instant oatmeal and the manufacturer has already made the mix tasty for you, then that's even better. And that's exactly what we have here. There's your usual whole grain goodness, plenty of apple cinnamon flavor with little bits of real apple, and the sweetness level is just about perfect, too. Just add water or milk.

Of course I add milk. It makes it much thicker and richer. About two minutes in the microwave, and presto: quick, easy breakfast. $2.99 for eight packets. 

How many other products are out there that will provide eight meals for three bucks? Not many. Not these days. Of course the milk is a little extra, but if I had to use water, I could live with it. I've had a lot of flavors of instant oatmeal in my day, and these are probably toward the top for a lot of reasons: taste, value, convenience. Would purchase again.

You ever met one of those people that refers to oatmeal as "hot cereal"? What's up with that?

I give this oatmeal 8 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic Blueberry Fruit & Grain Bars

I used to be absolutely crazy about Nutri-Grain bars. I'm not sure why. I mean, most people will agree they're convenient and tasty as far as snacks or quick breakfast options go, but I used to excited about Nutri-Grain bars the way most people get excited about cheesecake or apple pie. I loved everything about them.

And I still do. But I'm more or less past my "Nutri-Grain bars are the best thing ever" phase. I'll still grab a box from time to time, or I'll try newfangled versions as they release them—you know, like when they started filling them with yogurt. We even saw a unique, gimmicky cereal bar from Target once before: the Market Pantry Banana Fudge Bars. I liked them okay, but I'd just as soon reach for a blueberry Nutri-Grain bar.

Or these. They're the exact same thing. Yep. Pretty much dead ringers for the original Kellogg's cereal bar product. I think Target used to make them under the Archer Farms or Simply Balanced brand name. There's nothing wrong with them at all. 

There aren't any improvements on the original, and there aren't any shortcomings, either. Well, I guess using certified organic ingredients is a step up from the originals. To the best of my knowledge, Nutri-Grain doesn't offer any organic cereal bar options. Price-wise, they're comparable, as well.

$2.69 for 6 bars. I would buy these again, but maybe I'll try a different flavor next time.

I give these fruit and grain bars 8 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic Peanut Butter Poppers

I'm sure I've mentioned it on this blog before, but I looove peanut butter. Always have. I love the condiment itself, I love peanut butter candies like Reese's Pieces, I love peanut butter and chocolate together, I love peanut butter ice cream, peanut butter cake, and even the recent Peanut Butter Falcon film, unfairly snubbed by the Academy this past year.

And of course, I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I like peanut butter and jelly trail mix. I even like peanut butter and banana sandwiches, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, AKA Fluffernutter. Pretty much anything goes with peanut butter...except peanut butter and pickles or peanut butter and bacon. People who enjoy those combinations should take a cold shower immediately and check themselves into the nearest mental health facility.

So I, like many of you, have my opinions about peanut butter. As much as I love the stuff, peanut butter cereals are a sketchy subject. 

While I wouldn't eat peanut butter solo with cold milk, I feel like peanut butter and chocolate desserts go well with milk. That's why cereals like Reese's Puffs work, at least marginally, in my opinion. Peanut butter dessert cereals are usually a safe bet. It's much harder to pull off a "healthy" peanut butter cereal, by my estimation. 

I like plenty of healthy cereals. Kashi, raisin bran, muesli, oats, and shredded wheat are all pretty decent in my book, so you can't accuse me of only eating junk food for breakfast. But in this particular case, I just feel like there needed to be a stronger sweet peanut butter flavor. The taste of the grains was too prominent against the taste of the peanut butter. I think it would have worked fine if it had been just an organic multigrain cereal...or if they'd pushed it just a tad in the direction of "peanut butter treat" rather than "peanut butter health food."

The texture was grainy and crispy, with just a hint of oily peanut butteriness. It was pretty similar to something like Kix. Not bad.

The leftover milk wasn't particularly peanut buttery. It tasted more like the constituent grains: corn, oats, rice. Drinkable, but not in a fun way. These peanut butter poppers aren't inedible, but I probably won't purchase this one again.

