Tag Archives: cracker

Low Carb Crackers

I’m a cracker fanatic.  You name the cracker and I love it. 

Topping the list are Cheezits.  A childhood favorite carried into adulthood.  I could down a box at one sitting of its cheezy, salty, deliciousness!  It’s one of those food items that can change my mood from sad or bad to happy and glad with each successive cracker eaten. Don’t even get me started on Westminster saltine or oyster crackers!  Taste bud heaven! 

The list goes on and on because basically, I never met a cracker I didn’t like.  Saltines, Buttery rounds,  water crackers, soda crackers, club crackers, cheese crackers, nutty and seedy crackers, spice crackers, herb crackers.  Sigh.  I really could go on and on, but for your sake I will stop here.

The Challenge

Packed full of wheat flours, the cracker was one of those things I was going to have to cross off my list of things I could eat.  That truly almost made me cry.   (Maybe I whimpered just a little.)   

Not only did I eat crackers plain but they are a staple accompaniment to use with spreads, dips and cheeses.  (Too, you just can’t eat pork rinds for everything.  Besides, in my brain, a pork rind is a potato chip substitute and not a cracker substitute!)  I used them crushed to top casseroles.  I used them sometimes to bread chicken. My broccoli casserole was never going to be the same without Cheezits, I lamented. 

Wheat flour products are just something that those with diabetes or gluten issues have to avoid.  Period.

What to do? 

The Solution – At the Grocery

There are some solutions at the grocery.  It took me a while to find things, however.  Larger cities have more solutions, but for most of us in the suburbs with smaller grocery chains it was a challenge.

100% Cheese crackers or crisps are a delicious alternative to crackers.  They are a cracker of sorts. Sure you can make your own (and I will post recipes), but they never seem to attain the light airy crispiness of ParmCrisps, their rival Whisps or their various other competitors.  You can use with dips and spreads.  It is 0 net carbs!  My favorite thing is to sprinkle them in soups.  They melt  slightly and you get a gooey mouthful of cheese with your spoonful of soup!   Some people put them in salads and in sandwiches.  I like them just to snack on when I’m craving a salty cracker (or potato chip.)  They also helped me cope with the loss of Cheezits in my diet.

I discovered Simple Mills products.   They have a whole line of almond flour-based crackers.  While I can’t eat a whole box.  (Well, let me say… I SHOULDN’T eat a whole box!)  A few crackers are better than none in my book!  Simple Mills has low carb and gluten free products.  THEY ARE DELICIOUS!  (They also sell cookies and have bread, cookie, muffin and cake mixes as well as a pizza dough mix.  Slightly higher carb for me, but still useful products when in weight maintenance.)

There are the completely flourless crackers called Flackers.  As you might have guessed  from the clever name, they are flax seed crackers.  With their carbohydrate to fiber ratio, they have very low net carbs with a whole 5 ounce bag only being 5 net carbs.  Although you wouldn’t want to eat that much flaxseed at one sitting (trust me.)  Plain, they are pretty good tasting.  Some folks don’t like the faxseed taste, but this cracker is definitely a great base for cheese, dips and spreads that mask that taste.  Plus flaxseeds are great nutritionally.  

I found most of these products in Earthfare and Fresh Market.  Whole Foods in some areas carry them. Some grocery chains carry them like Safeway and Food Lion. You shouldn’t have too much trouble finding them in your area.   

So, if you are at a party or giving a party where you feel that there aren’t any other options for Low Carbers for dips and spreads other than sliced vegetables… think again.  Always have some of these on hands as alternatives!

When I find other products that I like, I’ll add an update here.

The Solution – Online

If you can’t find in your store, just click on the links below to order online.  Because of the variety of options, the header links go to the product search pages and I just listed the options for your knowledge.  

Kitchen Table Bakers’ “crackers” have no carbs.  Be careful.  You can eat a whole bag before you know it if you aren’t careful!  There are varying sizes from 1.75 ounces to 3 ounces to a 9 ounce bag.

Cello’s Cheese Crackers are addicting as well.  They also offer a cheddar cheese version!

Simple Mills Almond Crackers are around 1 net carb per cracker.  They are Wheat Thin size.  So use your daily carb allowance judiciously with these.  

  • Simple Mills Fine Ground Sea Salt Almond Crackers
  • Simple Mills Farmhouse Cheddar Crackers
  • Simple Mills Rosemary & Sea Salt Almond Crackers
  • Simple Mills Tomato & Basil Almond Crackers
  • Simple Mills Cracked Black Pepper Almond Crackers
  • Simple Mills Smoky BBQ Cheddar Almond Crackers

They also have Sprouted Seed Almond Crackers.  

  • Simple Mills Everything Sprouted Seed Crackers
  • Simple Mills Original Sprouted Seed Almond Crackers
  • Simple Mills Jalapeno Sprouted Seed Almond Crackers
  • Simple Mills Garlic & Herb Sprouted Seed Almond Crackers

Doctor in the Kitchen’s Flacker Organic Flax Seed Crackers

  • Flackers, Sea Salt
  • Flackers, Rosemary
  • Flackers, Savory
  • Flackers, Cinnamon & Currants

(P.S. All these brand names are registered trademarks, but I couldn’t find the symbol on my app to insert them properly.)

The Solution – At Home

You  can  bake your own!  There are plenty of low carb cracker recipes out there.  I’m not a big baker, as I mentioned before, but if you are game, then that is a great solution.  I’ll add some recipes to the links page as I find ones I like.  I may even attempt to make my own.  If so, I will, of course, post the recipe.

I mentioned before about the discovery of low carb flour tortillas, pita bread and lavash.  You can bake these up into “crackers”! There are several decent tasting brands out there.  Ole, Mission, Flatout and Joseph’s all have good brands that are low carb.  Just read labels to make sure!

Here is my recipe for Low Carb Lavash Crackers. (Click on the title link.)

Until next time!

Dee