Diablo Fit: Recession-Priced Oatmeal Passes Taste Test

Jamba Juice unveils healthy breakfast option priced at one dollar to start.

When you think oatmeal, more than likely, you’re not thinking of an eccentrically fruit-colored juice shop. Perhaps, that portly guy on the Quaker Oats logo comes to mind, or maybe you’re just thinking of grandpa’s 7 a.m. breakfast reveille. Whatever the case, Jamba Juice and oatmeal are an unlikely duo.

Starting this month, Jamba Juice is introducing their own organic steel-cut oatmeal with three different fruit toppings: apple cinnamon, fresh bananas and blueberry-blackberry. Each of the sub-300 calorie oatmeal options is sprinkled with a brown sugar crumble, mixed with soymilk and made from scratch at the shop. As an added incentive for the product debut, customers are being invited to try the oatmeal for just a dollar with an online coupon. (Get it at oatmealforabuck.com/.)  Jamba is calling it their "Jamba Economic Boost Plan," and CEO James White says on the Emeryville-based company's website that Jamba is always "…looking to bring customers high quality menu items that fit into their lifestyle and budget.”

Sounds good in a sound bite, but I think customers will find this oatmeal can actually back itself up. Unlike many oatmeal and topping combinations, Jamba Juice’s oatmeal actually delivers both in the categories of taste and nutrition. The fresh fruit toppings coupled with a hearty sprinkling of brown sugar are balanced perfectly with the oats. You never find yourself wondering where the flavor went once you near the bottom of your bowl.

Nutritionally, the oatmeal has a good helping of fiber (five grams), and the steel-cut processing ensures nutrient rich oats, without the overprocessing that comes with many store-bought instant oatmeals.

The release of the new product is also a response to their coffee competitor Starbucks, who’s already launched their own version of breakfast oatmeal, Perfect Oatmeal. Jamba Juice hopes to out-taste Starbucks with their fresh fruit, opposed to Starbuck’s dried fruit, and with a higher quality of slow-cooked oats.

For more information visit, jambajuice.com, and you can get your one dollar coupon at oatmealforabuck.com.

 

Got any fitness or health tips? E-Mail us at fit@maildiablo.com.

 

Posted at 12:17 PM in Best Of Editor Picks | Permalink