Product: Glutino Gluten Free Vegetable Crackers – $4.99+
One of my go-to brands here! Everything…and I literally mean…EVERYTHING that I have tried from Glutino has been amazing. From my first ever product…their pretzels to their pizza to their breads to their breakfast bars…to everything else I can lay my hands on (especially the chocolate covered pretzels…which are my favorite thing in life…in general!)…I have found Glutino to be one of the gluten-free brands that I can trust to put forth a quality product that also has perfect flavor and texture.
Not too long ago, for no reason I can discern whatsoever, I picked up a box of their Gluten Free Vegetable Crackers. Normally I don’t keep random crackers in my pantry. God only knows why I had a box of these in my pantry…unless they were on sale or I just, at the time, had a craving. Or maybe I thought I’d need them. Regardless, they’ve been in my pantry for a little while. In the back. Where I kept forgetting they were there.
UGH! This is why I clean up my pantry every month. To remind me of what I have and what I need to use.
Well, yesterday I went ahead with some much-needed meal preparation. I was in the kitchen for much of the afternoon, not only working on things I would need for Sunday’s dinner…but things for Monday and beyond. The week. Or beyond that…because one thing I was making was a fantastic Vegetarian West African Peanut Soup, which I can freeze some portions.
Anyway…it’s Monday. It’s crazy. And I really just wanted to be able to come home, eat something, and then settle in to watch some World Cup with dinner. This meant I prepped the soup on Sunday, let it cool down, froze four portions of it and put the other two into the fridge for easy reheating on Monday evening. That’s exactly what I did. I also baked Vegan Blueberry and Dark Chocolate Scones too…but I digress…
I was thinking, while at work, that we might want something with the soup tonight…and was trying to figure out if I wanted to bake up gluten-free corn bread…or grill up some corn…or just have crackers (I have another brand awaiting its turn for tasting and blogging rights). I asked my roommate around lunch time and she was apathetic toward any suggestion. I hate when she doesn’t care…because…honestly…I’m good with anything. I just want some input. But…on the way home, it seemed she had it all worked out…requesting crackers with the soup.
Sweet. Decision made.
The next question was which kind to have with dinner. Since the Glutino Gluten Free Vegetable Crackers had graced my pantry shelf longer than the other one…they won the non-existent coin toss. In other words…default!
As I heated up bowls of soup, I plucked the box from the pantry and opened up the top. Two silver bags of freshness were waiting for me. I checked the nutrition information and found that the box held four servings, so each silver bag held two servings of crackers. Perfection! I got out some paper towels, cut open one of the freshness sealed bags and poured out the contents, splitting the crackers evenly between Cathy and I.
These crackers are larger than a standard Ritz cracker. They have this subtle pale color, but inside each cracker you can see little flecks of flavor. I loved vegetable crackers growing up, so I was hoping that these would live up to my high expectations. I finished up the soup, and served it with a serving of crackers each. I wasn’t exactly sure how vegetable flavored crackers would go with peanut soup…but I was willing to at least give it a shot.
Believe it or not…it worked. Seriously.
I think the texture and overall flavor of Glutino’s crackers (regardless of flavor) reminds me a lot of oyster crackers (Dear Glutino…please make oyster crackers for my soup!). And I used to eat the hell out of oyster crackers. But here is where the magic comes in with this particular cracker. You see, it’s flavored…with vegetable flavors. Seriously. You get this little taste of herbs, garlic, and even tomato in each bite. It would be great with cheese or even some hummus and vegetables on top. The vegetable flavor definitely gives this cracker a more savory feel and taste. And I loved it. While I dipped most of my crackers in the soup, I kept some out to eat on their own. That’s how good these are! They can be eaten plain and their subtle flavors bring a lot to the cracker itself. Delicious, any way you choose to eat them. Trust me.
Ingredients in the Glutino Gluten Free Vegetable Crackers include corn starch, white rice flour, organic palm sugar, modified corn starch, dextrose, eggs, sunflower lecithin, tomato powder, salt, dehydrated oregano, dehydrated garlic, guar gum, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, and rosemary extract. Not a big fan of that word “modified” in there…but…I just now noticed it!
As far as nutrition information goes…the Glutino Gluten Free Vegetable Crackers contain 14o calories per serving (about 8 crackers) and 5 grams of fat. These crackers also serve up 5 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, and only 1 gram of sugar. That’s not bad at all. In addition, one serving will also provide you with only 1 gram of fiber and 1 gram of protein. Not too filling…so don’t expect the crackers to hold you all day. Not happening.
Seriously…if you’re looking for a snack cracker or something to serve up at a party, I highly recommend the Glutino Gluten Free Vegetable Crackers. They are perfectly seasoned bites of cracker goodness. Great for soups, snacks, and savory hors d’oevres. Really just great. Eat them on their own, or dip or top them however you like. You won’t be disappointed. On the contrary, you might find yourself stocking your pantry with these on a regular basis.
The Celiathlete 