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Chicago Loves Panini

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CLOSED GH Cretors review and giveaway: Back to school I go – to snack in style!

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Update: This giveaway is closed.

Fall is here, and so are many beautiful things: pumpkin patches, canning and baking sessions, amber-colored trees – and school, glorious school 🙂 Gone are the days of summer and the luxurious long break I loved so much. It’s fall, I’m back into the classroom to teach several demanding classes, and I need quality food to keep me going. I know from experience that popcorn is one of the best options to have on hand to appease hunger pangs in-between school sessions. Filling, tasty and nutritious, popcorn has been one of my favorite snack options in recent years. While it keeps me satisfied for hours, it also brings back beautiful childhood memories. I just love to go back in time and to remember those many evenings I spent popping corn with my parents, in the kitchen of our tiny apartment. Those were some really happy days!

Enter G.H. Cretors Popped Corn for the perfect school snack 😉 I had seen this brand on shelves at my local healthy food grocery store, but I wasn’t really familiar with its products until earlier this year, when I attended the Sweets&Snacks Expo (you can check out my review here), talked to their reps and sampled lots of their popcorn, which I thought was amazing. This is why I was very excited when I was contacted recently to review their products and to host a giveaway for my readers.

G.H. Cretors have been popping corn for five generations – since 1885, to be precise. Their mission: to create “the most obsessively delicious popcorn you’ve ever tasted.” The company stays true to its commitment to quality ingredients and artisanal craftsmanship by using non-GMO corn and other ingredients whenever possible in their flavors, and only organic ingredients in their Organics line. As someone who has done a lot of research on GMO food, I find their approach refreshing and reassuring.

G.H. Cretors sent me a box full of products as well as a tote bag and a S’well bottle to make my snacking-on-the go a breeze this fall:

I took G.H. Cretors popcorn to school a few days in a row, and I am happy to report their Honey Butter Kettlecorn is my new favorite snack. Organic and certified gluten free, this popcorn is not overly sweet, and the butter flavor works well with the honey to keep me full and satisfied for longer. There is no greasiness and no metallic or sickly sweet artificial flavors or aftertaste, and the popcorn has a perfect crispy texture and an appealing overall appearance. Here’s a wholesome and delicious way to keep up with a long, exhausting day!

If you’re more into salty snacks, then I highly recommend the G.H. Cretors salted butter popcorn, which is a fluffy organic popcorn drizzled with organic salted butter and just a pinch of sea salt. This variety has pleasant light buttery notes, and it’s the closest in taste to the popcorn I used to make with my parents when I was growing up. Its honest and straightforward flavors do not allow for gimmicks or artificiality. It’s as close to natural as possible, just like nature intended:

As a cheeseaholic through and through, I had a lot of fun sampling the Just the Cheese Corn variety. G.H. Cretors melt the cheddar in special kettles before pouring it over the non GMO corn, and then add non GMO sunflower oil. Decadently cheesy and fulfilling, this popcorn keeps hunger at bay long-term: I ate a handful around 6:30pm and it kept me full all through the evening class, which ended at 9pm:

For a lighter cheesy popcorn, you can go with the white cheddar variety. In line with G.H. Cretors’ commitment to authenticity and closeness to nature, the list of ingredients is minimalist (popcorn, white cheddar cheese and sunflower oil), and they are all organic. Clean, light and delicious flavors: what’s not to like?

Even before receiving the box from G.H. Cretors I had my reservations about their Organic Dill Pickle variety. As a fan of popcorn and dill pickles eaten separately, I was concerned these two might not work well together as part of a single product. Once I tried this variety however, my worries were put to rest. Made of organic corn, organic sunflower oil and organic dill pickle seasoning, the popcorn actually benefited from the inclusion of the special seasoning, which provided kosher deli-inspired deliciousness and did not overpower the other flavors.

In the end, eating popcorn tasting of dill pickles proved to be an enjoyable experience. I would definitely eat this as a midday snack:

If you want to satisfy both sweet and savory cravings, you can go with G.H. Cretors The Mix, a combo of Buttery Caramel & Real Cheddar Cheese popcorn. Made of non GMO corn treated with no artificial flavors or colors, this truly is sweet&salty snacking perfection. Being the sweet-toothed gal that I am, I just loved the caramel popcorn, which was chock-full of decadent caramel melting away in my mouth and releasing heaps of flavorful sweetness. Sooo good!

Overall, I enjoyed the minimalist, close to nature approach displayed by the G.H. Cretors popcorn varieties I tried, and for this reason I believe they are a better snacking option than other options currently on the market. I also like the portability of this popcorn, which can easily be stored in containers and transported to and from work with no ensuing loss of flavor or staleness. As a fan of both popcorn and healthy snacking, I think G.H. Cretors are on the right track on a gourmet market which is increasingly appealing to consumers everywhere.

G.H. Cretors is offering Chicago Loves Panini readers the chance to win one pack of delicious popcorn products to snack in style this fall.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post and answer the following question: Sweet or savory? How do you like your popcorn?

Giveaway open to US residents only 18 years of age or older. One entry per person. Deadline for entries is 6PM central time on September 29, 2017. One winner will be chosen on or around September 30, 2017 by using a random number generator and will have 72 hours to respond to the winner notification email. I reserve the right to pick an alternative winner if the original winner does not contact me 72 hours after receipt of winner notification email.

Good luck!

*Disclaimer: GH Cretors sent me a pack of complimentary products to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Comments

  28. I prefer savory popcorn. I like cheese popcorn and my husband makes a wonderful stovetop recipe that just needs salt.

    Reply

  39. I like savory popcorn. There are go to snacks when you want something sweet and go to snacks when you want something salty. I have never viewed popcorn as a member of the sweet category.

    Reply

  77. I actually like both. I like savory flavors for snacking during the day, and I like sweet flavors for like popcorn during a movie at night. I just like popcorn. 🙂

    Reply

  95. I like sweet AND I like savory. (Not necessarily together, although Isn’t that what they call the Chicago style?) I’ve had some sweet flavored varieties with chocolate and they were amazing.

    Reply

  102. wow what to choose i like the sweet and savory both and then the carmel look great and so do the ornge one wow what to choose

    Reply

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