I was a weird kid when it came to food. You know how some young people have old souls or they’re mature for their age. Well, I had mature tastebuds. In other words, I ate foods kids wouldn’t eat, but old folks would.
Every week, our hair-netted school cafeteria workers would put a trio of prunes covered with heavy syrup on our green green gasoline lunch trays in order to meet FDA nutritional guidelines for school lunches. While those prunes helped the cafeteria food meet nutrition standards, they did not meet the taste standards of my fellow classmates.
While everyone else dumped their prunes into the large food waste bins designated to become pig slop, I ate them. And I liked them. I even once asked my fellow classmates if I could have their prunes, but later learned the consequences of eating too many prunes and I never wore those brown corduroy Sears Toughskins pants again.
But I still eat prunes…on occasion…in moderation. Not only did I eat and enjoy prunes at a young age, I also liked Fig Newtons.
While everyone else would ask their parents for Oreo cookies, chocolate chip cookies, or whatever the Keebler elves made with magic, I would sneak into the shopping cart some chewy Fig Newtons. Sure, the girls in my class said I was weird and the boys would tease me about my Fig Newtons, but I didn’t care because they were yummy in my tummy.
I was also teased about the fact that I read many of the original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.
Over the years Nabisco has developed a few other fruit Newtons, like Strawberry and Raspberry Newtons, but for some strange reason, I prefer the fig version over them. The latest fruits to be turned into chewy Newtons cookies are peaches and apricots.
The new Sweet Peach & Apricot Newtons aren’t just any Newtons, they’re made with 100 percent whole grain, which means their texture is going to be a little weird compared with regular Newtons. Each serving provides five grams of whole grain and three grams of fiber. Thanks, whole grain! But their texture isn’t as cakey as regular Newtons and they’re also a bit drier. Thanks, whole grain!
One thing I can’t blame the whole grain for is how odd these Sweet Peach & Apricot Newtons taste. Despite them being made with real fruit, there’s something slightly artificial tasting about them. The apricot puree used to create the filling tastes much like the dried apricot you’d find next to the dried prunes at your local grocery store, but the peach puree in it isn’t so peachy. It tastes similar to peach candy I’ve had which used artificial flavors. The artificialness is surprising because according to the upper right corner of the packaging, it’s made with “Natural Flavor with Other Natural Flavor.”
Thanks to their flavor and texture, the Sweet Peach & Apricot Newtons are my least favorite chewy Newton cookie by far.
They’re weird.
They’re weirder than I was in grade school.
(Nutrition Facts – 2 cookies – 100 calories, 15 calories from fat, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 45 milligrams of potassium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, less than 1 gram of protein, and 2% iron.)
*made with partially hydrogenated oil
Item: Nabisco Sweet Peach & Apricot Newtons
Price: $3.59 (on sale)
Size: 12 ounces
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Made with whole grain. Made with real fruit. Decent source of dietary fiber. Prunes. Fig Newtons. Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.
Cons: Odd flavor. Whole grain texture. My least favorite Newtons. Artificial tasting peach flavor. Made with partially hydrogenated oil. Being teased for being a nerd. Eating too many prunes.