I give this cereal 6 out of 10 stars.

Good & Gather Organic Veggie-Flavored Tortilla Chips

If it ain't broke, then don't try to fix it.

It might be a cliche, but it's generally a good rule of thumb in my book. Target obviously disagrees.

I've been aware of this Good & Gather shift for quite a few months now, even though this is our first review of a Good & Gather product. Heh. As an acronym, Good and Gather spells GAG. 

So long, Archer Farms. I think we'll stick with "What's Good at Archer Farms?" as the name of this blog for the time being because 1) the first line of this post 2) I like the name "Archer Farms" a lot more than "Good & Gather" and 3) It's a nod to the classic golden age of Target fare of the past decade? Decades? I'm pretty sure AF was around since I first started shopping at Target some time in the early 2000's.

Isn't "good" either an adjective or a noun? And "gather" is a verb. So...those two words don't belong together in any case. 

I guess it could be short for "Do good and gather stuff" or some other inane simplistic mantra of modern Minnesota marketing masters, but whatever. At least it's alliterative. I'm not into it, but that doesn't mean that we won't see some tasty products coming down the line with the GAG moniker.

First impression of these chips: not great. They tasted burnt in a weird, subtle way. They're thick, relatively rigid...and vegetabley. At first I wasn't into the veggie + corn vibe.

But I must admit they grew on me by the end of the bag. They need salsa. And their girth and sturdiness really lends them to dipping into chunky salsas or dense queso or guacamole.

The flaxseeds provide an earthiness to the product. You can't really taste the individual vegetables listed on the bag like carrot, tomato, beet, and spinach, but rather an interesting blend of all of the above. Still, corn is the dominant taste.

My initial reaction was somewhere in the ballpark of 5 or 6 stars, but like I said, I came to appreciate them more by the time we finished the package and had tried them with numerous condiments and dipping situations. They're pretty versatile and have a unique flavor.

I give Good & Gather Veggie Flavored Corn Tortilla Chips with Flaxseeds 7 out of 10 stars.

Simply Balanced Organic Vanilla Bean Granola

Kind. Quaker. Nature Valley. Bear Naked. Even Archer Farms. There are a lot of granola brands out there these days. So what sets this one apart from the pack, other than Target's "Simply Balanced" moniker?

Not much. The ingredients here are mostly organic, which can't hurt. But flavor-wise, there's not really anything to set this above and beyond the myriad choices of vanilla-flavored granola gracing the shelves of Target and every other department and grocery store in America.

In a blind taste test, I doubt I could tell this apart from any Archer Farms brand selection from the very same shelf at Target. If anything, I think I might prefer the AF flavors I've had. But again, that certified organic label counts for something.

My wife's preferred granola has been Bear Naked for a while. That particular brand, too, was available on the very same shelf as this product at the last Target we visited. Although it's non-GMO, Bear Naked's version isn't necessarily certified organic.

The wife definitely prefers the taste of Bear Naked to this product for reasons she can't quite put her finger on. At first she said there might be an aftertaste here, but immediately took that assertion back. Then she said there might be a hint of something chemical-tasting in here. Odd, considering there are only a few non-organic ingredients. Perhaps it's the "mixed tocopherols"? Who knows?

Personally, I just taste another random vanilla-esque granola product. They tell me it's organic, so I believe them. I won't score it much higher or lower than any other vanilla granola we've looked at here or anywhere else.

While Bear Naked might collectively get 8 stars from the wifey and me, this product will score just slightly lower.

I give this granola 7 out of 10 stars.

Simply Balanced Organic Nacho Flavored Corn Tortilla Chips

We're finally staying close enough to a Target that I'd be okay with purchasing the Archer Farms non-dairy ice cream people have been raving about without fear of it totally melting on the drive back to the campground, and wouldn't you know it: they're totally sold out. Every flavor! Tons of Ben & Jerry's non-dairy at this Target near Olympia, Washington—but not a single pint of the Archer Farms brand. The universe hates me.

Oh well. Looks like a review of Archer Farms Doritos are in order. Er, Simply Balanced Doritos. Wait. Aren't Simply Balanced products, like, healthier than Archer Farms?

