Whole Wheat Ritz Crackers

5 December 9, 2010 ‹ newer older ›

Last year, Snack Girl took on an American icon, Ritz Crackers, in this scintillating expose - 3 Reasons to Avoid Ritz Crackers.

And now, we will take a look at Nabisco's attempt to enter the whole grain cracker market with Whole Wheat Ritz crackers. Do I want to love these? Yes, I do.

Who doesn't love Ritz Crackers and want a buttery, healthy option?

Here were my issues with Original Ritz Crackers:

High Fructose Corn Syrup - also in Whole Wheat Ritz
Saturated fat - also in Whole Wheat Ritz
Zero fiber per serving - a SMIDGE more fiber in Whole Wheat Ritz

Let's take a look at the two labels against each other:

On the left is the whole wheat label and on the right is the original Ritz label. The first thing we are looking for in a whole wheat cracker is FIBER. Four grams of fiber per serving indicates that you are close to a 100% whole grain cracker.

As you can see, there is quite a bit less than 4 grams per serving. The whole wheat flour that Nabisco has added to Whole Wheat Ritz doesn't make them WHOLE GRAIN.

I doubt you could make a light cracker and use 100% whole grain flour. Whole grain crackers such as Wasa and Dr. Kracker are really crunchy.

As revealed in my post on Whole Grain vs Original Wheat Thins, the change on the FRONT of the box (whole wheat!) doesn't translate to much change on the SIDE of the box.

My suggestion is just to enjoy Ritz crackers (the original ones) as a treat and just forget about any potential healthy benefits.

If you are looking for a healthy cracker try these options:
The Healthiest Cracker On The Planet
DIY Crackers from Sagan
Triscuit
Visit the Doctor to Get an Awesome Cracker

Anyone tried Whole Wheat Ritz?

Want to read about snacks?
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A Healthy Tortilla
Lessons From a Coconut

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5 Comments:

I used to eat the Wheat ones until I read you post on the original Ritz and I read the Wheat label and was very dissapointed in the ingredients (HFCS) as well as the lack of fiber so I gave them up all together.

Tywana on December 9, 2010

SG: I abhor Ritz, but the child loves them. So I have resorted to Late July, the organic version of Ritz. Can you look at them and tell me what you think?

Viola Buitoni on December 9, 2010

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for shedding some light ritz crackers, I just found a post that has them listed in a healthy lunch!
HFCS and trans fat are not ingredients we should be giving our children no matter how good it tastes. These are chemicals that mess with hormones and are poison to the human body. When you are giving you child these snacks there is no nutrients that justifies the amount of saturated fat and HFCS. A better option is to skip the boxed crackers and offer cut up veggies and fruit with a yummy dip that is filled with protein, good fat and tastes amazing. I know it's not always that easy, the more you offer healthy choices the more likely they will enjoy it. However if your kids eat a lot of processed foods with HFCS and you take them away don't be surprised if they go through withdrawal symptoms.

Tamara Kosaba on April 24, 2011

I wish i would have read this article last week because yesterday i bought a box of Whole Wheat Ritz thinking that i was actually buying WHOLE WHEAT crackers! At least thats what the front of the box said. I was so excited that i was taking steps to clean up my diet by switching from white flour to wheat! So far I have managed to go from whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread. Like a dummy i didnt think to look at the label in the store b/c i assumed that the crackers were what they said, Whole Wheat with 5grams of whole grain. when i got home i maed some tuna/cracker snacks and they tasted great! Just like the original but then i looked at the label and i saw that it said enriched flour NOT 100% Whole Wheat! I was so mad and i'm still mad! Oh well, too late now but i know better next time.

HFF2012 on October 31, 2011

Listen people. If you don't eat bad all the time, then eating a whole cracker roll wont murder anything your trying to do. It's when you eat them every single damn day that does that. As long as you exercise daily, give yourself two breaks out of the week, I would advice Saturday and Sunday be those days. Same thing, as long as U don't eat them every single day, you should be fine.

Benji on January 9, 2012