Schoolyard Snacks Keto Cheese Puffs Review – Better than Cheetos Cheesepuffs?

Healthy nutrition is vital for everyone, but it’s particularly important for children who are still growing and need the right balance in their diet. Whether you’re buying for kids or for yourself, this Schoolyard Snacks Keto Cheese Puffs review will help you decide if they’re the right choice.

Cut to the Chase: I absolutely love Schoolyard Snacks’ Cheese Puffs. Initially, there is a little bit of a unique aftertaste, but you quickly get used to it. The cheese flavor is very rich and satisfying. If you haven’t tried them yet, grab a few bags on Amazon and see if you love them as much as I do.

Benefits of Keto Based Cheese Puffs

As the name implies, these are keto snacks. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, a keto diet (or, more appropriately, a ketogenic diet) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that induces a body state known as ketosis. In this state, the body becomes much better at burning fat for energy.

There are several variations on the Keto diet, but most researchers only focus on the regular and high-protein forms. Keto diets are also quite strict because taking in too many carbs and sugars can prevent ketosis and stop the diet from working at all. In that sense, keto cheese puffs are valuable because they specifically support this diet.

These cheese puffs also come in several flavors, typically in 100-calorie bags that support healthy snacking habits. The primary flavors are cheddar cheese, sour cream and onion, cheddar jalapeno, BBQ, and fiery hot. Cheese puff snacks offer plenty of protein to support overall dietary care for your little ones.

The manufacturer also notes that they use gluten-free ingredients with no flour, hydrogenated oils, or artificial ingredients. That’s always nice to see whenever someone is promoting their product as a healthy alternative!

Special Features of Keto Cheese Puffs

As I researched material for this Schoolyard Snacks Keto Cheese Puffs review, the main feature that stood out to me was these snacks’ dietary focus. Most cheese puffs are fundamentally similar products, so you don’t see much variety in them aside from minor ingredient choices.

They’re also a higher-protein snack, similar to many quality protein bars, and capable of helping you stay full for longer. However, as I’ll explain in the next section, this has both good and bad elements.

Cons of Keto Cheese Puffs

The other thing that stands out to me for this Schoolyard Snacks Keto Cheese Puffs review is the amount of protein in them. But wait, didn’t I just include that in the special features and say it was good? Yes, but the keto diet makes this a little more complex.

A standard keto diet, which is what most people follow, is about 70% fat and 20% protein. That means that if you’re enjoying high-protein snacks, you’ll need to be especially careful about having protein in your other meals to ensure you don’t go over. Too much protein can get converted to glucose, which slows the body moving into ketosis.

Some people follow a high protein keto diet instead, which is about 60% fat and 35% protein. This version of the diet is better if you want to enjoy high-protein snacks like these cheese puffs, but you’ll still need to count the ingredients to make it work.

Note: I personally don’t follow the keto diet, but love these snacks as a replacement for regular cheese puffs which are all carbs, high fat, and no protein.

Schoolyard Snacks Keto Cheese Puffs Reviews

I’d gladly eat cheese puffs for weeks (as part of a balanced diet, of course), but opinions vary widely on snacks. That’s why it’s always helpful to see what other people say about products.

Mealfinds likes these, and they’re especially happy about the recent change that lets you get boxes with a greater variety of flavors. They also like how yummy they taste and the free shipping on orders straight from the manufacturer. However, they’re not as fond of the fact that you can only buy small bags and that these are more expensive than other snacks.

Reddit user peoniesponies also likes them, citing that the flaming hot variety is “flawless,” with a texture that’s between crunchy and puffy Cheetos. That’s about what I expect for any cheese puff snack, so there are no surprises here.

Schoolyard Snacks’ website has a lot of reviews, too. More is always better in reviews because that weeds out any outliers.

At the time I checked, these cheese puffs had 1850 reviews with an average rating of 4.82/5. That’s more than acceptable for almost any product, with many people citing the texture as one of the top reasons to enjoy them.

Lower-rating reviews were also insightful. One review I read cited that the buyer’s kids simply didn’t like them much, while a few others found the hot flavors a bit too hot for their liking. While that’s not something I would complain about (the hotter the better for me), the spicy varieties are relatively easy to avoid.

The part that stands out to me about these reviews is that they have lower scores for broadly subjective reasons. That’s fair, but it’s worth remembering that there are always a few people who won’t enjoy a given flavor. It would be a lot stranger if I didn’t see reviews like that.

Are Schoolyard Snacks Healthy?

Insomuch as any snack is healthy, yes they are; these snacks are low in fat, cholesterol, and sugar. They’re a bit higher in sodium than I’d like (usually 7% to 9%), but not unreasonably high. They’re mainly protein with a bit of calcium to help build stronger bones.

Overall, I consider these to be about average for healthy snacks. They’re not quite as good as snacks that have a lot of vitamins and minerals, but they don’t have any bad ingredients, either. They ultimately qualify as a healthy snack for most people.

How Do Schoolyard Snacks Cheese Puffs Rate vs Cheetos?

Cheetos have some noticeably different nutritional values than Schoolyard Snacks.

Cheetos are generally higher in fat per 100 calories and have significantly higher carbs than Schoolyard Snacks’ Keto Puffs. Another important thing to remember is that Cheetos are not a cheese snack. Despite the advertising, they’re primarily enriched with cornmeal and water, with added cheese seasoning and other flavors. Basically, junk food.

Schoolyard Snacks’ product is grain-free and gluten-free, which means no corn, flour, or other ingredients. Its main ingredient is actually milk protein isolate, which is created through a process that removes most lactose and minerals from skim milk to create a protein-concentrated powder.

Cheetos also have far less protein than Schoolyard Snacks Cheese Puffs. Overall, I think the Schoolyard Snacks choice is significantly healthier. Cheetos win in one area, though: Vitamin A. They contain a moderate (although not high) amount of that, whereas Schoolyard Snacks doesn’t have any.

Cannon’s Conclusion on Schoolyard Snacks Keto Puffs

As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, I absolutely love Schoolyard Snacks’ Keto Puffs. I don’t subscribe to a keto diet myself, but love using these as a healthier and (in my opinion) tastier alternative to Cheetos, potato chips, etc. Try them out for yourself and see what you think.