Well, you know, even actual Doritos have an organic version now. Healthy Doritos. I'm actually a fan of them. That's I guess what these are: organic, non-GMO Doritos. But Target brand. There's still sodium and all that stuff, but I certainly feel better eating an organic high-sodium diet. Not really. But hey, we're all gonna die anyway. So much for reducing my salt intake.

They're nice and rigid. Thick. Crunchy. Great for dipping. Even the heartiest salsas won't compromise the structural integrity of these tortilla chips.

Flavor-wise, they're similar to Doritos or other nacho cheese-flavored tortilla chips, but I think these might be a little less heavy on the cheese in favor of a more corny taste. If you like the taste of corn like I do, then that's a good thing. There's still enough orange powder to stain your fingers, but that's to be expected. They're not very spicy at all, however, that can be remedied with the salsa of your choice...obviously.

$2.99 for the bag. Pretty decent purchase, although you can often find the organic Doritos on sale for less than $3 in typical grocery stores. Surprised this product didn't come with a resealable bag. I guess they expect you'll eat them all before they go stale. That's a reasonable assumption. 

I give these Simply Balanced Tortilla Chips 8 out of 10 stars.

Simply Balanced Organic Cranberry Chocolate Flax Granola

It's been quite a while since we've reviewed any granola on this blog, though at one point, it was a very regular occurrence. I thought "cranberry chocolate" sounded kind of tasty, so I picked up this bag on my last Target run.

The base is the same style of granola we've seen in other Archer Farms and Simply Balanced products, but this particular flavor offers...you guessed it: chocolate and cranberries. It's fairly generous in the chocolate department, but extraordinarily stingy when it comes to the berries.

That's by far my biggest complaint about this product: a decided lack of cranberries. In fact, just look at the picture above. There's not a single cranberry in there. And I promise I didn't pick through the granola and remove the cranberries to prove my point. That picture is exactly the way the cereal poured into the bowl. There might be one or two bits of crantastic goodness hiding near the bottom, but that still isn't enough.

I've had two full bowls of the stuff and have only come across three dried cranberry halves in all that granola. I must admit that those three bites that contained cranberry were exceptional, but they're way too far and few between to enhance the cereal the way they should. Simply Balanced should either find a way to pack more cranberries into this product, or they should end the charade altogether and simply call this "chocolate flax granola."

All the many bites that don't contain cranberry are just fine, in fact, I'd consider this an above-average granola selection. But it's the principle of the thing. It's almost like a "bait and switch" tactic. They get you all pumped up for cranberries and chocolate and then make you settle for chocolate alone.

I'm torn between 6 and 7 stars. I guess I'll go with 7 since this product really is good with or without cranberries—and the bites that do contain cranberries...I'd give those a solid 8.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Simply Balanced Blueberry Fruit & Grain Bars

If you've ever had a blueberry Nutri-Grain bar, then you know exactly what you're getting here. Nutri-Grain and Simply Balanced look and taste extremely similar.

In fact, it amazes me how generic food products can imitate the original name brand, right down to the style and color of packaging, and not be violating some kind of copyright law.

In the art world, it's different: duplicate a song or a film with a certain level of similarity, and you're violating what someone has already claimed as their intellectual property.

But with food? Seems like anything goes. Lucky for store brands like Market Pantry, Archer Farms, and Simply Balanced.

This Simply Balanced version flaunts organic ingredients, and strangely, 10 more calories per bar, but other than that and the packaging, the two products are virtually indistinguishable. Both this product and the traditional Nutri-Grain offering are soft, sweet, and individually wrapped for breakfast on the go.

They were $2.99 at the Target I found them at, which is pretty close to what you'd normally pay for the name brand at full price. One unique, original thing about the packaging: that one-eyed blue guy on the cover art. I guess he's a blueberry person. He looks like he belongs in Monsters, Inc.

If you're interested in the nutrition info, here's a link for calories, fat, etc.

I give this product exactly the same score I'd give to blueberry Nutri-Grain bars: 8 out of 10 stars.

