Product: Unismack Cheese Bites Smoked Cheese Crackers – $1.80+
You know…one thing I have yet to learn is when a deal or sale is going on and I’m purchasing a new product…I shouldn’t immediately load up on every flavor available. Honestly. Because there is absolutely no guarantee that I’ll like the product in the first place.
I recently reviewed the Unismack Cheese Bites Parmesan Crackers…claiming that while they were good…they weren’t exactly something that stood out. Not memorable. In a world of gluten-free cracker options, I’d eat them again…but not actively seek them out. Of course, while on that outing to Big Lots that day, I grabbed pretty much every snack cracker that said Gluten-Free on the box. Because…it’s labeled. WOOHOO!! And the Cheese Bites Smoked Cheddar Cheese was the next snack on my gluten-free pantry list. I was less than thrilled to pull down another box of these, but…you know…the rule is…unless you really can’t stomach it…you eat it. No gluten-free things go to waste in my house. None.
So, I dished up a serving to take to work with me today. And my 3 p.m. snack time rolled around. I pulled out these crackers, popped the lid of the container, and took my first bite.
And this is why I am on the fence with these.
They taste like…BACON.
There is nothing bacon related in these. But that’s what they taste like. Like greasy diner bacon. Or, as my co-worker said after I let her try one…that it tastes like a bite of a McDonald’s Bacon Egg & Cheese Biscuit.
Normally, this wouldn’t be a bad thing. Not at all. But I’m a vegetarian. So when your vegetarian crackers taste like bacon, it is a little jarring at first. I didn’t know what to make of it or how to react. I know it’s just from the cheese being smoked, but…it confused the hell out of my taste buds.
You can’t say that these snack crackers lack anything for flavor. The very opposite is true for these. These pack the flavor. Enough that to some people it tastes like a fast food breakfast sandwich. Go figure. To me, it just reminds me of bacon. Maybe it’s because of that smokey flavor that is in the cheese. I had to get beyond that in order to really enjoy these crackers, but I ate them. No fussing on flavor this time. It’s there. I’m just not sure what to make of it just yet.
On the flip side, these crackers are rather low in calories (120 calories for a 1 cup (or 29g) serving) and only have 5 grams of fat for each serving. That’s not bad for a snack cracker. These are low sodium and also pack 4 grams of protein per serving. Not bad for a cracker, yes? All the ingredients are recognizable…probably due to the fact that these are produced in Greece. No strange chemicals or preservatives. Just the real-deal when it comes to ingredients. And these crackers are puffed up triangles of smoked cheese flavor. And they are light, so they won’t fill you up and spoil your appetite for dinner either.
So, if you love bacon…these might be the crackers for you. As for me, after my 3 servings that are in this box…I think I’ll pass. It’s just…weird to me. But, if you aren’t a vegetarian…these might be the best cracker you’ve ever tasted. But you’d have to buy them to find out.
The Celiathlete 