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The New and Improved Wheat Thins

March 6, 2012   54 Comments

Snack Girl has a long history with Nabisco. We go WAYYY back to 2010.

Whole Grain Wheat Thins

In August of that year, I flamed Wheat Thins for their 100% Whole Grain recipe - see here: When 100% Whole Grain Means Nothing.

The consequence of writing about Wheat Thins was a phone call from Kraft - the manufacturer of Wheat Thins. A very nice gentleman named Basil (never met anyone named Basil before) informed me that Wheat Thins were going through a reformulation.

I posted Kraft's response here - Wheat Thins Manufacturer (Kraft) Talks To Snack Girl - because I am nice like that. Hey, even a huge food corporation deserves a chance to defend itself.

Anyway, the conclusion was that all Wheat Thins were to become 100% whole grain. Someone at Nabisco actually sent me a box of the new Wheat Thins - which bear the title "Original" - even though they are now not the original but a new version of original (which makes no sense).

I knew they were on the market because I received an e-mail from someone whose son would not eat the NEW original. She wondered if I could tell her where to find the ORIGINAL original.

The answer to that question is now there is only ORIGINAL - you cannot find the Original Original or the 100% Whole Grain - because they are one product.

Did Kraft actually do what Basil said they were going to do? Yes! These crackers have only whole wheat flour - and are 100% whole grain. This means that instead of 2 grams of fiber for 16 crackers, you get 3 grams of fiber. You also get 2% more of your daily value of iron in a serving.

Sadly, they aren't really that different. I guess I wanted less sugar too - because 4 grams per serving for crackers seems like a lot to me.

I will give Kraft some credit, though, for doing what they said they were going to do. Good work!

Everything else about these crackers are the same as the original Wheat Thins. They taste pretty much the same except that they are harder. The ORIGINAL original had a more melt in your mouth feel to them.

Here are the nutritional facts for one serving of the NEW original:

For 16 crackers = 140 calories, 5 g fat, 22 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 3 g fiber, 230 mg sodium, 4 Points+

Is this a bad snack? Not when you compare it to Ding Dongs or Doritos. Is this the healthiest snack? No, but you could make them healthier. Why not eat just 8 of them with some hummus or guacamole?

The key to healthy crackers is what you put on them. I find that if I just eat crackers then I am hungry in a very short amount of time. If I pair them with (dare I say it) cheese or hummus, I last a lot longer.

Have you tried the NEW Original Wheat Thins? What do you think of Kraft for reformulating their crackers?

This product was received for review consideration. No other compensation was provided.

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First 20 Comments: ( See all 54 )

Great post. At least they did what they promised they would do. I actually didn't know there were four grams of sugar per serving! I'll have to give these a try and see what I think.

Nope, haven't tried the new crackers. I try, try to stay away from them. There to addicting! I like to make Lavash chips, I get like 40 chips for 120 calories and it's whole grain! However, when I have a salt craving, crackers are a great quick fix!!

Can't have crackers in my house. It's like having potato chips.

Lisa, I wasn't aware that they went 100% whole wheat. I will have to give them a try. I like to pair crackers with Friendship's no salt added cottage cheese. :)

It's still basically the same: nutrient poor, no phytochemicals, basically empty calories. Why have have a sliced tomato with guacamole, carrot sticks with humus?

I,m sure I will try a box to see what they taste like, but I will most likely stick with my Triscuts.

It's impressive that they responded to you! I'll have to try the new "original"

I usually like to have some crackers around as a "treat" and Wheat Thins are often it... BUT, be warned - stay away from the Parmesean Garlic flavor - nasty salty powder on Wheat Thins - yuck. For cheese, I often use those pre-portioned wedges - not as yummy as real cheese, but you don't keep slicing off more!

For really good crackers, try the Trader Joe's gorgonzola crackers - YUM! - and don't need cheese - I believe nutrition facts are about the same. TJ's also has a good Everything cracker that is similar to a Wheat Thin, but with poppy seeds & sesame seeds, etc. on top - again, similar nutrition info.

Can you tell I visited Trader Joe's this weekend? Stocked up!

You go Snack Girl! Wonderful. Many thanks~

I still say it's super easy to make your own crackers: http://www.anorganicwife.com/2012/01/whole-wheat-crackers.h…

The key to making them not so hard and dense is to use a combination of whole wheat and white whole wheat flour... which is still 100% whole grain.

I love wheat thins with cheese or justt straight out of the box I don't know If I have tried the new original I wil tell you what I think of them when I try them.

I've been snacking on these for the past few weeks and really like them. I did make sure to check the ingredients and to my untrained eye they seemed okay. Glad to hear that's the case so I can snack guilt-free!

my daughter and I call them "crack"-kers cause they are so addictive :)

I switched to Triscuits when I realized that Wheat Thins has HFCS in them.

No, haven't eaten wheat thins in years. I'm with Jaki and will stick with Triscuits as my cracker of choice.

Happy to report I just went to Publix this morning and these were BOGO. Nice.

I have had the new Wheat Thins and I still love them. I think that even if the texture has changed a bit Kraft made a good move in switching to whole grains. A huge number of people don't get enough whole grains each day, so even if this still isn't the healthiest snack at least people are eating whole grains rather than refined grains. I like your idea of adding cheese or hummus to fewer crackers to feel more full.

My husband and I have been eating Wheat Thins for decades. We bought a box of the "new" Wheat Thins and honestly thought something was wrong with them as they are too hard, too thin, too tasteless and not salty enough. So we bought another box, thinking the first was some sort of production blip. These were the same and just awful (IMO). So, now in our late 60's and not obsessed with "health foods" anyway, we will have to search around for a new afternoon snack. I am glad I found this article so that I know it is Kraft and not our aging tastebuds!

Very upset! I found this site while looking to see what the heck happened to my crackers. Too fragile for dipping. Less flavor IMHO. I'll have to find a new cracker and Wheat Thins have been my favorite for YEARS

This is great news for those of use who have high triglycerides. Eating everything 100% whole wheat is really the only way to go with this problem. Enriched wheat is bad for you. The FDA should not allow you to call something wheat if it is made with enriched wheat.

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