The everything cauliflower craze has gotten out of control, amirite?  Sure cauliflower pizza crust is healthy and everything and if you put enough cheese on your food, the very strong flavor of cauliflower can be adequately masked. Cauliflower "rice" is something that I really wanted to like and if enough seasonings are added to it, can be quite palatable. Always on the lookout for lower carb, potentially healthier treats, especially crunchy/salty ones, I stumbled upon these goodies during a recent Aldi excursion. I have to hand it to Aldi. They are trying to offer more items for the health-conscious among us. They still don't have their own brand of low calorie fruit juice, but that's another blog for another day. These crackers come in two flavors - Sea Salt and Cheddar Flavor. This review is only for the Cheddar flavor because as I said earlier, cheese can do wonders to mask the cauliflower odor, um, I mean flavor.

The price for the 4 oz. box was $2.99. Not cheap, but as most people realize, decent food does cost more. Sure, you could get twice as many Cheez-Its for the cost, but these babies are gluten free, non-GMO and made with real cauliflower.

Here is the nutrition information and list of ingredients. I was pleasantly surprised to see the cauliflower flour listed as the first ingredient. So, this begs the question. What the heck is cauliflower flour??  Here's what I found: "the first ingredient is cauliflower, the product also contains a mix of your standard gluten-free flours: brown and white rice flours, tapioca flour, quinoa flour, and sorghum flour, as well as cornstarch, yeast, and baking powder." So there you have it. As you can see, the crackers also contain other flours and starches along with flavorings, palm oil, baking powder, salt and sugar. Not a bad ingredient list.

The serving size, 44 crackers, is extremely generous. The fat content is very reasonable and much lower than a serving of Cheez-Its. Comparatively, the sodium count of 325 is higher than Cheez-Its and the carb count is virtually identical.

Nutritionally speaking, these crackers would most likely be considered junk food. However, the fact that they are gluten free is a bonus.

Did you notice that there is no actual cheese in these "cheddar flavored" crackers? The cheesy flavor comes from the vegetable blend powder. They really weren't very cheesy, but the flavor was pretty good. It was slightly tangy, a little onion-y and salty. They were lighter in texture than a Cheez-It and very crispy.

Are these worth it? If you enjoy snacking and are looking for a gluten-free "cheesy" alternative, then these may be perfect for you. If you're expecting a nutritional powerhouse,  you may be disappointed. They really are no better for you, if you go by the numbers, than the regular old Cheez-It or other cheese cracker you might prefer. If you're watching your fat intake, these are a great choice, but watch the sodium.

9 out of 10 for taste. More cheesy flavor is needed.
5 out of 10 for nutrition. The sodium level is way too high and there are no vitamins or minerals to speak of.
5 out of 10 for value. There are only four servings in the box for almost $3.00 per box.

Yes, dear readers, this is a non-health food review. While picking up some saltines to replenish the household supply, I spotted these and was intrigued. I have tried the Cello Parmesan Whisps crackers and thought these might be similarly yummy and low carb.  Well, are they? They were much less expensive than the Cello Parmesan Whisps and certainly more easily obtained. I can almost never find those Parmesan Whisps. 

40% less fat? Well, count me in. That should have been a clue that these were not remotely like the Parmesan Whisps since the Whisps are made of nothing except cheese. They are popular with the low-carb/high-fat (keto) crowd for their lack of carbs and relatively high fat content. 

120 calories is not bad for a generous serving size and 4 grams of fat is also pretty good. The carb grams are quite high as well as the sodium. No fiber, either.  The ingredient list is free of frankenfoods, but the potato starch and rice flour increase the carbs and basically make this a "Pringles" type of cracker/chip with cheese flavoring. I am disappointed, but not surprised. Real cheese crackers are pretty easy to make yourself if you want a real cheese-only cracker. Just bake a small mound or small slice of cheese in the oven until brown. You can also cook them on the stove top in a skillet. 

As you can see, they are light and puffy, kind of like a puffy Cheez-Its with holes. I chose the smoked gouda flavor because I am a sucker for gouda. The taste was salty and kind of had an artificial flavor and the cheese powder stuck to my hands. The texture; however, was light and crispy.  I suppose if you are looking for a lower-fat cheese cracker, these would be worth it. If you buy these thinking they are more cheese than starch, you will be disappointed. Read the label. I probably won't buy these again.