Product: Cheese Smarts Gluten-Free Cheddar Crackers – $2.30+
Oh, Big Lots. What would I do without you and your crazy international section with odd-ball gluten-free snacks? I just don’t know these days. Back at the beginning of summer, I actually posted about the Parmesan Crackers from Cheese Smarts. So, going into it, I knew at least that these crackers were palatable. Knock-you-over-with-cheesiness? Not exactly. But still good.
I can’t tell you much about the company, Unismack SA, aside from the fact that it is based out of Greece. Yep. Greece. And as you know, Europe holds food standards to a much higher degree than the United States. For that, I am thankful. And I love that these crackers are labeled gluten-free right on the front of the box. It’s a comfort to not have to haul out the iPhone in an attempt to check ingredients or a product’s Web site in order to be certain of gluten freedom.
Here is what I can tell you about the crackers, in general. Cheese Smarts Cheddar Crackers are baked, not fried. So, the cheese flavor is locked in through baking, not leaving a greasy residue like a lot of fried snack crackers do. That’s a huge plus. These crackers are made with 24% real cheese. I know…100% would be far better, but this is declared on the very front of the box. Only 24%. Hmmm. They are gluten-free, free of trans fats, and made with ingredients that are recognizable. In other words, the actual ingredients don’t read like a science experiment. Thank goodness.
So…enough with that. The nitty-gritty of this blog is how they taste and stack up against the plethora of other gluten-free cheese crackers out on the market. Well, at first bite you definitely get a healthy crunch. That’s partially due to the baking, I’m certain. The cheese flavor is there, not overpowering, but a bit underwhelming. The little flecks of salt on top of the crackers don’t overpower or make it an overly salty snack. With cheese snacks it can be a fine line when it comes to added salt, as cheese can be rather salty on its own. They aren’t bad. They just aren’t a cracker that you’ll hurry out to the store to stock up on. In a pinch…they’ll do, however.
A serving size is 12 crackers (or 29 grams if you weigh your portions like I do). This will set you back only 90 calories, however this serving also dishes up 6 grams of fat. These snacks are very low in cholesterol (10 mg) and sodium (only 240 mg). So, as far as a snack goes, you get a good portion size for relatively few calories in the cracker world.
These crackers aren’t bad. Not at all. They just don’t rank very high against some of the other major brands that are out on the marketplace. Nutritionally, they are difficult to beat. However, that being said, if it were to come down to taste…these wouldn’t be my first pick.
But…if I needed an inexpensive gluten-free snack…I’d be okay with these.
The Celiathlete 