In my search for healthier snacking, I came across Walmart’s Great Value brand rice crackers. For fourteen crackers, it’s only 130 calories, 25 carbs, and quite a reasonable amount of sodium. There’s barely any fat in as well.
The first time I bought these, I came home with two packages of the cheese variety. On first bite, I was immediately impressed with how crispy they were. They audibly crack when you bite them. They just feel great to eat. Taste-wise, the cheese flavour is subtle, not overpowering, but at the same time is what really seals the deal in making this an addictive snack. The cheese rice crackers are simply a delicious snack with satisfying crunch.
I probably ate the whole package in one evening, that’s how good I found them. Since then, I’ve bought the cheese ones several more times. They don’t last very long in my pantry (I actually don’t have a pantry, so I store them next to my shoes).
Anyways, on my most recent grocery trip, I discovered all the cheese ones were sold out and the only ones remaining where the “original” flavour and the BBQ ones. Rather than go empty-handed, I decided to try one of the “original” and one of the BBQ ones.
It turns out that “original” just means no flavour or seasoning whatsoever. It’s just the normal rice cracker with just a hint of salt on it. It’s so boring and bland. It tastes like nothing. The crispy texture is still there but we as humans, don’t eat things purely for the texture, it still needs to taste good and these “original” flavour ones taste like nothing. Even when I’m hungry and looking for a snack, I’m wouldn’t eat these and I’ll be hard pressed to finish even a single package of these.
The BBQ ones are slightly better but are closer to the terrible “original” ones than the holy standard of the cheese ones. The BBQ ones pull ahead because some flavour and seasoning is better than none at all, so by default it scores a victory over the plain ones. Judged on its own however, the BBQ seasoning is pretty weak. It’s almost like they forgot to put the rest of the seasoning on it and 50% of it never made it onto each cracker. Every time you eat one of these, it winds up just feeling underwhelming, which is not a great quality for a snack to have.
From a price point of view, these rice crackers are a winner no matter which ones you buy. Each package is $1.47, which is a steal when it comes to snacks. With inflation, potato chips are a luxury in comparison. Depending on the brand and store, a bag of chips might be double the price when considering the cost per gram or 100 grams.
In summary, if you want something healthy to snack on that doesn’t cost too much, the cheese flavour variety of Great Value rice crackers are the way to go. Don’t even bother with the other flavours.