If you have ever tried gluten free crackers or cracker substitutes that “imitate” the real deal, then you have likely been disappointed at least a time or two. Before I went gluten free many years ago, crackers were a staple of my family’s household snacking. Add them to soup, grab a handful as you run by the pantry, slap on some peanut butter or cheese on them, or just take out a whole box for the stalty or cheesy goodness.
Whether the crackers are made from almond flour, rice flour, coconut flour, or other wheat substitutes, they always leave me wanting more. A little more crunch, a little more flavor, a little more substance! Of course, there are some pretty good options for people willing to eat alternatives which have a giant list of ingredients (both naturally occurring and man made) to boost up consistency, flavor, and shelf life. But as for me, I like my substitutes to be as clean as possible with just a handful of ingredients (organic preferred), which can be pretty hard to come across at most grocery stores.
Enter Simple Mills… This brand provides a lot of great alternative snacks, treats, and staples that I will probably end up featuring in other reviews, but for now let’s focus on their line of crackers!
Overview: Simple Mills is based out of Chicago, IL and their mission is to enrich lives and bodies through simple, delicious, real foods. They also boast that their products contain “nothing artificial, ever” and on their FAQ page they answer that all of their products are 100% gluten free (confirmed by third party lab testing). They offer products such as pre-packaged cookies and crackers, as well as baking mixes for bread, brownies, pancakes, muffins, and waffles. All products have clean and simple ingredients such as almond flour, apple cider vinegar, arrowroot, cassava, chia seeds, cocoa, coconut flour/oil/sugar, eggs, flax seeds, hemp seeds, honey, organic spices, sunflower seeds and oil, and finally vanilla extract. These are not used in every product, but this list is meant to give you an idea for what to expect in their product offerings.
Taste: I have had the pleasure of trying a couple different flavors (Rosemary and Sea Salt) of the Simple Mills almond flour crackers and the taste is absolutely incredible. I would put these flavors up against any mainstream cracker like Wheat Thins (or other gluten based choices) and not think twice about it. I can’t comment on all the different flavor options as every flavor is not compliant with my own dietary constraints. However, there are several different options of chip style and flavor, so for those of you who can be more bold in your food discovery, go for it and I am sure you won’t be disappointed.
Availability: One of the best features about Simple Mills is that I have seen this brand in almost every grocery store I have visited. I was really surprised that I was able to find most of the Simple Mills snack offerings even when travelling to different states! This provides consistency in my snack staples when I am on the road for work or travelling with my family. Since I have Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and have to watch a lot of what I eat, having these crackers as a quick option (with minimal digestive drawbacks) is a huge safe zone for me.
The most recognized retailers for Simple Mills are Amazon and Wholefoods, but like I said before, I have found some of their offerings just about everywhere (Target, Costco, local grocery stores, etc). Also, you can order directly from the Simple Mills website at https://www.simplemills.com/Shop/Product.aspx and get free shipping for orders over a certain amount.
Affordability: The price point for this product line is a little on the high side in retail grocery stores ($5.99 to $6.99) but still reasonable for crackers. However, the Simple Mills website appears to be the cheapest option at $4.99! The main problem with pricing is that gluten based options are incredibly cheap due to the lower quality and purity of ingredients used. However, compared to other non-gluten options and less traditional alternatives, the price is very reasonable.
In addition, I have commonly seen this brand offer sales on cracker and cookie based products down to nearly 50% off (when this happens I just buy whatever is left lol). Warehouse stores like Costco, also carry the basic Sea Salt crackers (in larger quantity boxes) in my area . Buying from a warehouse is another cost effective way to get your hands on these, but typically sale prices in regular stores end up beating Costco bone pricing.
Pro-tip: Signing up for the Simple Mills newsletter let’s you in on all of their current discounts that are being offered and when those are occurring. As I have said before, some of these deals can be pretty major in savings (check it out here – Simple Mills Email Newsletter)
Compliance: this product is not necessarily AIP friendly or low FODMAP, but is considered paleo friendly and is definitely gluten free and pretty easy on the gut (if you tolerate these ingredients fairly well). If you have a gut that is easily irritated I would say try to stay away from the offerings with black pepper as an ingredient. Personally I have found that the sea salt flavored crackers are no trouble for me at all (even if I eat an entire box!). In addition, Simple Mills has given extra clarity on their website for which products are not paleo friendly (see below)
“The vast majority of our products are Paleo-friendly or, in the case of our baking mixes, can be prepared Paleo. These are the exceptions:
- Farmhouse Cheddar Almond Flour Crackers
- Peanut Butter Soft Baked Cookies
- Chunky Peanut Butter Soft Baked Bars
- Any cookies, baking mixes, and bars with chocolate chips (this includes our Brownie Mix)
- Organic Frostings”
Also, for those of you trying to stay away from certain seed oils and foods higher in omega-6. Simple Mills has provided the following comment about using sunflower oil in their cracker recipes.
“Interestingly, we spent quite a long time discussing sunflower oil as a team. The sunflower oil that we use in our crackers is organic, expeller-pressed, and high-oleic, meaning it is not high in omega-6 as conventional sunflower oil. The oil in the cracker never gets anywhere near its smoking point during baking, thereby preserving the high level of quality throughout the production process.”
Honestly, I am pretty amazed that they have even addressed this concern and it just goes to show the attention to quality that they place on their products.
Overall, this product has a great taste, is very affordable for the amount of servings and clean ingredients, can be found in most grocery stores, and is mostly compliant with paleo, but would have to be evaluated for other healing diets like AIP. Considering all of these factors, Simple Mills crackers are definitely worth a try. Leave a comment and let me know if you have tried this product or have other cracker options you would recommend!
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