Einstein Bros. New Bagel Thin Bagels

Thin bread seems to be all the rage lately.  We're always looking for a way to get the sandwich or bagel experience without investing in the bloat and calories involved in so much bread.  Orowheat/Arnold's, Pepperidge Farm, and Thomas' have all already gotten in on the act with their various sandwich and bagel thins appearing on supermarket shelves fairly regularly now.  Bagel Thins might still be hard to find, though... at least, in all the flavors (my local discount bread shop had tons, though, surprisingly... and for half off!).

This morning, after I had an appointment with the phlebotomist (it was a fasting blood draw, so no morning coffee or breakfast for me), I desperately needed coffee. I really stopped at Einstein Bros. for the vanilla hazelnut brew, but when I saw they offered bagel thins now, I couldn't resist.  I ordered a plain thin, toasted with hummus. I prefer sesame bagels with my hummus, but they didn't have any -- for now they only come in wheat and plain. 

In terms of taste, it was much better than the ones you get at the grocery store -- less of that preservative-y taste.  But you'll have that experience with any store bagel vs. fresh bakery bagel. It tasted like their other delicious bagels, just thinner... and crunchier.

In terms of calories or Points, the man behind the counter didn't know. He said he'd heard around 100 calories for the bagel thin, so I called Einstein Bros' corporate office this morning and they graciously gave me the run-down:

• Calories: 120 cal (both plain and wheat)
• Fat: 1g (plain), 1.5 (wheat)
• Fiber: 1g (plain), 4g (wheat)
• Sugar: 2g (plain), 3g (wheat)
• WW Points®: 2 (both plain and wheat, despite the wheat's much higher fiber count)

Now, what I didn't like was the hummus. I don't know if it was just this store or what, but this was some pretty weird hummus... and it had huge whole chickpeas still in it. I've ordered their hummus for years, as I find it a tasty, lesser fat, higher protein option to cream cheese, but they must have changed the recipe or the vendor because this stuff was just... not good. It had red bell pepper pieces in it, whole chickpeas, some kind of herbs... maybe under another circumstance, I would have liked it. Say, with some crispy flatbreads and a glass of wine. But at 9am, I was looking for something a little less savory and more mellow.  And preferrably without whole chickpeas in it.  Thumbs down on the hummus. (1 Point for 1oz of hummus)

High points: They get nice and crunchy being so thin, but still kinda chewy. Taste just like their other bagels in terms of flavor and consistency.

Low points: They're the same price as the other bagels, which seems weird to me if you're technically getting less bagel, but whatever.  Not quite as filling, but I think that's because I scraped off my topping.

I'd definitely order these again, though next time wheat, just for the fiber factor -- and no hummus. It may have ruined me for hummus for a while.

Update!  Mel pointed out this fabulous coupon for a buy one, get one free Bagelthin sandwich.  Good until 6/29. Enjoy!

I give this 4 donuts.