A nutty idea

I find it funny that consumers would want to ingest something known as a "fatty acid." I mean, that's just not appealing.

Planters NUTrition Omega 3 Mix

Where purchased: Target
Price: $4.00 (on sale)
Overall rating: 4/5

I have to say I was intrigued by the marketing of this product. First of all, incorporating NUT into NUTrition? Brilliant. Also, I love how they call this an "Omega 3 Mix." What a great way of jumping on the Omega 3 hype and using it to create a new package for foods that already exist. Ok, enough talk from the Marketing Manager in me.

I'd have to say that walnuts are not my nut of choice, although they are an excellent source of Omega 3s, which we know have all kinds of health benefits. Planters does an excellent job of making these healthy nuts as appealing as possible (short of putting them in a baked good, of course) by pairing them with dried cranberries and dark chocolate-covered soy nuts. The cranberries provide a nice fruity tartness, and the dark chocolate soy nuts provide a sweet and smooth addition to the mix, along with additional omega 3s. I had no idea soy nuts would work so well here, but – as I should have learned from my experience with the chocolate covered cranberries – it turns out chocolate-covered anything is delicious.

My biggest complaint with this product is the packaging. I understand that Planters was trying to maintain it's brand by putting this mix into the same short, aluminum can that their peanuts come in. But peanuts are much smaller than walnuts are, and they are all about the same size. You open up this can and you can't even see past the 4 huge walnuts to get to the other good stuff. It is seriously frustrating to me. I started breaking up some of the walnuts to make them closer to the size of the soy nuts.

I'm giving this product a 4 out of 5 - good taste, a great way to incorporate some additional Omega 3s into your diet, and very satisfying. $4.00 (on sale) seems a little hefty for a small can of trail mix, but I always think nuts seem pretty expensive. I wonder how much better you'd do buying walnuts, dried cranberries, and chocolate-covered soy nuts individually and mixing them all together yourself? You'd spend a lot to begin with, but I'm guessing the price/serving would go way down. But, as long as this is just something you snack on occasionally, I suppose paying $.50/serving for the added convenience isn't bad.

I was also intrigued by Planters' Antioxident Mix, but I'm already guessing if you like all of the ingredients individually, as I do, you'd like them all together. But if anyone is unsure, I'd be happy to do another review :)