Savoritz’s regular version of the popular cheese cracker is one of my favorite buys at Aldi: it’s a spot-on replica of the national brand, and one of those things that are too affordable, making it way tougher than it should be to walk by them without buying them. I kept seeing the “reduced fat” version they always carry and was interested to try it, but for whatever reason I just didn’t. Then that great wife of mine reminded me about their existence by pointing them out during a shopping trip, and urged me to get them. Since my motto is “there’s no time like the present”, I decided to stop putting it off, and picked up a box.

Honestly, I think part of it is just a mental block, because I don’t quite feel like these are as addicting as the regular kind, despite tasting almost exactly the same. I haven’t analyzed the boxes or nutrition labels to tell what’s different between the two versions (usually in order to cut back on an ingredient, it must be filled with more of another, or entirely different ingredients altogether to maintain the same taste) but I believe the front of each box gives us most, if not all, of what we need to know: The “full-flavor” box declares “made with real cheese”, while the reduced fat version boasts: “made with real cheese and natural cheese flavor”, with everything under “made with real cheese” in suddenly much smaller lettering. This leads me to believe that they simply use less actual cheese and add in “natural” (aka “lab-created”) flavoring to kind of “clone” the rest. They do a fantastic job because it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference.

For those looking to cut back on the amount of fat that they eat, this provides a good way to do so without really sacrificing anything in the way of flavor. Aside from that, health differences between the two don’t seem to be too much: the reduced fat has an added gram of monounsaturated fat, but cuts back on the rest of the saturateds (neither contain trans). The full-flavor has 4% calcium while the reduced fat has none, but the reduced fat has an extra gram of protein and three extra carbs. The biggest difference is exactly as advertised, with the reduced-fat containing 5g of fat (still a pretty healthy dose) compared to 8g for the regular; it’s just a couple of minor things here and there.

Now, obviously, even with the decreased fat, this is still junk food, of which I’m sure we are all aware. But 3g (per serving) is a decent reduction and, while it probably won’t take it into the level of a “guilt-free” snack, when you’re watching your figure, every little bit counts. Honestly, since they are the same price, I will probably just stick to the regular version, because something about this one seems ever-so-slightly off to me (and again, I think it might just be a mental thing), and they’re not as addicting to me. Although, maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all…

Overall: 8/10. These are excellent and taste pretty much exactly the same as Savoritz regular, full-flavored version of this product, but I feel like they’re not quite as addicting. Now, I fully agree that it might just be a mental thing, and even then it’s not entirely a bad thing (I didn’t find myself wanting to polish off half the box all at once), but if I want an unhealthy snack cracker in the future, I’ll probably just stick to the regular stuff considering it’s the same price. However, for those on a diet or looking to cut back on the fatty stuff, the 3g of fat (per serving) reduction is a pretty decent amount, and every little bit helps. A great product at a great price no matter how you look at it.