Mr. Cheese O's

Sonoma Creamery is a cheese maker, located in Sonoma County.  They specialize in jack cheese, and have been making it since the 1930s.  They make wedges, nuggets, and party platters with pre-sliced cheese, all under the Sonoma Jack name.  The best I can tell, they don't actually make standard blocks of cheese.

But don't worry, I'm not about to start just randomly reviewing cheeses.  Sonoma Creamery also makes cheese snacks, and, you know me, I'm always out to find fun new snacks to munch on.  One of their product lines is Parmesan crisps, basically, cheesy crackers made with quinoa to amp up the protein.  Like your cheese and crackers, in one.  I didn't try these.

Instead I went for the far more fun sounding product: Mr. Cheese O's.

"Mr. Cheese O's puts the goodness of Sonoma Cheese into a portable, crunchy snack you can enjoy everywhere! Made with 100% real cheese and organic quinoa, this protein packed snack is sure to please the whole family!"

While I don't actually care for quinoa that much, this sounded promising, and I welcomed the idea of having a cheesy munchy, that also packed in some protein.  The Cheese O's come in a slew of flavors too: ranging from basic parmesan or cheddar, to tuscan herb, french onion, zesty bbq, and sweet chili.  When I saw the sweet chili, I was sold.  I love sweet chili flavor.

But, I didn't love these.

Oh, and if it matters to you, yes they are gluten-free (and corn free), and non-GMO, and low carb.

Sweet Chili.

"Sweet Chili combines real parmesan and other cheeses with chili peppers, quinoa and a hint of sweetness in a light, crunchy, totally awesome snack."

It turns out, Mr. Cheese O's are indeed O's.  Little rings.  I eagerly opened my bag, ready to like these.  Crunchy cheese snacks, with sweet chili flavor?  So much potential here, and, if I could snag some protein along the way, I could justify eating them anytime.  I really wanted to like them.

The form factor was cute.  I liked the texture and crunch.  But ... they were just strange.  I didn't taste cheese really.  I didn't taste quinoa either.  But, I also didn't taste sweet chili.  They were spicy, but, not sweet, and not the signature sweet chili sauce flavor I was looking for.

Along with the quinoa, there was also oat bran and brown rice in the rings.  They really were fairly healthy.  But, alas, I didn't like them.