Q. I've seen some crispy crackers with herbs that you can use as dippers for hummus and spreads at the store but they are pretty high in fat and use white flour. Can you give me an alternative that I can make at home?

A. One of the best and easiest ways I've found to make crispy crackers for dipping and to serve with spreads is to use whole-wheat pita pockets as the base. The interior side of the pita wedges is brushed lightly with olive oil and then topped with a sprinkling of spices and some shredded Parmesan. It's the oven that quickly crisps up the wedges in about 10 minutes and then they are ready to serve! And these dippers hold up well to the thickest spreads and dips.

A similar sized serving of a popular gourmet brand cracker crisp contains 210 calories, 12 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat and no fiber for 3 to 6 crisps.

To make a bigger batch of pita crisps, double the recipe and use two jelly roll pans.

PARMESAN PITA CRISP

• 2 whole-wheat pita pockets (each about 7 inches wide)

• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes or dry thyme

• 3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Split pitas in half to give you 4 pita circles. Cut each pita circle into 4 wedges. Arrange pita wedges, interior side up, in a single layer on a rimmed nonstick jelly roll pan.

Using a pastry or silicon brush, lightly coat the tops of the wedges with olive oil.

In a small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley or thyme. Sprinkle evenly over the tops of the pita wedges.

With your fingers, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the pita wedges. Bake for 10 minutes or until light brown and crispy. Serve immediately or let cool and serve with soup or stew, salad, hummus or other spread.

Makes 4 appetizer servings, about 4 chips per serving.

• Per serving: 130 calories, 5 g protein, 17.5 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 3.2 g monounsaturated fat, .8 g polyunsaturated fat, 3 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 230 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 35 percent, Omega-3 fatty acids = .1 gram, Omega-6 fatty acids = .7 gram. Weight Watchers POINTS = 2