Cecile's Boys & Gold Muesli product reviews

Up until a few years ago I wasn't really a breakfast person I have since converted to making sure I eat in the morning to avoid burn out before lunch. As a child I was told I had to eat breakfast everyday and it was one of those boring meals that was always the same toast or cereal but I always loved breakfast at grandma's as she would have muesli. Muesli really is one of those great filling breakfasts with lots of different flavours and textures.

Cecile's mueslis I have tried have always been great with lots of ingredients and great varities. I loved the sound of this Ceciles boys and gold as kiwifruit and berries are my favourite fruits and I was intrigued to try dried kiwifruit. I loved the packaging with the see through window to get a sneak peek of what's inside I could already see the muesli was jam packed with bits of fruits and seeds. The design is eye catching and being able to see exactly what you are getting inside is a big plus for me.

I had a bowl of the muesli on its own with some milk I was excited to find my first piece of the dried gold kiwifruit to try there was certainly a good quanitity of the fruit included so I didn't have to dig around a lot to find one. This is a great flavour having never tried dried kiwifruit before I instantly loved it and had to resist being the kid that picks the lollies out of the goody gum drops icecream as I had subsequent servings. The boysnberry flavour and pieces came through too and I loved the berry taste that added.

At first look you might think these packets wont last long but I have found that you only need quite small bowls as the muesli is so filling so the packet lasted my a good amount of time. I'm a bit of a grazer in the afternoons before dinner and I found myself reaching for small handfuls of this muesli for a snack which was a great filling pick me up and could easily be a substitute for a traditional trail mix when on the go.

Mornings are crazy busy in our house - we have two adults, three kids and three cats to all get fed, so are you surprised? Like most people, I do like to know my family is having something nutritious to start the day off, and knowing that it is quick and nutritious is even better, hence why I requested the Boysenberry and Kiwifruit flavour, and was excited to try this one from Cecile's. As well as sounding yum, it is made here in NZ - and close by in Nelson - so I am supporting our Marlborough region too! Hubby wantedto the first to try this, and by the look on his face, clearly enjoyed it. I told him it was a review product, and asked his thoughts. I must mention that hubby can be VERY fussy (like the kids) when it comes to cereal - so it was nice to know what he thought!

Before I get onto the taste, I want to talk about the packaging - which is very nice! It has a large clear window at the front, so you can see exactly what you are buying - which is a big plus when you are thinking about trying something new. The picture on the front shows what is in it, and each variety is a different colour writing so it is easy to distinguish between them. You can see straight away that this is a chunky type muesli - big bits, whole nuts and seeds, coconut, and some berries and kiwifruit are in there too. The bag being resealable is always handy, meaning no need for another container to keep it fresh.

Traditionally I prefer my cereal with milk and yoghurt, but hubby prefers yoghurt only - so went for that option and said he was really impressed. It is more like a scroggin type cereal and could easily be eaten as a snack or put into lunch boxes, or made into homemade muesli bites / bars or even scroggin. The blurb says it has maple syrup in it - but to be honest I did not really taste this, nor was it was overly sweet. I was disappointed in the lack of fruit in it though. I got a few boysenberries and kiwifruit - but for a premium cereal, really expected more. I tried my bowl with milk only, and found it really good. I loved especially that it did not go soggy, even when sitting there while I made the kids lunches and milos to go with breakfast. I was pleased to find that even at morning tea break (possibly due to the fact that this is made with good quality ingredients), I was not feeling very hungry - so definitely a filling snack choice also.

Personally, although I felt this cereal was delicious, I am not able to justify the price tag for it, except if it were for a Father's Day type breakfast, so at this stage would not be buying it again. I would absolutely recommend it to people, with the price being the only real negative.

We are a household of 5, this consists of 2 adults and 3 children aged 7, 5 and 3. When it comes to breakfast time, the children and I prefer to eat cereal or muesli, however finding one that everyone likes is quite a mission. The cereals that are loaded with sugar are an instant NO in this house, so we tend to stick to muesli more often than not. When I saw the Cecile's range of muesli available to review, I decided we had nothing to lose, so requested the Boys & Gold flavour.

When I opened the review package I received, I was delighted to see we had some Boys & Gold to try. Looking at the packaging I was really impressed, the brand name is positioned prominently at the top, there is certainly no confusion in what flavour muesli is in the bag, as the words are in bold, upper case letters, and in a striking colour, which contrasts perfectly with the background colour. At the bottom of the bag there is a statement saying "Taste the Passion", this is placed in an ideal spot as above it there is a large window, which showcases the delicious looking contents. Then you have the eye catching gold circles on the right, which state that the muesli is handmade, a good source of fibre, and gluten-free.
I couldn't wait to try this product and quickly ripped into it, I was pleased that the bag was resealable for optimal freshness.

