Nature’s Path was kind enough to send us a few of their ECO PAC organic cereals for a taste test.

First off — these are not your typical “healthy” cereals that make the grade nutritionally but fail the taste test by packing all the flavor of organic cardboard. The ECO PAC cereals are eminently eatable – packing both great flavor and maximum sustained crunchiness; and they come packaged in a soft-pack that uses 66% less packaging than a cardboard box. The cereals feature organic ingredients and are low fat, low sodium and contain zero trans fats, preservatives or additives. Grains are grown organically which meas less soil erosion and ground water pollution and more farm biodiversity – important stuff.

My particular favorite was the Heritage O’s a circular cereal (think Cheerio’s) made with ancient grains including: organic Kamut, spelt and quinoa and organic honey. I have to say this cereal really tasted great – I didn’t miss all the sugar and processed foods goodness of your typical big name cereal. Added bonus, these O’s resist sogginess like no other and maintain their tasty crunchiness even during the most leisurely breakfast schedule.

As for the packaging – the recyclable, resealable, stand-up bags aren’t quite up to snuff. The little yellow sticker used to reseal the bag doesn’t have enough adhesive to really form a tight seal. Some sort of zip-lock design would be a vast improvement. Though you might have to retrofit a bag sealing system – I used a couple of pieces of Scotch tape – the packaging is a vast ecological improvement over the typical cardboard box.  Just pour these healthy, earth-friendly cereals into some re-usable food storage containers and you’ll be good to go…breakfast-wise.