Simply Balanced Organic Sweet Chile Rolled Tortilla Chips

I never thought of or heard of this idea before: rolling tortilla chips into little straw-like tubes. Kinda cool. Novel, at least.

Like traditional tortilla chips, these are crunchy and corn-based and great for dipping in salsa or queso, although with less surface area to scoop up the condiments, they tend not to pick up as much as regular flat chips. But they'd make an excellent addition to any southwestern-style soup or even chili.

They're not super flavorful on their own, but the heat level is nice. There's definitely a bit of spiciness that's not particularly well-advertised on the packaging. Good thing I like my tortilla chips with a little bit of a kick.

They are Simply Balanced, so they're somewhat more "healthy" than regular old Archer Farms selections. I'm not really sure if you can call them "health food" per se, considering the calories, fat, and sodium present, but one must concede they are organic, and they do pack a considerable amount of fiber per serving. Plus, I swear that spicy foods raise my metabolism and help me burn fat naturally. I'm not sure if there's much hard science to back that up, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

These resealable bags are uber-convenient and helpful. Even as quickly as the wife and I can go through a bag of tortilla chips, it's always a bummer when that last little bit at the bottom of the bag has turned stale. At $2.99 a bag, they're a pretty decent value, too.


I give these chips 7 out of 10 stars.

Simply Balanced Organic Mango Lemonade

This isn't really a winter item, but it's definitely worthy of a review. I could see it being a huge hit in the summer time since it's incredibly refreshing, as most lemonades are.

It's not super sugary, syrupy sweet, but it's sweet enough that it will hit the spot if you're craving something at that end of the spectrum. It's got the sweet and sourness of normal lemonade, but also the mango puree adds a bit of extra tartness.

The balance of mango flavor and lemonade flavor is pretty spot-on here. If you absolutely hate mango or mango juice, this probably isn't the product for you. But by that same token, the mango flavor isn't overwhelming either. Whenever I see "puree" in ingredients lists, there's a little red flag that raises in my mind, and I worry that the product will be full of sediment that collects on the bottom of the bottle. A little shaking normally solves the problem, but not always. Thankfully, this beverage was thin and smooth, just the way I like it.

In addition to being organic, the ingredients list is short and simple. I'm not the most health-conscious consumer in the world, but I'm always happy to see that I'm not eating unpronounceable weirdness. The Simply Balanced line is usually pretty good at keeping things...well, simple. This product is no exception. Even that bright orange color comes from beta carotene, the naturally-occurring pigment in carrots.

In general, I'm a big fan of juices and sweet beverages, but I've certainly seen my share of sub-par drinks from Archer Farms. This isn't one of them. This is exactly what a mango lemonade should be.

I give this drink 9 out of 10 stars.

Archer Farms White Corn Tortilla Chips

What can be said about plain tortilla chips? Not a whole lot, I guess. But recently, I've been noticing all the subtle differences among regular yellow tortilla chips, blue corn tortilla chips, and these white ones.

The blue ones, like these Archer Farms chips, seem the heartiest (or is it hardiest) of all. Especially when they have flax seeds in them. Then I think yellow falls somewhere in the middle in terms of robustness and flavor. And most delicate of all are these white chips.

Now, I could insert some comical metaphor about how each of the aforementioned varieties of chips parallels a different skin color or race of people, but that would undoubtedly offend someone thoroughly, so I'll listen to my better judgment for once and steer clear of such a folly.

Now back to the food. As I was saying, the white chips are the most like crackers. When you go with white, you're playing it safe. But you're also more likely to get bored. Oh look. Jeez. There I've gone ahead and done what I said I wouldn't do. Why do I digress so incessantly?

Ahem...these chips went very well with the Mango Peach Salsa. They certainly didn't challenge the delicious flavor of the salsa, but they enhanced it slightly with their delicate crunchiness and saltiness. They would also pair up wonderfully with AF's Summer Fruits Salsa.

You can expect the same quality from Archer Farms brand as you would from another national brand name. And these chips are organic. You can't beat an organic snack for $3.

I give these chips 7 out of 10 stars.