Bagelinos, a company based out of New Jersey, recently sent me a bulk order of their Original Cheese Pastry Snack for review. When I first got the box, I had no clue what to do with so many but then I thought: Why not spread the love. So, I decided to get some feedback for this review from some of my more food savvy gluten eating friends. I’ll let them speak for themselves:

“I will say I like the ingredients list, and that it’s low in sugar and high in protein (although it does have a lot of sodium). I was really surprised how much I liked this. generally I don’t like anything that says pastry on the package but this was very good.It was buttery and cheesy, slightly sweet, and not too salty. It had almost a warm soft pretzel consistency once cooled. My husband and 13 month old also really liked this. It would be a little hard to cut it in half but I think this could be made into a yummy pizza bagelinos.”– Pam

“It was better than I originally expected. My original plan was to cut it in half, toast then cream cheese one half, and maybe try an egg sandwich thing with the other. After microwaving it in the bag as instructed it was soft but doughy and hard to cut. However it smelled good so i just ate it plain with a little bit of butter. Considering the size it was surprisingly filling and kept me satisfied for about 2 hrs (a long time for me).  Its a decent breakfast substitute in my opinion because it is easy prep, portable, tasty and satisfied my hunger. However after having had one, i  don’t think i would try anything new ; it just wasn’t that versatile. Overall: A satisfying convenient tasty breakfast more filling than a regular plain bagel but not much else.
Versatility: 1/5  |  Taste: 4/5  |  Convenience: 5/5  |  Nutrition: 2.5/5|
Satisfied hunger: 4/5  |  Presentation: 2/5″ – Michelle

I think my friends summed up things very well, and hit many of the major points I would about the product: Portability (they’re individually wrapped and can be cooked in the wrapper), high in protein and low in sugar, hunger quenching and filling, soft and doughy, and all around tasty. In addition to agreeing with those statements, I’d like to add that I really appreciated that these products have no preservatives and are 100% natural. In fact, there are only 8 ingredients the first of which is cheese. Good old glorious cheese! I tried mine both microwaved and cooked in the conventional oven. While both cooked quickly (30 seconds in the microwave, 2 minutes in the conventional oven), there was a difference in how they cooked. The microwaved Bagelino was softer, almost like a light steamed bun, and would be best for a light snack while the oven cooked Bagelino was a bit sturdier and would be ideal for a sandwich once it cooked down. You can order these Original Cheese Pastry Snacks, and their buns, on their website. Be sure to freeze them immediately if you do purchase, since they are all natural!