Snack Review: Michael Season’s Baked Cheddar Cheese Pops

When I hear the words “cheesy poofs,” my mind immediately jumps to a little round kid in a red sweater, sitting on his couch and screaming obscenities at his cat. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, I suggest you hunker down for a marathon viewing of South Park – during which you will inevitably encounter Eric Cartman singing the praises of puffy cheese treats.

Nary a South Park season goes by without Cartman preaching the cheese puff gospel. Despite the free advertising this implies, I’d venture that snack manufactures aren’t terribly pleased with this development. After all, with “healthy” foods flying off supermarket shelves, no one wants to be the snack with the high calorie count. Personally, if I were a cheese puff CEO (those exist, right?), the last thing I’d want is a slightly obese cartoon character giving my product two pudgy thumbs up.

How then, would a snack manufacturer remake the cheese puff image? Well, according to Michael Season, the answer lies in using organic ingredients, shying away from food coloring, and slapping the word “gourmet” onto your packaging.

Oh yeah, and making your product so tasty that snack reviewers demolish their sample bag. That always helps.

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Snack Review: Eating Right Cheddar Potato Crisps

It seems everyone’s on a health kick recently. Once upon a time, snacks could survive on tastiness alone. This is no longer always the case. Customers today want products that not only taste good, but are packed with nutrients as well - or, at the very least, as few calories and fat grams as possible.

Originally, “healthy” snacks were the domain of boutique shops and high-end grocery stores (Whole Foods, anyone?) Now, as companies release lesser-evil versions of old snacks, the signs of health-consciousness are popping up everywhere. Some grocery stores have even ventured into healthier territory with their own product lines.

Just under a year ago, Safeway/Vons launched its “Eating Right” line. Offering everything from salty snacks to frozen entrees, the brand promises on its packaging to “unite flavor and nutrition” through lighter versions of favorite products. Recently, I encountered Eating Right’s “Potato Crisps” for the first time, and decided to give them a try.

I was tempted by both the image on the package – the puffs reminded me of some very tasty rice snacks I’d tried long ago – and the nutrition stats on the back of the packaging. Safeway/Vons offers the Potato Crisps in four flavors: Cheddar, Barbeque, Salsa and Wasabi. After much internal debate, I chose the Cheddar variety.

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