People always want to eat tasty food. There’s nothing wrong with looking
for healthy options in delicious foods. We know that you are looking for
more nutritious crackers too. That’s why you must be here.
Crackers with salt are not as healthy as you think. They have a high-
calorie content and do not provide all the essential nutrients. You can
get some good alternatives if you are looking for healthy crackers.
Some whole-grain crackers provide lower calories and are suitable for
your hunger pangs.
Here, we will make you explore everything you need to know about healthy
crackers. Are crackers healthy? Well, you will know soon.
What Are Crackers?
Crackers are mainly wheat flour-based, dry, and flat-baked snacks. Spices
like salt, sesame seeds, herbs, pumpkin seeds, or cheese are added while
making the dough.
The snack is frequently marketed as a healthy and simple way to eat cereal
grain or staple food. But it’s not necessarily true.
Whole grain crispbread is marketed as crackers too. There are also
numerous other types of crackers.
Crackers Types
You can consume the saltine crackers alone. But they go well with cheddar
cheese, fresh fruit, meat slices, and dips. Again soft spreads like butter,
jam, peanut butter, mousse, or pâté are added to make it more delicious.
Some people prefer to eat cracked pepper with soup too. Senbei and
papadum are Asian equivalents of crackers. Roam in the market, and you
will find cracker varieties with sunflower seeds, canola oil, sunflower oil,
whole grain brown rice, etc.
Cracker with sunflower seeds is a healthy cracker. Keebler Club Crackers,
Mary’s gone crackers, and table water crackers are great examples of
healthy crackers. Crackers with whole-grain flours are healthy as whole
grains are good for health.
Nutrition Facts of Crackers
USDA says the five saltine crackers (roughly 14.9 g) should contain
nutrients of –
● Calories: 62.3
● Fat: 1.3g
● Carbohydrates: 11g
● Fiber: 0.4g
● Sodium: 150mg
● Sugars: 0.2g
● Protein: 1.4g
Are Crackers Carbs or Protein?
Traditionally, all crackers are carbohydrates. They have low protein and fat
content. The biscuits contain a minuscule amount of essential minerals and
nutrients. Though, cheesy crackers are a little high in fat.
Are you willing to consume crackers while being on a diet? Crackers are
not a good choice if you are on a keto diet because they are carbohydrates.
What Makes Your Crackers Healthy?
Simple food with great taste – that is what a cracker is. There’s no need to
add artificial ingredients to them. Artificial ingredients make crackers
unhealthy. Having a simple cracker is healthy and excellent for fighting your
hunger pangs.
You can call a cracker healthy by observing the following things:
Whole grains as the primary ingredient
For ingredients, look for nutritious options. They will have whole grains as
the main ingredient. This includes organic whole wheat flour and brown rice
flour.
Whole grain oat flour, lentil flour, whole grain quinoa, etc., are also
included. Fruits, hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, and sesame seeds
might be used too. However, crackers with whole-grain wheat are standard.
Avoid added starch
During digestion, starch is converted to sugar in our bodies. Crackers with
high fructose corn syrup are bad for health too.
Crackers should be malt syrup and gluten-free. The Glycemic Index sets
the standard for us regarding starch consumption. Foods that score high on
the GI index cause heart disease and other chronic diseases.
Modified starch, tapioca, potato starch, etc., are found in the crackers.
These are rapidly digestible. It’s for the best to avoid these added starches.
No added sugar
Just stay away from cookies or crackers with excessive added sugar.
Added sugar is terrible for your health. They add extra calories per serving,
which will make you gain weight. Don’t go for high fructose corn syrup-
containing crackers.
Don’t mix up added sugar with whole wheat. Whole wheat is better for a
healthy diet.
Minimally refined grains
Overly processed grains do not have fibers. Phenolic lipids are healthy fats.
Phenolic acids are beneficial for health but are ripped off from refined
grains. This makes them less nutritious per serving. Again, crackers should
be gluten-free.
Vegetable oils
Unhealthy vegetable oils should be avoided whenever you will get a
chance.
Vegetable oils, like sunflower oil and soybean oil, are not healthy fat.
Calories go high and work as an ingredient to make you gain weight. Again,
you should avoid partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil too.
Artificial color and preservatives
Preservatives and artificial colors are always bad for health. Excessive use
of them is hazardous to public health. Healthy crackers do not need a lot of
artificial color and preservatives.
Avoid too much sodium
Snacks with high sodium increase your risk of developing high blood
pressure. High sodium content also encourages heart disease. Again, they
are associated with strokes too.
Make sure to check out how much mg of sodium your cracker contains.
Are Graham Crackers Healthy?
Graham crackers are popular. They have created hype in the market. A
single serving (28g) of Graham Crackers should contain –
● Calories: 119
● Fat: 2.8 grams
● Carbohydrate: 21 grams
● Sugar: 6 g
● Protein: 2 grams
What do you think about looking at the nutrients? Yes, you are right!
Graham crackers are not healthy. They might not contain high calories but
have high carbs and sugar content.
100 mg of Graham crackers contain 477 mg of sodium. This makes them
unhealthy too. Also, the protein and dietary fiber levels are deficient.
Thus, Graham Crackers are not an option for health enthusiasts like you.
Are Jacobs Crackers Healthy?
Typically, you will find 37 crackers in a packet. Below you will find nutrient
contents for a single serving (8g) of Jacobs Crackers:
● Calories: 35 kcal
● Fat: 1.1 g
● Saturated Fat: 0.5 g (included in fat)
● Carbohydrates: 5.4 g
● Sugars: 0.1 g (included in carbohydrates)
● Protein: 0.8 g
● Salt: 0.1 g
● Fiber: 0.3 g
Jacobs crackers advertise their food as Kosher. They are suitable for
vegetarians and made from wheat flour. There are no added colors or
flavors in the Jacobs crackers.
They might not be the healthiest crackers. But Jacob cracker varieties are
healthy options. You can be guilt-free and have some more nutritious
crackers instead.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What crackers are the healthiest?
Store-bought crackers can be healthy too. Here is a list of healthy crackers
you can easily find around you:
- Simple Mills Original Organic Seed Flour Crackers
- Mary’s Gone Crackers
- Hippie Snacks Almond Crisps
- Orga Foods Super Crisps
- Hu Kitchen Grain-Free Crackers
- Bob’s Red Mill Oat Crackers
- Original Ritz crackers
- Multi-grain crackers
- Keebler Club crackers
- Carr’s table water crackers
These crackers fill up all the credentials of a healthy cracker. If you want to
consume healthy ones, you can go for them.
Are crackers good for weight loss?
ealthy crackers containing whole grains may be helpful for weight loss.
But it would be best if you tried to avoid them because they do not have
much nutrition.
Most crackers are suitable for your hunger pangs but bad for your diet
chart. Multi-grain crackers are a healthy snack too.
Are crackers healthier than bread?
Crackers are a good option if you’re attempting to lose weight because two
crackers have roughly 64 calories, compared to about 250 calories in
bread. You might save 186 calories by making one easy switch.
Are crackers junk food?
Some people only count fast foods as junk foods. But this is not valid.
Packaged or pre-prepared foods which have little nutritional value are
called junk foods. Crackers fill up both of the criteria to become junk food.
Final Words
Are crackers healthy? You know it now! Crackers are a great option if you
are looking for a filling snack. You can see the best healthy crackers list
above. They have a better nutritional value per serving.
Always look for the whole grain option and avoid other fancy crackers.
Whole grain wheat crackers can be found in the market quickly. Stay fit and
choose your snacks wisely!
