Keen One Qu1noa has a great story.
Class project at the Leeds School of Business at CU. Desire to replace the typical ramen noodles of budget-conscious college students with something healthier. Adventurous trip to Bolivia to secure a source of quinoa. And success in terms of distribution deals with REI, Kroger, and Whole Foods.
We sampled four of the seven products of Keen One Foods recently, courtesy of the company. Our take? They are a great vehicle for an excellent meal that is convenient, nutritious, and flavorful.
Chipotle Quinoa: Very spicy, not too salty, with excellent flavor.
Garden Medley Quinoa: Nice flavor but very salty. Can be a bit bitter, which is typical with quinoa.
Cinnamon Raisin Super Cereal: Pleasingly crunchy with sweet raisins and delicious apple chunks
Chocolate Nut Crunch Snack Clusters: Not overly sweet but with a burst of flavor from the raisins. Chewy yet with a hard crunchy texture mixed in.
Our suggestion is that other than the snack clusters, these products are best used as we said in the second paragraph. They are a vehicle for a good meal if mixed with other food. For example, the Garden Medley quinoa, in which all the vegetables are in powered form, cries out for the addition of fresh vegetables. We found the cereal best mixed with other cereals rather than eaten on its own.
But for a light-weight, easy-to-prepare-or-serve product perfect for fast meals or backpacking, Keen One Foods is worth trying.
