Chip Substitute

I usually just have chips, but fewer when it comes to sandwiches and stuff. But for my daily required veggie snack, I really like carrot chips. They’re just carrots cut in the bias with a ridged blade, like wavy potato chips. They’re crunchy and virtually tasteless, so they’re really good with dips or salsa.

I tried to quit eating chips cold turkey. I had good incentive. It took me several years to really quit. Now I just don't like/won't eat chips and fries. For almost 60 years.

One thing that really helped was making old fashioned homemade potato chips one time. It took 2 big
Jugs of Crisco oil, 1 large potato and a lot of salt to make enough chips to feed an army. I was still cleaning up the oil a week later. I decided it would be a lot easier to just give each one of my family 1/4 of a small potato, a 20 ounce glass of Crisco and a salt shaker. Now I see that image in my mind when I think of chips or fries.

I'll take my potato baked and almost naked, thank you.

Maybe try air fryer chips, or homemade tortillas cut into pieces and baked til crisp?

Like the above posters, I like carrots, celery, broccoli, cucumbers, etc. For my "crispy ".

I don't eat chips very often at all because they aren't filling enough for the calories. But someimtes I'll just weigh my Lays Potato Chips on a food scale and stop at one serving.

I admit I adore potato chips and French fries.

But the chips never fill me up. And often just make me want to eat more. Which can be detrimental for my weekly calorie intake.

I frequently bring my mind back to an old essay by the Soto Zen monk Edward Espe Brown. Maybe some of you old hippies would remember his book The Tasajara Bread Book. A book with the very best instruction for making homemade bread. Teaching the reader in great detail how to knead and prepare the dough.
The basic bread recipe is delicious too.



Anyway, back to the potato chips…
From his essay
- First the room was loud with crunching, then quiet with savoring and swallowing. When all was fed and done, I invited comments. Many people had been startled by their experience: “I thought I would have trouble eating just one, but it really wasn’t very tasty.” “There’s nothing to it.” “There’s an instant of salt and grease, and them some tasteless pulpy stuff in your mouth.” “I can see why you might have trouble eating just one, because you take another and another to try to find some satisfaction where there is no real satisfaction to be found.” “If I was busy watching TV, I would probably think these were great; but when I actually experience what’s in my mouth, it’s kind of distasteful.”

https://inquiringmind.com/article/1101_19_brown/


Don’t take this to mean I never eat potato chips. I definitely do.
Just not very often. And I really try to enjoy every moment with them. Salty and greasy as they are.

An alternative that I really enjoy, although it is more expensive than potato chips, is dehydrated fruit slices.
Mangoes are a real treat.

They have a satisfying crunch like potato chips, taste great, and count as a healthy fruit in your diet.

Amazon has many options.
We get the aforementioned mangos, as well as pineapples, pears, and strawberries.

I gave up chips for Lent this year - I used to eat them every day... since Easter, I have had chips twice... figured out that I was eating them more out of habit than a desire to have chips.

For my afternoon snack I now have a handful of cashews or some plain greek yogurt with fresh fruit. Better tasting and better for me.

Oh! These are pretty good too!
Gluten free. Single serve so portion controlled. Tasty with a very satisfying crunch. Only 13 carbs and 110 calories.

Corn free and grain free, but not vegan.

Hubs likes chips so I have him buy the variety packs with the mini bags (single portions) and have him hide it! Then when I'm dying for chips, I ask him for a bag. I have no self-control when it comes to chips so my loving hubs is my partner in keeping me on the straight and narrow.

I like to use low carb tortillas, spray with olive oil, salt, and put in air fryer.

Snacks, specifically chips, are my personal Rubicon. Once I get going on some ultra processed junk, it's misery time so I try to avoid as much as I can make myself.

There are some good ideals offered on this thread so I've book marked it for future reference as needed.

My go to chip replacement is popcorn, lightly oiled with EVOO after popping then dusted with paprika, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast.

CarolynFlowers2024 wrote: »

So what kind of chips or chip substitutes does everyone like with their sandwiches. I’ve tried some of the like quest, protein, chips, and stuff. I don’t like them. They’re just too gritty and charcoal I guess for a lack of better terms.

Perhaps weigh out a small serving and put the bag away.

Lately, I've been having fresh carrot chips, mini cucumber slices, bell pepper slices, and/or celery with any sandwiches or other items that tend to go with regular potato chips. I recently learned of making a dip with greek yogurt. Most of the time I have a side of LF cottage cheese (seasoned with pepper, garlic, etc.) and dip the veggies in that. If I want really just want chips, I weigh out a serving and put the bag away (or I'll go crazy and eat my weight in chips lol).

@PAV8888 my dad liked potato chips on his sandwiches. Or fries. He wasn’t choosy.

Had forgotten all about that.

Wynterbourne wrote: »

I almost never ate potato chips/crisps even when I was overweight, but when it comes to crispy salty snacks, I recently discovered these and am very very fond of them. I get them at Costco, but I've also seen smaller bags at Safeway.

I adore the wasabi flavor!

Have you ever eaten raw green beans? Especially fresh from the garden? Now that’s a crunchy treat.

I don't typically eat potato chips/crisps anymore, but when I do I enjoy Donkey Chips (unsalted).

An alternative I enjoy are Cheez-Its, which may or may not be any better...I haven't bothered to compare nutritional info.

I think the self-discipline to stop eating them is key.