Roman Meal now offers four new cracker flavors: wheat & onion, wheat & rye bran, sesame & wheat and whole wheat. The crackers are baked not fried, low in saturated fat and contain no MSG or preservatives. The 8-ounce box will cost you $1.49 at Smith's.
Don Russell (married, five children at home, ages 14-4): "These crackers were quite tasty and seemed rather healthy with several whole grains listed in the ingredients. Although Roman Meal's crackers taste like a slightly bland Wheat Thin, they appear to be a more healthy choice. The Roman Meal crackers are baked, have no MSG or preservatives."Edyth Jensen (married, three children at home): "These crackers have a nice, crisp texture. We enjoyed them, but they are a bit dry. They'd be better with soup or with appetizer style dips. We did like them, but they're just too dry to eat by themselves."
Nihla Lake (married, two children at home): "Peaches and cream, peanut butter and jelly, bananas and strawberries - these are good flavor combinations. But wheat and rye? Ugh! Not a good combo, at least in our house. These snack crackers made all the right moves: baked instead of fried, low salt, no MSG, low saturated fat, no preservatives. But something's missing in the `taste' department. Sorry.
"Anyone interested in a very, slightly used box of crackers?"
Linda C. Tingey (single mother, two teenage boys at home): "My married boys came up here and tried to sneak these wheat and onion crackers home, they liked them so well. This particular cracker is so full of good stuff that it beats `Wheat Thins' to pieces. I really like them being baked not fried because I have to watch saturated fats carefully. It's nice to have something pleasant tasting that's good for you.
"The flavor is very good, hearty and it hits the taste buds just right. I'll definitely buy these again. They'd be good with soup, they don't crumble like a lot of crackers."
Rich Firmage (married, three children, oldest 8 years old): "On the side of the box is says `No preservatives, no MSG, no cholesterol.' They forgot the one about `No taste.' The box also says `Great tasting whole grain goodness, a tasty treat on their own.' This isn't true. They are basically tasteless. Flavored cardboard is a better description. I don't believe I'll buy these again, to say the least."
Bill Allred (single): "These crackers - the wheat, rye and bran flavor - taste great. What else needs to be said? Sprinkle them over your bowl of soup, use them in lieu of croutons on a salad or just eat them right out of the box - tasty!
"One thing, though: Just what is Roman Meal? Is it flour produced from wheat grown in Rome? The logo on the package features a Roman soldier. Perhaps this is the food that kept the Roman army going as they domininated the world all those centuries ago? If these crackers were good for them, they must be good for us - huh?"
Conclusion: The responses this week are roamin' all over the place - from "tastes like cardboard" to "tasty!" Whether or not they're all they're cracked up to be is a matter of personal taste.