I poured some muesli into bowls for myself and the children, I noticed the chunks of goodness and was impressed. The children each took a spoonful and unfortunately were not huge fans, I however saw a large sliver of kiwifruit in my bowl, I popped it in my mouth and it was absolutely delicious! The balance between the nuts, seeds, and fruit was just right for me personally (however you could never have too much of that kiwifruit hehe.) The aroma of the muesli is quite unique, and for some reason I want to describe it as being a sweet, earthy smell. I feel I must put a disclaimer in that I tend to eat my muesli dry, as overly soggy muesli doesn't appeal to me, although I did sprinkle some on top of ice cream.

If you are looking for a quality muesli which is made in New Zealand, healthy and super scrumptious, you will enjoy this if you try it. At $17 for 400g it is quite expensive, so I hate to say it but I will probably not be purchasing myself, unless on special. I would love to try some of the other flavours in the future if they were on special.

I eat muesli for breakfast most mornings and I know what I like and what I don't. I like muesli that is full of natural ingredients like fruit, seeds and nuts, so Cecile's ingredients in their Nelson Boys and Gold really interested me.

Firstly, while the ingredients attracted me to trying the muesli, the name did not. "Boys and Gold" is just weird, it does not have any sort of ring to it and if Cecile's is to continue marketing this muesli (I see it's seasonal) then I would strongly suggest they change the name. However, ignoring that, I was pleased to see the bag was resealable and had a viewing window so you could see the muesli before purchasing. I opened the bag and I was impressed with the freshness and softness of the muesli, you could see the boysenberries clearly and after having a little hunt around I found the slivers of gold kiwifruit. I decided to try it alone first in a bowl to really experience the tastes, the boysenberry and nuts featured strongly but the kiwifruit taste was very much non-existent. I was slightly disappointed but my husband was not, he loved it, he in fact managed to finish the whole bag in three days, he thought it tasted were "yummy" and was asking me to continue to buy it. I looked up the price and I was taken aback at $17 for 400g bag, so unfortunately outside my budget.

I think this muesli would be aimed towards the high-end market and if they are willing to pay for it, it will do well...but change the name!

I requested to try the Ceciles Boys and Gold Muesli thinking I was in for a lovely oaty breakfast with boysenberries and kiwifruit. That was not the case. On opening the packet I could see a couple of full boysenberries and nuts and seeds. I didn't see any of the oats that I was expecting. I poured a bowl and added a tiny bit of milk. The bowl looked as if I had tipped a bag of mixed nuts into it and added a few seeds. I was not too impressed.

On trying the first mouthful I was dissapointed. It just tasted like mixed nuts. I then ate the boysenberry which was still quite had and hadent soaked up much of the milk. I looked around and couldn't find any more fruit pieces in the bowl that I had poured. It was all nuts, coconut and a few seeds. I wasnt even aware that there was coconut in this until pouring the bowl. I didn't eat any more.

On looking at the packaging I would of thought that there would of been a lot more fruit pieces in the muesli as it is printed on the front in very large letters Boys and Gold. Looking at the back in the ingredients I was I guess surprised to see that the fruit content was next to nothing with only 2% of each boysenberries and kiwifruit. I guess I ate my 2% in the whole boysenberry I had. I was also quiet shocked to see that 56% of the product was nuts. I knew it contained nuts by the smaller writing on the front but didn't realise the product was pretty much a bag trail mix, a bag of mixed nuts, seeds and coconut.

Looking past the product the bag is thick and durable and has some very good information on it. Although I do think it is a bit misleading with the name. The back has all the information required with ingredients and nutrition information layed out clearly. I did notice that the serving size seemed odd. 13 serves of 30g, this seems like a very small breakfast and not enough for a lot of people. I am guessing when I suspect this is because nuts are so high in calouries that any more wouldn't meet the healthier nutrition ranges that are being aimed for.

Overall I was rather dissappointed with this product. The price of $17 for a 400g bag seems really expensive to me. Sadly this is not a product I would purchase.

I asked to review this product from Cecile's because it screamed yum boysenberry and gold kiwifruit sounded like a treat as a muesli the picture clearly showed the two yummy fruits so why wouldn't you want to try. It awesome has lovely gold circles on the side saying it's handmade, gluten free and some nutrition information. On the back it states it's made in Nelson new zealand so made here at home even better. The back in full of information aswell.

