Saltine Cracker Calorie Calculator

The saltine cracker box, found on most kitchen counter tops, are an easy way to have some crunchy salt in your pantry (or atop a bowl of soup). The next time you pick up a handful, you may think, “Oh, that’s just air, no big deal,” but compare calories per volume of food consumed and things look a little different.

Use our handy-dandy calorie calculator (above) to input how many you ate and let it do the math for you so you can decide whether you had yourself a snack or a side dish. The problem with eating saltines is they feel light. It’s easy to overdo it on these things, and you won’t be full from 10 cracker like you would from a single piece of fruit.

Counting Saltines Helps You Control What You Eat

That’s where the calculator comes in… It allows you to enter the precise number you’re consuming (rather than arbitrary servings). In individual count mode, you operate as an individual. You judge yourself based off your own standards, not those manufactured by the food industry. How many times have you grabbed a handful without even considering what you just did?

The secret ingredient is sodium. Even within one brand, there’s a lot of variation between sodium-free, light/salt reduced, and regular, yet all those calorie numbers is roughly equal. Look at the reference table to see how a single switch in brand can cut your sodium intake from 300 milligrams to just 4 per cracker. And if you’re watching your sodium intake for reasons like water retention or high blood pressure, that makes all the difference in the world.

Those crackers really do add up; particularly when they gets topped with soup, which masks the fact that you have just added significant sodium to your meal. An extra element of complexity can be added by using crushed cracker as crusts. When you crush something, the volume change because air occupies so much space between the intact squares. One cup of whole saltines won’t weigh as much than one cup of fine crumbs.

If you’re making pie crusts or any other recipe that relies on measuring crushed crackers in cups, this conversion is important. Otherwise, you could end up with too few cracker-cups and a surprisingly salty or incomplete dessert (or perhaps just a soggy bottom). Once you think of saltines in terms of fuel, that’s when their management becomes possible.

Twenty-two grams of carbohydrate (about ten crackers) equals one hundred thirty calories, sufficient to fill a small void between meals but not worthy of eating an entire sleeve in front of the tube. The calculator lets you set your own sodium limit for each serving; at that point, you’ll get a taste of what you’re trading off. Go with the classic saltines if you like: just remember, keep it to a minimum. Otherwise, go easy on the salt and indulge yourself freely, provided you don’t blow your numbers.

You should of known this. So I track this stuff because it’s one way to demystify some of the most basic things we eat regularly. These foods makes up a significant portion of our diets. Saltines aren’t nutrient-rich, but they are calorie-dense, which makes them trick us into believing that eating them isn’t costing any calories at all. It is.

Stop guessing by turning vague handfuls into specific numbers for calories, carbs, and sodium. When you begin to count, you take back control of how much you’re eating. Whether it’s a crumb crust or a pile of chili on top, the same rule applies. When you know exactly what’s going in, it’s easier to know just how much is staying out of your daily allotment.

That box doesn’t look any different on the counter than it did before. But now that you know what those squares really cost you in terms of nutrients, you have a clearer idea of what it means to you actualy.