GLUTEN-FREE VEGETARIAN MARY'S STICKSandTWIGS AT FANCY FOOD 2009

This will be a short review, because it seems everyone loves Mary's Gone Crackers.

I bought a box of the Everything crackers when I was first diagnosed. Never finished them. Thought I was chewing on wood. But as I say, people are crazy about them. 

Then I went to the Fancy Food Show. I'd been tasting a lot of rich foods. I needed a cracker, and there were Mary's, right in front of me. Since I knew I didn't like them, I compromised, deciding on the Twigs. "Oh, boy," I thought. "First, wood. Now twigs." I almost walked away. Fortunately, I didn't. Those twigs were tastier than any wood I've ever come across!

The curry was delicious:

The chipotle was, too:

I hereby eat my words. And in the future, most likely, many bags of perfectly crunchy little pretzel sticks called Sticks & Twigs. All the bite I disliked in the crackers (and yes, I'll probably give them another try), are an absolute plus when it comes to pretzels. They are the best! Crispy, layered, with chia seeds for fiber and a nice well-rounded spice mix. NOT that dunked-in-chili (or curry) flavor that some spiced items have.  

In short, highly recommended. 

(Even to the few who are not 

Mary's Gone Crackers fans!)

GLUTEN FREE VEGETARIAN MARY'S COOKIES

I may have had some problems with Mary's all-too-twiggy twigs or all-too-crunchy crackers, but the flavors if not the textures were so appealing I became a fan after a while.

But these require absolutely no period of adjustment! These uber-chocolatey delights are perfect from first bite to last. I'm usually not a fan of traditional chocolate chip cookies and find what holds the chips together too boring to make my way through most of the time, but no complaints here, it's chocolate chocolate chocolate all the way, and to me, if something says Double Chocolate, that's just what it should be. Crunchy, then a little chewy and even a tad melty.

Perfection!

GLUTEN FREE VEGETARIAN MARY'S GONE CRACKERS

The folks at Mary's sent me a selection of their crackers: onion, herb, black pepper, original and caraway. They are nice crackers but VERY crunchy, so if melt-in-your-mouth is your thing, look elsewhere. Fans of crunch, however, will absolutely love these little gems.

They are covered in seeds, upping the fiber content considerably, a nice benefit. My two favorites were the onion and caraway. For me, those two had the most distinctive tastes of the group. All seem to work best with a creamy topping. I used whipped cottage cheese but a higher fat option like brie, or a tangy one, such as goat cheese, would also be a good pairing. 

Mary's also makes another product I'm fond of: Check out Mary's Sticks and Twigs here.