Call me a health food snob, but I’m not a big fan of unhealthy foods turned “healthy.” I feel that adding a few nutrients and cutting out some oils and fat to turn something people eat that’s bad for them into something less-bad is a waste of food, and a marketing ploy to trick junk food lovers into rationalizing their vice.
Case and point: “I can eat ice cream now because it is healthy!”
Remember, “healthy” and “healthier-than-the-alternative” are two entirely different things.
Healthy to me means providing nutrients without anything bad. Like fruits. And vegetables. And whole grains. Basically, nothing that comes from a factory and is vacuum sealed. Also, I’m not going to choke down a cardboard version of an unhealthy food so I can tell myself I had a “treat” without any guilt. I’d rather have a delicious juicy apple than a bland, poor excuse for a cookie.
All that to say, when I was sent some of Michael Season’s Baked Snacks to review, I was less than thrilled to say the least. Another bag of baked chips and cheese doodles from a company expecting me to be thankful that I can have chips guilt free?
No thanks. Where’s my apple?
Nevertheless, I needed to review the chips, so I started by checking the labels first to see what I would actually be eating. Gluten-free. I promptly called to my gluten-intolerant dog, Pork Chop, prepared to give him the remaining snacks I surely wouldn’t finish.
I read on. In addition to being gluten-free, these single-serving, 100-calorie packs of Original MultiGrain Chips, Cheddar Cheese Puffs, Sweet BBQ Chips and Cheddar Cheese Curls began to impress. Wheat-free, low fat, organic ingredients, 1-3 grams fiber, no trans fat — I’m a health nut, I know what to look for. I searched, trying to find something unhealthy, or some ingredients I couldn’t pronounce. Nope. No such luck. They started to grow on me.
Yeah, but how do they taste?
The Cheddar Cheese Puffs and Cheddar Cheese Curls tasted like they had been rolled in the powdered cheese from a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (to which my boyfriend yelled, “Yum!” and snatched the bag away from me so he could eat the rest.) That was fine with me. No one messes with my cheese, and if it isn’t the good stuff, I’m not eating it. The boyfriend, however, loved them, which is a compliment because he won’t touch anything considered a health food.
When I do eat chips, I usually eat the baked variety, which are widely offered now in response to the call for healthier alternatives in places like vending machines and restaurants like Subway. I actually enjoy the crunchy, and un-oily taste of baked chips to the regular version, so I was curious to see how the other two flavors stacked up.
The Original MultiGrain Chips were great — real crunch, light salt, and almost a dead-on taste to their less-healthy competition, MultiGrain SunChips (which contain wheat, more fat and calories and less fiber).
The Sweet BBQ Chips are a lot like my fave, Baked Lays KC Masterpiece BBQ chips, which contain 9.75 grams more fat and and 3 more grams of saturated fat. Same taste, way less fat. Sign me up.
I’m still not going to eat chips everyday and pat myself on the back for making a healthy decision, but for kid’s lunches, an occasional treat, or for the gluten-intolerant, Michael Season’s would be my pick above anything else.
I should go out and pick some up though, because poor Pork Chop didn’t get to taste a single one.
Photo via Michael Seasons
