In this tough economy I am all for saving a buck or two here and there, and it’s amazing how quickly those savings add up! One of the ways I have found to cut corners is on my grocery bill.
My husband loves to have foods around the house to snack on, but these kinds of foods are usually quite expensive, in my opinion. Instead of purchasing the big name brands like we used to, I now mainly buy the Market Pantry brand of snacks, which are sold at my local Target store.
My latest find is the Market Pantry Thin Wheats crackers. These come in a small 10 ounce box, about the same size as a Nabisco Wheat Thins box, and notice the name of the product from Market Pantry – a nice play on words without falling into copyright problems!
The picture on the box shows a stack of the Market Pantry Thin Wheats, and they look very familiar to me, even though this is the first time I have purchased them. Market Pantry food items are guaranteed to have value and quality, there is a red seal on the front of the box promising this. In fact the back of the box reads “Market Pantry snack crackers are made with only the best ingredients for great tasting flavor at an affordable orice.”
Inside the box is a clear plastic bag, reminding me of was paper, but with no apparent wax. It keeps the crackers fresh as long as you are very careful to roll the package tightly inside of the box before storing them away.
The crackers themselves are square, they measure 1 5/16″, and are very thin. They have nine holes poked into the top, but these don’t go through to the back of the cracker. The only cracker I can compare Market Pantry Thin Wheats to are the Nabisco Wheat Thins, which have been around for many years. I can’t say that the Market Pantry Thin Wheats taste identical, and in fact are not quite as tasty as the Nabisco, but the taste is amazingly similar. I think that the Market Pantry Thin Wheats leave a slight “off” taste in my mouth, and I can’t put my finger on why that is.
Market Pantry Thin Wheats retail for around $2.75, which is about a dollar or more cheaper than what the Nabisco brand sells for in my area. As far as the nutritional information, they stack up nicely against the Nabisco Wheat Thins. Both brands consider 16 crackers a serving, and the Market Pantry version contains 150 calories, Nabiscos Original Wheat Thins contain 140. Market Pantry has 6 total grams of fat, also the same. Sodium amounts are very similar (260/270), as well as fiber and proteins. Both of the brands use real whole wheat flour in their recipes.
Since we have been so pleased with many of the Market Pantry foods, it was worth giving their Market Pantry Thin Wheats a try, but the next time I will stick to the Nabisco Original Wheat Thins.
One thing I will keep, however, is the delicious recipe for Crab Dip that Market Pantry printed on the back of their box, which is outstanding and very easy!
