Newman’s Own Organics Review

So, I mentioned that I received two exciting packages on my birthday — one was from Zevia, of course, and the other was from Newman’s Own Organics. I was utterly blown away by the selection of products they sent me; there’s so much that I couldn’t possibly wait until I’d sampled it all to post a review, but I did want to give myself a bit of time to at least try several of the goodies.
I read a bit about the company when I was waiting for the package to arrive, and I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a more upstanding organization. I hadn’t realized that Newman’s Own Organics is actually an independent company from Newman’s Own (who make the salad dressings, salsas, pizzas, etc). Newman’s Own Organics was started by Nell, Paul’s daughter, using her father’s capital, and it quickly became successful, paying back the ‘seed’ money and then becoming independent in 2001. And the brand chooses its products based on personal preferences: chocolate and snack foods — can’t go wrong, eh? Of course, you don’t need to know any of that to enjoy a Newman-O, but it’s the sort of thing I find interesting.
Over all, I have been completely impressed with the Newman’s Own Organics products. Because they make cookies and snacks that are similar to mainstream brands, it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, this is like a ____’ when you try a Newman-O or a Fig Newman, etc. But in every case, Newman’s clearly comes out on top. The quality is just so much finer — it’s like eating real food instead of food-like substances (uh, because you are). I’ve put all my individual product reviews in the extended portion of this post, so click through to see what I thought!

I decided to break down the products I was sent for review into a few categories. I do want to make a note of everything they sent as I try it, so I’ll update this periodically (and I’ll let you know when I have, in case you want to see what I think).
Cookies
Cinnamon Hermits
(Pictured in the photo above.) These are soft and chewy, with lots of good molasses flavor. I haven’t yet tried the original version, so it’s hard to imagine them without the added cinnamon, but I definitely like it. The best part is the plump raisins, in my opinion. Hermits are a great little molasses cookie that feel more like a snack than a decadent treat.
Hint o’ Mint Newman-O’s
I’m totally sold on these. The cookie part itself is much like an Oreo, although I would say it has more chocolate flavor (my mom claims Hydrox cookies are also more chocolate-y than Oreos, and that the Newman O’s remind her of those). The cream filling is much smoother than an Oreo’s. It’s minty of course, and it manages to be both lighter and more flavorful than any other cream-filled cookie I’ve tried before. Imagine an Oreo + a Thin Mint cookie, multiply the deliciousness by five, and that’s a Hint o’ Mint Newman-O.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
These come in a bag and are pretty little, sort of like Famous Amos cookies, if I’m remembering those right. They’ve got a great, crumbly texture, and the pieces of chocolate are good — not waxy and fake like most of the similar kinds of cookies have. In fact, I think what makes these little cookies so good is that they aren’t TOO sweet. I’m sure that’s a result of using natural ingredients (and having good product testers!). As a person who doesn’t eat too many processed snack foods, I find that a lot of the mainstream stuff makes my teeth hurt with how sugary it is.
Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies
I actually gave these to my parents, as they like the orange/chocolate combination much more than I do. My mom said she really enjoyed them and agreed with what I said about the chocolate chip cookies above — good texture, nice chocolate.
Snacks
BBQ Soy Crisps
I loved these. My one and only recommendation would be more salt — I actually salted mine before I ate them (but sometimes I think that salt is to me as sugar is to everybody who eats candy bars and Little Debbie snacks). They’re not super BBQ-y, but the flavor is good regardless. The texture is basically like a thin rice cake. The boon of these guys is that there are seven grams of protein in a serving. Most snacks have negligible amounts of protein, but seven grams is worth noticing (it’s the same as a whole egg, say). I would definitely buy these on a regular basis!
Cinnamon Sugar Soy Crisps
I tried the BBQ Soy Crisps first, and I immediately became excited to try the Cinnamon Sugar variety, because I love sweet rice cakes. I have to say, though, that the ‘base’ flavor of the crisps lends itself much better to savory vs sweet. Whereas the crisp flavor and the BBQ paired very well, I felt like the Cinnamon Sugar was fighting against the soy crisp. I still liked them, though. They’re very more-ish. (I finished off the last few crisps after writing this, and I have to say that I liked them more and more every time I ate them. I still stand by my savory vs sweet opinion, but even the Cinnamon Sugar variety is pretty darn good!)
Chocolate
Milk Chocolate
All the Newman’s chocolates are best described as ‘smooth’, I think. There’s absolutely none of the grit or wax that you get with cheaper chocolate. On the whole, I prefer dark chocolate, but I’ve been on a milk chocolate kick lately, so I tried this bar first. It’s exactly what a milk chocolate should be — rich and creamy, but not overly sugary. I had some bad, cheap chocolate recently, and it tasted primarily of sugar, with the cocoa being somewhere in the background; the Newman’s milk chocolate is at the opposite end of the delicious spectrum from that!
Dark Chocolate with Orange
I also gave this bar to my parents, but I snuck a nibble for the sake of the review. If I were ever going to like chocolate+orange, this would be the bar! It tasted more like orange zest than orange OIL, if that makes sense. More of a fresh citrus taste than something manufactured; it wasn’t cloying. And the dark chocolate itself, it goes without saying, was smooth and perfect.
Dried Fruit
Raisins
These are good, standard raisins. Nothing fancy, but definitely plump enough and tasty!
Cranberries
I think these are probably the best dried cranberries that I’ve ever seen/tasted! They’re much bigger than the usual Craisin-type cranberry. They look like cranberries that have just been sliced in half and dried — perfect!
Apricots
They’re not the most attractive dried apricots in the world, but I suspect that has to do with a lack of chemicals to keep them looking ‘perfect’. But they taste great!
Mints
Cinnamon Mints
I like cinnamon as a mint/gum flavor, but when you get something like Big Red, you’re liable to burn a hole right through your tongue. These have only a hint of that spiciness, but they still do the job of freshening up your mouth.