The Daily Balance

You’ve seen them on blogs, you’ve seen them in stores, but have you taken a bite of a bagel thin?

Don’t worry, my friends, you can count on me

NOTE: I DID NOT receive this product from Thomas — I purchased them on my own.

While I’ve heard of a few different varieties of bagel thins, I caught a glimpse of the Thomas’ variety at the store about a week ago and snatched them up as if they were they best thing since sliced bread.

While I should have gone with the whole wheat flavor for review purposes (it would have been easier to grade texture vs. taste), the EVERYTHING was just too appealing to pass up.

Now, if you are anything like me, you tend to fall victim to food advertising and marketing (I find this ironic since I WORK in advertising, but I digress…). Does this sound familiar to any of you? The Mister constantly calls me “a marketer’s dream“. Please tell me I’m not the only fool! OK, good.

Let me start by saying that you will enjoy this product a heck of a lot more if you aren’t expecting a NYC-quality bagel. Scratch that, you will enjoy this product if you aren’t expecting a BAGEL. Now, forgive me that I’d expect a bagel when the term “BAGEL” is in the product’s name. Yes, yes, I know it also says “thin” and I know that part of the reason we all love bagels is because they ARE NOT thin, but are in fact thick, chewy and doughy.

These were none of the above.

Purchase this product if you like the TASTE of an everything bagel. DO NOT purchase this product if you want the CONSISTENCY of a bagel. Are we clear as mud? Let me explain.

This product tastes like bread (maybe stale bread?). Nothing about it is chewy, doughy or resembling a bagel. It does have a hole in it — but then again, so do donuts! You know what? I might as well have cut a hole in an Arnold Sandwich Thin/Deli Flat and sprinkled it with “everything” seasoning. But that takes WAY too much work and I’m a little lazy — so I’ll keep buying these everything bagel bread thins.

Has anyone else tried these? What did you think? Any other similar products with bagel-like consistency?

15 Responses to “Daily Delish (or, Daily Satisfactory?) – Bagel Thins”

1. Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg said:

   Hmmm…haven’t tried these. But yeah, they don’t sound very “bagel-like”

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 6:01 pm | Reply
2. Katie @ Health for the Whole Self said:

   I tried the whole wheat kind and didn’t think they were anything special. I mean, they were alright, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy them or anything.

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 6:02 pm | Reply
3. Jessica @ The Process of Healing said:

   I kind of agree with you. They are NOT anything like a bagel, period. They are round like a bagel though I think they taste better than Arnold’s but that’s just me. I’m not too much of a fan of Arnold’s, the taste is kind of off to me.

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 6:18 pm | Reply
4. Tiffany @ A Dantat's Life said:

   i was hesitant to try them because i thought they would just be a sandwich thin with a hole in it (thus even LESS dough than a normal “thin” for the same price!), but i bought it anyway to try it before i made my final decision. i came to the same conclusion as you. nothing like a bagel, and quite disappointing. i love my sandwich thins much more, so thomas can give up on this marketing venture now.

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 6:30 pm | Reply
5. Jessica@Healthy Exposures said:

   I agree with everything you said! I do like them better than the sandwich thins, though. I still like them for toast, and the sandwich thins are just too thin for that
   And I’m with you – I’m totally a marketer’s dream. Having studied graphic design and psych for a couple years, I know all about the psych involved in advertising, but I’ll still buy the product with the prettier label, if everyhting else follows suit and there’s not a ridiculous price diff. I know it’s pure marketing, but I don’t care! haha. Same with color psychology & placement and the like. Oh, well

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 7:08 pm | Reply
6. Lindsay @ The Ketchup Diaries said:

   This made me lol. I haven’t tried them, but I’m a sucker for new products too. This is funny because of everything I love to eat, I can never find time to eat it all anyway!

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 7:44 pm | Reply
7. K said:

   I have not tried them but, to be honest, I’m not dying to try them either. A bagel is a circle of carby, deliciousness why smoosh it into what is clearly not a bagel!?

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 8:01 pm | Reply
8. Jenny said:

   I tried the Nature’s Own bagel thins, and while they weren’t terrible, they definitely were not bagels. I think the Thomas mini bagels are actually VERY similar to regular bagels in texture and density, I like them the best!

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 9:19 pm | Reply
9. Jess said:

   Oh man – I just bought the Whole Wheat Thomas Bagel Thins & was hoping for something great. At least now I know what to expect when I bite into one. I should probably just stick to an occassional Panera bagel to get my fix : )

   Posted on March 22, 2010 at 10:14 pm | Reply
10. Shelley said:

    i appreciate this honest review so much!! honestly, I don’t get what all the fuss is over bagel thins?! If i’m going to eat a bagel, I want a bagel, not a sandwich thin with a hole in them?.. that’s just… odd

    Posted on March 22, 2010 at 11:01 pm | Reply
11. Alicia said:

    I completely agree with you. These didn’t even taste like regular Thomas bagels. I was pumped when they came out with these b/c I always take a 1/2 of a Thomas bagel, then cut the half in half for my egg sandwiches. The consistancy and taste is definitely not the same.

    Strangely though, I do like the bagel thins for turkey sandwiches, just not for the purpose I bought them for.

    Posted on March 23, 2010 at 8:03 am | Reply
12. Same Weight but Feeling Good said:

    [...] Daily Delish (or, Daily Satisfactory?) – Bagel Thins | The Daily Balance [...]

    Posted on March 23, 2010 at 12:53 pm | Reply
13. Hilary said:

    I’ve never tried the bagel thins, but I do love a bagel. My replacement for the real carby, leaves-me-hungry-in-an-hour thing is the Western Bagel Alternative bagels. They are a bit smaller than a “real” bagel but not tiny and htey are chewy and not “thin”. Love them!

    Posted on March 23, 2010 at 7:01 pm | Reply
14. CaSaundra said:

    I am really not a big fan of these–I’d rather have a bigger and fluffy slice of homemade bread.

    Posted on March 24, 2010 at 7:01 am | Reply
15. Elina said:

    So glad you did this review because I’ve been wondering about these babies. My new trick is to scoop out the insides of the bagels – they still are soft, chewy, doughy but a little less caloric. Maybe not “bagel thin” less caloric but hey, they still taste like BAGELS!

    Posted on March 24, 2010 at 1:01 pm | Reply