After opening the packet which was easy to do it smelt very nutty not what I was expecting after the words boys & gold are big and bold on the packet but poured myself a breakfast bowl anyway. I used milk to start with and took my first bite all I could taste was nuts this surprised me, I knew it had nuts in it but this many seemed like a joke a couple more mouthfuls and it was the same. My milk was purple so I I knew boysenberry was there somewhere so searched and found this small bit so ate it. Sadly I was disappointed.

Because it's gluten feed I offered my daughter some she poured her breakfast and she shook her head saying no so it wasn't a pass for her either. I was interested afterwards and checked the back and I was shocked it was 56% nuts and what you think should be main ingredients boysenberry and gold kiwifruit only 2% each I think that's pretty poor and should be renamed nuts muesli with a hint of boysenberry and hold kiwifruit.

As much as the packet is nice the price is way to high for a one income family like us when you don't get what you expect. It states 30 servings I don't see that when eating as a breakfast so I guess maybe small handfuls? It's not for us but maybe someone else

If I was going on packaging alone I would always choose Cecile's. I find the bag screams out quality product and definitely stands out from the crowd. From the graphic picture at the top to the gold circles down the side informing the customer the sugar content, great source of fibre, gluten free and then the famous tag 'good honest muesli 'Taste the Passion'. The window proudly shows its chunky contents. Turn it over and find out it is made in the Hawkes Bay from ingredients from Nelson it is definitely New Zealand proud. Then there are some other tid bits as well - I just adore the packaging.

It also states that it can be served with milk or yoghurt or straight from the bag for a delicious snack. I requested it for a breakfast snack so that is how I used it. The first morning I used milk and got a little giddy as it turned a light purple colour showing there are indeed boysenberries included in the ingredients. I have learnt from the other flavour that you do not require much in your plate as it in very filling and this was no exception. I ended up using only half of what I usually use and find that is more than enough.

The next morning I had it with Greek Natural youghurt and find I prefer that mixture as feel it adds to the taste and feels more sophisticated. The yoghurt mixes well and just coats the ingredients and combines well. Although, I found with this flavour I didn't enjoy as much. As again I found it rather a work out on the jaw especially with the walnuts and I found at times the coconut was rather over powering especially with the milk. I found the coconut really stood out and had a very strong after taste where as not so much when used with the yoghurt.

One thing I do querry though is - it states that Serving per pack is 13 which I am having a little trouble with. I have had it three mornings and one of my daughters has it twice where as my youngest has had it once and hubby took a handful out and snacked on it and I would be lucky if makes it for another two mornings. The only way it could last 13 servings is if you combined extra ingredients with it or possibly added another cereal to it. We have been very conservative with serving sizes and can not see how it could possibly last 13 servings, unless it means snack sizes on the go?

As I am having issues with the taste, the serving sizes and then the price I very much doubt I would purchase again. It definitely is a quality product and one I am sure a lot of people will enjoy but for me sadly it did not meet the bar.

The pack says that it serves 13, and in an ideal world that would probably be true, but when you have four teenage boys (plus their mother and me) fresh back from a hike in freezing cold and very damp conditions, it may be understandable that there was little left in the packet after everyone had finished one helping and come back for seconds. This is high energy food so restored the balance nicely.

Once they had settled back to their topped-up plates and added the best part of another litre of milk, I asked them for their opinions. Mr 14 and Mr 15, who are away from home during the school term, assured me it would beat boarding school food any time. With the first hunger pangs dealt with, they were busy examining what was on their plates and checking with the ingredients list on the outside of the packet. They easily identified the boysenberries and slices of golden kiwifruit, and were interested that they could still taste the fruit flavour when they tried the pieces individually. That impressed them and kept their attention for quite some time.

The two older boys are living at home so at least they do enjoy home cooking, but they still gave the thumbs up to the fresh crunchiness of the mixture. Mr 17 thought it would be good to have for breakfast on the days he does early morning training; it would be quick to prepare and give him plenty of energy. Mr 19 agreed, but said it would make a good late evening snack when he is studying. All of them said they would ask their mother to get some more.

Price was the biggest issue for my friend. She agreed with everything they said, and was pleased that they were going for a healthy option, but the younger two are still growing and they are perpetually hungry. However, she thought it would be ok to compromise and buy an occasional packet when they were home for the weekend. Having read the ingredients list, she was impressed by the quality of the contents and managed to put away a large bowl herself.

I, too, would probably buy it as an occasional treat, but there again we are a household of two adults so it does make a difference. I think we would get the 13 recommended servings from the packet with no difficulty. I had mine with yoghurt rather than milk (as I don't drink cows' milk) and my friend tried some this way as well. She said there was little discernible difference between the milk and the yoghurt, so that is a plus if there is a family member who is fussy like me!