Review: Thomas' Bagel Thins

I love bagels.  Seriously, I love bagels.  I love bagels with cream cheese, I love bagels toasted with sliced cheese, I love bagels as sandwich holders, and sometimes I just eat a cold bagel by itself because they're delicious.

You can imagine my excitement, then, when I was asked to review Thomas' new Bagel Thins.  With no trans fat, no cholesterol, lower sodium and carbs, and only 110 calories per bagel, I was looking forward to a healthier option than my usual carb- and calorie-laden traditional bagel.

I decided to give the Everything Bagel Thins a go.  These have ample sesame and poppy seeds on the exterior and a nice, bold onion flavor throughout.  I first tried them plain and untoasted; then toasted with a little cream cheese; then finally used as the "bread" in a tuna salad sandwich.

And, as much as I hate to say it, I found them merely decent.

The flavor is quite good, but the strongest selling point of the Bagel Thins (lower calories, lower carb) is what I liked least about them.  That chewy, bready interior of a traditional bagel is my favorite part and that's missing in these babies.  Unfortunately for those watching their calorie intake, my favorite part is what was largely removed to make these healthier.

See how thin they are in this ad photo?  In real life, they're even skimpier.

They're good, don't get me wrong.  My only complaint is that Bagel Thins are mostly the exterior crust of a traditional bagel and it felt out of balance to me.  It's just too much crust for my preference; in my opinion bagels should have a very thin chewy exterior to offset the soft, substantial interior and that's missing in these.

On the upside: the flavor is good, the bagels are double-bagged so they're very fresh tasting, and at about $3 for an 8 pack at my local grocery store - about $.38ea - they're pretty affordable.  

In addition, for those watching their caloric intake, these are a tasty alternative at 110 calories to a traditional bagel's 270 calories.  The sodium content is also much lower (470mg in a standard bagel vs. 190mg in Bagel Thins) and the Thins have 24g of carbs vs. 50g in regular bagels. 

One option that I didn't try is using the Bagel Thins as a personal pizza base.  At the time it didn't occur to me, but after the package was gone I thought these would be great under the broiler with some tomatoes, cheese, onions & pepperoni.  I may pick up another package in the near future and try that out.

note: I was provided with a package of Thomas' Bagel Thins to facilitate this review.  I received no other compensation.  My opinions are my own.