To Cheez-It or Not?

Cheez-it has been around for decades. The salty cheesy crackers are popular with kids and adults alike. Originally sold by an independent company call Sunshine, Cheez-it has been part of the Kellogg’s lineup for the last 10 years.

And they’re

made with 100% REAL cheese

If you’re laughing, don’t. There actually is such a thing as fake cheese.
So are these bite sized treats a decent snack? Let’s find out…

What you need to know:

A serving of Cheez-it is 1 ounce, or about 27 little crackers. Do you eat more or less than that amount?

For reference, a box contains 9 servings.

The serving is 150 calories, half coming from fat. Of the 8 grams of fat, 2 are saturated.

The 230 milligrams of sodium equate to 10% of your daily max.

Due to the refined wheat, there is virtually no fiber to be found here.

Here is the ingredient list:

Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Soybean and Palm Oil with TBHQ for Freshness, Skim Milk Cheese (Skim Milk, Whey Protein, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto Extract for Color), Salt, Contains Two Percent or Less of Paprika, Yeast, Paprika Oleoresin for Color, Soy Lecithin.

Basically you are eating flour, oil, and some cheese. To increase shelf life, the oil is treated with TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone) a petroleum derivative that in large dosage causes nausea, delirium, and ringing of the ears.

The orange color of the crackers comes not from the cheese, but rather from paprika. On the bright side, at least it’s not from some synthetic dye.

Bottom line: Cheez-it may be tasty for some, but nutritionally it’s rather void. Maybe fine for occasional snacking, but there are much better crackers out there made with whole grains and without
questionable preservatives like TBHQ.

By Fooducate

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To Cheez-It or Not?