Kinnikinnick is a well-known brand in our community – some cool Canadians that make a-mah-zing products. My first exposure to Kinnikinnick was through their cinnamon rolls. If I were reviewing those, they’d be a 5 wheat-stalk-product for sure. Over the years, I’ve tried other products as well and have generally been impressed. The fine people over there reached out to me and asked if I wanted to sample their new soft bread products – duh! Thanks, Kinnikinnick!

When creating these soft breads, Kinnikinnick worked towards several goals (particularly for their multigrain bread variety):

1. To make a gluten free bread that was soft and tasty even out of the freezer.
2. To make a full size loaf gluten free bread with a price that was below $5.00
3. To make a gluten free bread that was at least as nutritionally sound as standard whole wheat bread

I’m not sure I can speak to the nutrition (although the facts I know are below), but I know that it’s full-sized bread (what a shocker for gluten-free bread fanatics!) And they are soft and tasty. Kinnikinnick nailed this. If you have access to this bread, definitely check this out!

The white bread has 140 calories for two slices. We experimented with the bread when we took our vacation to Sonoita, AZ. We grilled the bread and made killer grilled cheese sandwiches with them.

We used Applegate black forest ham and some gluten-free cheese we found at Whole Foods. As always, we had our Earth Balance butter-impersonator. We also snuck in some spinach in there as well to make it a full-out awesome grilled cheese.

Think that was awesome enough? Nope, not yet. We added in Pacific Foods’ Roasted Red Pepper (the light sodium version) – only 110 calories for a cup and makes a great meal out of grilled cheese! This is one of my favorite soups out there, because it’s more flavorful than just a traditional tomato, and good for stand-alone souping or for dipping bread into! The soup definitely gets a 4 out of 5 for me! I would recommend the “fattier” version of the soup, as it’s better (obviously – duh), but this one is still great. A must to keep around if you love grilled cheese!

The grilled cheese sandwiches turned out great, especially dipped in the soup. They browned up so nicely with the “butter”! I tried the bread later in the week with some blueberry jam from the farmer’s market. I noticed that when I toasted these for just plain-old toast, it’s pretty thin – but you can’t have it all right?

Now onto the multigrain loaf! The multigrain bread has 150 calories for two slices. This loaf rules. In fact it won the Self Magazine award for 2012 Healthy Food Award for best gluten-free bread. We made it for our breakfast sandwiches and then some turkey sandwiches later so we could try it out with different things. This bread rules. It tastes just like a whole wheat bread!

The suggested retail for both the white and multigrain loaves of bread are $4.99. Both have 5 grams of fiber for two slices. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. They’re fortified with 5 essential nutrients and no artificial colors, preservatives, or flavors.

Some unique selling points about the breads are:

• don’t require toasting
• remain soft after freezing
• a Full size loaf with regular thickness slice

Both are great and I would recommend them – but the multigrain needs to get at least a half of a point better than the white. The white just felt sub-par compared to the multigrain. It wasn’t the best white bread I’ve had so far, but it was pretty good!The multigrain just tasted better, but it’s also a thinner bread. It’s great for a sandwich because it’s thinner, but I’d like a thicker loaf for toast – something hearty. And they’re full size – that alone should convince you that Kinnikinnick has something good on their hands.

White bread: [ratings wheat=”4″]

Multigrain bread: [ratings wheat=”4.5″]