Gluten-Free Crackers

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease - Sprue (a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, possibly oats and others.) I will add much more on this topic as time goes by. 


I quickly discovered my diet was very restricted, it seemed like everything was made with flour, contained some form of the above mentioned, or was contaminated with one or more of the evil ingredients (processed in a facility, a knife buttered the bread then went back into the butter container for seconds, etc.,.) Gluten is everywhere, hiding
in places you would never imagine (lots more on this later). Anyway, crackers are a must for me, I love saltines but they seem to be history, I have only found a few gluten free crackers I can tolerate. I purchased a box of Crunchmaster Multi-grain gluten-free crackers (see picture below on the left) at Sam's Club about 6 months ago thinking if Sam's sells them must be okay, WRONG. These crackers were more hard than "crunchy", and left an awful after-taste, similar to burnt rice. My husband went Gluten-Free when I had to (such a swell fella), and he doesn't like them either. We tried them plain, with cream cheese, with cream cheese and olives, crushed up in a salad, with cheddar cheese, but nothing was going to hide that taste, they were Horrible! I might say it is just my taste buds but...I have 5 kids, 4 of which will eat pretty much anything, so I thought maybe they would eat them, but not a one of them liked these. I tried to give them to friends, family, and neighbors but no one liked them. I guess it is possible that I purchased a bad batch, even though there were 2 packages in the box. I know from reading other reviews, there are many people that love these things, I guess you never know unless you try them. We didn't want to toss them in the trash so we use them as dog treats every once in a while, Ms Muffett (our 4yo Yorkie) & Tazz (our 1yo Lab/Doberman mix) like them. If there is anyone out there that has tried these, please leave a comment, I would really like to know if we did get a bad batch.


The picture below on the right is my favorite so far, Glutino brand Original Flavor Gluten-Free Crackers. They are by no means saltines, in fact they are on the opposite end of that spectrum, almost a sweet flavor. Mostly, I use them to replace croutons in salad or topped with cream cheese and such. I know it sounds a bit unusual but, to replace my dearly missed saltine friends, Lays plain potato chips are my new BFF. They are there for me when I eat Hormel's Chili or cheese dip covered Hormel's Tamales (both gluten-free, thanks Hormel), homemade or canned soup, anytime I need a salty crunch. If there is anyone with a cracker referral please let me know.