Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain Mini Bagels Review And Giveaway

I have always loved bagels. They are one of my favorite forms of bread, if not the most favorite. Most of my family likes bagels. Like many other things we all like different ones. My favorite is an everything bagel. CJ has to have gluten-free which are super expensive so he doesn’t get them very often. TJ’s favorites are blueberry and cinnamon raisin. RB’s favorite is a spinach bagel. We used to get a dozen bagels every weekend. I’d freeze the leftovers so TJ could have one for a snack when he got home from school. The thing is, he wasn’t hungry enough to eat a big NY style bagel right after he walked in the door. Sara Lee released a new snack product earlier this month that is perfect for TJ.

These are so new that there isn’t even a picture on the website yet. Here’s a copy of the press release. Be sure to read my thoughts immediately after it.

NEW SARA LEE® SOFT & SMOOTH™ MINI BAGELS MAKE NUTRITIOUS SNACKING SIMPLE AND DELICIOUS

Mini Bagels Provide a 100-calorie Snack Option with the Mild Taste and Smooth Texture Kids and Moms Love

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (August 19, 2009) – If finding great-tasting, on-the-go snacking options kids enjoy is an ongoing challenge, Sara Lee North American Fresh Bakery has set out to provide the solution with the introduction of its new Sara Lee® Soft & Smooth™ Made with Whole Grain Mini Bagels. The makers of Sara Lee Soft & Smooth, the best-selling bread in the country1, will introduce four 100-calorie varieties available in 100% Whole Wheat, Made with Whole Grain blueberry, Made with Whole Grain cinnamon and Made with Whole Grain plain. The new mini bagels provide families with a simple and portable snack that has the whole grain nutrition, mild taste and soft texture inherent in Sara Lee Soft & Smooth products.

“It’s important for to us understand the ongoing challenges moms face when looking for great-tasting and more nutritious options to include in their kids’ meals,” said Tim Zimmer, vice president, Sara Lee North American Fresh Bakery. “With the success we’ve seen from the Soft & Smooth line, we wanted to bring the winning combination of great taste and whole grain nutrition to other products and give moms even more options – whether it’s for the lunchbox or for snack time.”

Compared to traditional 300-calorie bagel offerings, the 100-calorie Sara Lee Soft & Smooth mini bagels provide a pre-portioned snack that moms can confidently provide to their children as an easy breakfast option or quick lunch addition. The new Made with Whole Grain mini bagels contain nine grams of whole grain per serving, which is nearly 30 percent of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) daily intake recommendation for kids ages 2-8. In addition, the 100% Whole Wheat mini bagels provide 20 grams of whole grain per serving, which is more than 40 percent of the USDA daily intake recommendation for kids ages 9-18.

“It is recommended that the average American consume at least 48 grams of whole grain per day for good health, but most people get a drastically lower amount in their diet,” said registered dietitian Connie Diekman, MEd, RD, FADA. “Many kids – and adults – are turned off by the bitterness of whole grain products, so it is important to have options like Sara Lee Soft & Smooth products that have the taste and texture many kids prefer with the whole grain nutrition they need.”

Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain Mini Bagels are available in grocery retailers where Sara Lee North American Fresh Bakery products are sold. For more information about Sara Lee Soft & Smooth bread, bun and bagel products visit www.thejoyofeating.com or check out Sara Lee Soft & Smooth on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SaraLeeSoftandSmooth).

About Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Bread

Products included in the Soft & Smooth bread and bun lines are: Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Bread, Sara Lee Soft & Smooth 100% Whole Wheat Bread, Sara Lee Soft & Smooth 100% Honey Whole Wheat Bread, Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Honey Made with Whole Grain White Bread, Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Made with Whole Grain White Hamburger and Hotdog Buns, and Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Wheat Hot Dog and Hamburger Buns Made with Whole Grain.

About Sara Lee Corporation

Each and every day, Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) delights millions of consumers and customers around the world. The company has one of the world’s best-loved and leading portfolios with its innovative and trusted food, beverage, household and body care brands, including Ambi Pur, Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Kiwi, Sanex, Sara Lee, Senseo and Bimbo. Collectively, these brands generate approximately $13 billion in annual net sales covering nearly 200 countries. The Sara Lee community consists of 41,000 employees worldwide. Please visit www.saralee.com for the latest news and in-depth information about Sara Lee and its brands.

I received a bag of each of the Blueberry and the Cinnamon Raisin Soft & Smooth Made With Whole Grain Mini Bagels for this review. The bagels come in a bag with a plastic bread close thingy (technical word). I was quite surprised at how soft the bagels are. The bagels store quite well and showed no signs of going stale over the course of a week.

At 100 calories they’re just right for a light snack or meal, or for those trying to control their portions. they’re also a great way to add a little more grain into a diet. I tried one and found them to be tasty. TJ loves them, particularly the blueberry. He thinks the flavor of these is better than the flavor of the blueberry bagels from the bagel store. We both tried them with cream cheese both right out of the bag and toasted and liked them both ways. We also tried them toasted with butter and they were yummy that way too. I would definitely purchase these in the grocery store.

WIN IT!

TEN winners will each receive a coupon good for a free bag of Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Made With Whole Grain Mini Bagels, courtesy of the folks at Sara Lee.

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter go to the Sara Lee site and try the Sara Lee Matchmaker to find out what your ideal bread is. Then return here and leave a comment on this post telling me what the answer was.

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THE SMALL PRINT.

US addresses only please. This contest will end on Friday 10/02/09 at 11:59 pm est. If you’ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. The winner must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within two days of my email notifying them they’ve won. Good luck to everyone!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.