Special K Cracker Chips (Sea Salt) Review

Curiosity got hold of me when I spotted Special K Sea Salt Cracker Chips in the supermarket aisle. I wondered what a hybrid "cracker chip" would taste like ... and the proclamation of "30 great tasting chips for 110 calories" on the front of the box of these baked snacks, made it even more intriguing.

First thing I did after buying a box was check out what a "cracker chip" looked like. The shape was oval - reminded me of Orville Redenbacher's Caramel Mini Smart Cakes, but the texture was smoother. The taste was not quite as salty as a chip, but it had the a similar heartiness to Baked Lays Potato Chips. I liked the taste, although it is a little different and takes a bit of getting used to. A serving size of 30 chips is quite adequate.

Each serving of Special K Sea Salt Cracker Chips provides 110 calories, 2.5 grams of total fat (4% of the daily value), no saturated or trans fat, 230 mg of sodium (10% of the DV), 3 grams of fiber (12% of the DV), 2 grams of protein and less than 1 gram of sugars.

Special K Strawberry Fruit Crisps Review

Special K Fruit Crisps are a new "pop tart like" offering from the Special K brand. There are quite a few different names for these types of pastries - there's Pop Tarts, which is actually a brand name, toaster pops (like Amy's Organic Toaster Pops), toaster pastries (Nature's Path Organic Frosted Strawberry Toaster Pastries and Fiber One Strawberry Toaster Pastries) and toaster tarts (Health Valley Organic Red Cherry Toaster Tarts) - at least those are the names I know of. Whatever you call 'em, they are pretty much the same thing - a pastry crust on the outside and a fruity sugary filled inside.

I picked up a box of the Special K Strawberry Fruit Crisp for $2.79 at Target and when I got home I ripped open a package and took a bite. My mom immediately asked me if I should have heated it in the toaster - the answer is no - these were good even without being heated. They look remarkably like a thin, skinny Pop-tart! These thin bars possess a crispy, crunchy texture comparable to a cookie/cracker hybrid. A thin layer of strawberry jam filling adds a perfectly sweet gooiness. When the crispy base combines with the thin, yet delightful layer of strawberry sweetness, visions of shortbread cookies comes to mind.

Each 52 gram serving of Special K Strawberry Fruit Crisps is 2 pastries (52 grams) which provides 100 calories from 2 grams of total fat, less than 1 gram of fiber and protein and 7 grams of sugars. It may seem like Fiber One Strawberry Toaster Pastries) for example have more calories and sugar - but 1 Fiber One pastry weighs 2x BOTH the Special K pastries. So Special K has basically cut the calories (and sugar) in half by giving you half the amount of other brands.

Special K Red Berries Waffles Review

Remember when Special K only had Cereal in their product line? Well, no more - there are Bars, Protein Shakes, Water, Snacks, Crackers and now Waffles. I love waffles, so I decided to give the Special K Red Berries Waffles a try. I was excited to try a new brand of waffle and intrigued by the "red berries" addition.

The waffles had a taste and texture similar to other frozen waffles, but I think they may have less of an oily surface, which was great. The little dots of red complemented the traditional waffle taste with a nice touch of berry flavor. I was a bit skeptical initially about how much of the berry flavor came from real berries since the box mentions both natural and artificial flavoring. But in the middle of all those ingredients is a mention of dried strawberries, so that's encouraging.

Special K Chocolatey Delight Cereal Review

Have you ever had a cereal that was supposed to have fruit or something extra added to it but you could literally count the number of fruit pieces on one hand?! Well, it looks like Special K was paying attention to consumers grumbling about that because they produced Special K Chocolatey Delight cereal with a very generous amount of chocolate pieces. When I poured out a cup, I didn't have to hunt for the chocolate. They were there in abundance, with each piece being about 1/2 inch long by 1/4 inch wide - much bigger than a "chip".

The flakes taste a little sweeter than regular Special K, and the chocolate really adds that extra special oomph to the cereal. By itself, the chocolate is a little bland and very chewy, not as soft as regular chocolate at all. Some reviews at Amazon.com say it had a waxy taste, bu that wasn't my experience. However, let's not get too critical and expect rich dark chocolate in a cereal. This has to hold up to sitting in a cereal bowl covered with milk without getting mushy, and this cereal (both the flakes and the chocolate pieces) does an excellent job of not getting soggy quickly in milk.