Vegetable Chips: Good or bad?

Glitzpiration
Glitzpiration Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all! I know chips are an obvious thing to stay away from, but while I was in the health food section of my grocery store the other day, I saw chips that were made from vegetables. Are these an a-okay alternative to eat with salsa or should I stay away from them completely just like I would with ordinary chips? I believe the only oil ingredient I saw was vegetable oil.

Replies

  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,646 Member
    IIFYM
  • CitizenXVIII
    CitizenXVIII Posts: 117 Member
    Nutritionally, they are usually not that different from any other chips. Compare labels.

    Like John said, if it fits your macros (daily allowances).
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    Hi all! I know chips are an obvious thing to stay away from, but while I was in the health food section of my grocery store the other day, I saw chips that were made from vegetables. Are these an a-okay alternative to eat with salsa or should I stay away from them completely just like I would with ordinary chips? I believe the only oil ingredient I saw was vegetable oil.

    potato is veg
    corn is veg

    chips are OK as long as you keep the quantity within your calorie and macro allowances.

    oil is OK as long as you keep the quantity within your calorie and macro allowances.

    moderation is key.

    get the chips you like.
  • Ervie317
    Ervie317 Posts: 179 Member
    I think some of them can be a little high in fat I make my own at home with either my microwave chip maker or the oven. I have a slicer that will cutt them thin so the crisp up nicely. I have used sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, but not anything else yet. I also have made kale chips in the oven, just by baking pieces of kale with a little olive oil on them until crisp and adding a little salt.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It helps to look at your overall diet (noun) as a whole rather than getting wrapped up in the minutia of singular food items within said diet.

    For example, I eat regular old potato chips from time to time...they don't make up a substantial part of my diet...generally speaking I get around 6-8 servings of vegetables daily and 2-3 servings of fruit...I take in around 120 - 140 grams of protein per day and get my requisite dietary fat...having some chips here and there doesn't negate any of that.

    As to your actual question though, if you compare labels I doubt you will find much difference between the veggie chips and regular old potato chips nutritionally speaking...by and large, that stuff is "junk" food...which is fine in moderation so long as your other nutritional requirements are being met.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    Hi all! I know chips are an obvious thing to stay away from, but while I was in the health food section of my grocery store the other day, I saw chips that were made from vegetables. Are these an a-okay alternative to eat with salsa or should I stay away from them completely just like I would with ordinary chips? I believe the only oil ingredient I saw was vegetable oil.

    potato is veg
    corn is veg

    chips are OK as long as you keep the quantity within your calorie and macro allowances.

    oil is OK as long as you keep the quantity within your calorie and macro allowances.

    moderation is key.

    get the chips you like.

    Yeppers!
  • jennismagic
    jennismagic Posts: 243 Member
    I keep Harvest Snaps in my office and at home. The Onion Thyme Lentils are my favorite, and they're much healthier than regular potato chips. They help prevent me from running across the parking lot to McDonald's when I need to eat something.
  • B32Roden
    B32Roden Posts: 11
    They're not really any better - they're just marketed to look that way.

    If you want a healthy alternative, try making your own at home using an oven. You can use zucchini, carrots, potatoes, kale and different seasonings such as chili flakes, rosemary and paprika.

    You can also try rice crackers or rice cakes if you're looking for the "crunch" without the calories but the best option is to make your own so that you know exactly what the ingredients are plus it's fun!
  • Glitzpiration
    Glitzpiration Posts: 3
    Thanks for all the comments!
  • martyqueen52
    martyqueen52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    EAT THEM....

    I get them as well, usually do about 2-3 servings at lunch or for a snack.
  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
    I find it impossible to stop eating any kind of chip, no matter what it is made out of. My school sells these bags of meditteranean vegetable chips - one bag has about 5 servings and I've been know to eat the whole bag!

    The chip itself isn't bad, if you can make it fit your macros. But for me it's a trigger food so I try and stay away.
  • mrw1480
    mrw1480 Posts: 4 Member
    I was looking for a thread like this to ask for possibly better alternatives. For me, lunch just is not complete unless there's some salty crunchy something as a side. Sensible Portions Veggie Chips and Veggie Straws are my go-to snacks, and the latter even comes in one-serving bags. I really like those. But I noticed their stats are nearly equivalent to Lay's Kettle Cooked Reduced Fat Potato Chips. So it's all in my head: if I want to feel decadent, I eat the potato chips. If I want to feel virtuous or martyrly, I eat the Veggie Chips/Straws. The rest of my body won't know the diff.
  • mrw1480
    mrw1480 Posts: 4 Member
    I was looking for a thread like this to ask for possibly better alternatives. For me, lunch just is not complete unless there's some salty crunchy something as a side. Sensible Portions Veggie Chips and Veggie Straws are my go-to snacks, and the latter even comes in one-serving bags. I really like those. But I noticed their stats are nearly equivalent to Lay's Kettle Cooked Reduced Fat Potato Chips. So it's all in my head: if I want to feel decadent, I eat the potato chips. If I want to feel virtuous or martyrly, I eat the Veggie Chips/Straws. The rest of my body won't know the diff.

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