OrganicBunny.com Eating

It's Not Easy Being Cheesy

Cheese and crackers. They kind of go together like peas and carrots. And whomever thought of putting the flavor of cheese into the cracker was simply brilliant. When you get those late-afternoon munchies, or you're setting out tasty finger foods for a casual get-together with your friends, who wants to mess with cutting up cheese and placing it precariously on crackers? You can get it all in one cheesey-flavored snack.

That being said, we all know that Cheezits aren't exactly the healthiest thing around. So, can we make them any healthier by trying organic, or reduced-fat brands? And if we do, do we feel like we're eating cardboard? We bought up seven varieties to find out the answers. Our munchy experts put them to the test. Here's what they said:

Most Healthy: Kashi Cheese TLC Most Tasty: Annie's Homegrown Cheddar Bunnies Lowest Price: Cheese Nips (Reduced Fat Cheddar)

Most Healthy: Kashi Cheese TLC - These "Tasty Little Crackers" had fewer calories and less fat, cholesterol, and sodium than most of the other brands. They also contain no artificial ingredients. But unfortunately it seems this is one case where flavor was sacrificed for all that healthiness. Although we liked the cute cow drawing on the recycled cardboard box, the taste of the crackers inside was somewhat bland and a little chalky. Overall, these little guys ranked pretty low in the taste test, and since that is what we're generally going for in a snack cracker, we might go for another brand. A notable runner-up in healthiness were good old-fashioned Goldfish, which weren't too bad in fat and sodium, and ranked higher overall in the taste test.

Most Tasty: Annie's Homegrown Cheddar Bunnies - once again, in a blind taste test, we fell in love with Annie's (see our Macaroni & Cheese report). These little guys had a strong cheesy flavor that wasn't fake or too salty. And none of our taste testers (young and old alike) could resist the adorable shape. Another plus to these little bunnies: they're smaller and smoother than the regular square crackers, which make them easier for small hands and mouths to grasp. They're also certified organic and vegetarian, for moms who are concerned about what goes into those small mouths and hands. Only downside: more calories and fat than other brands, although not too bad for sodium content.

Lowest Price: Cheese Nips and Cheezits, the popular brands, are the least expensive, which comes as no surprise. The reduced fat varieties, which we sampled, also scored well in the taste test. It's worth noting, however, that while the fat content of these crackers is significantly reduced, the sodium content is significantly high, pushing their overall healthy ranking to the bottom of the list.

In summary: in reality, we'll probably choose a granola bar or juicy apple more often than these snack crackers as an antidote to late-afternoon hunger, but it's still nice to know that there are more choices out there than the old standby Cheezits. And with the way that everyone loved the shape of the Cheddar Bunnies, we just might have to bring them out for our next party, as a sure-fire conversation-starter.

Happy Nibbling!