Wendyl wants to know: Something special about low-fat snacks

Kellogg's Special K Cracker Crisps Honey Barbecue - $3.99 for 100g.

Kellogg's succeeds in avoiding cardboard cracker syndrome

These caught my eye in the snack aisle of Pak'nSave.

The problem with many crisps/crackers which are low in fat is that they taste terrible unless they are dipped in strongly flavoured powders. A close look at the label will tell you that many of the flavoured powders are chock full of artificial colours and flavours.

These looked as if they might be okay and, personally, I am so bored with plain old rice crackers that I am long overdue for a change.

Ingredients

• Dehydrated potato (43%) (potato, emulsifier [339], antioxidant [304,221]) — This tells us that just under half of these crisps are made from potato which has been dehydrated. They also have sodium phosphate (339), ascorbyl palmitate (304) and sodium sulphite (221) added.

• Potato starch — This is a starch similar to cornflour which is derived from potatoes and in here most likely as a thickener.

• Brown rice flour (12%) — This will add to the crisp mix. Good to see brown rice flour rather than white rice because when the husk is left on the rice grain (which leaves it brown) you get extra nutrients and fibre.

• Seasoning — Sugar, salt, onion powder, yeast extract, spices (pepper, paprika), tomato powder, maltodextrin, whey powder, starch, gralice powder, food acid (330), honey, anticaking agent (551), flavours, natural colour (160c). Creating a honey barbecue flavour takes sugar, which is here, as well as maltodextrin and honey, but you only get 1.8g of sugar per 25g serve. It contains salt and various flavourings such as onion and tomato powder and spices. The food acid in here is citric acid (330), the anticaking agent is silicon dioxide (551) and the box says no artificial flavours so the flavouring will be naturally derived. The natural colour is paprika (160c).

• Sunflower oil (antioxidant [tocopherols]) — This is sunflower oil with an antioxidant, in this case tocopherols, added as a preservative. These are low in fat at just 2.5g per 25g serve which is about 10 per cent and well within healthy guidelines.

• Corn meal — This will provide texture to the crisps.

• Oat fibre — The fibre for these is quite good at 2.2g for each 25g serve.

• Salt — You get 196mg of sodium per 25g serve which isn't too bad.

• Emulsifier (471) — The emulsifier is mono and diglycerides of fatty acids.

Highlights

• No artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.
• 2.2g fibre per 25g serve.
• Low in fat.

My recommendations

These are a great choice if plain old rice crackers are beginning to bore you to tears.
Unlike many powdered flavourings you find on crisps or crackers, this one resists artificial colours and flavours and MSG which is great.

A warning though — one serve is just 25g which isn't a lot, so as long as you don't eat the whole 100g box this is a great snack coming in at 430kj or 102 calories.

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