If you like snacking on something crunchy and nutritious, then finding clean and healthy chips to eat might sound like a wish come true! Of course, fresh fruit and vegetables are always the best snack, but sometimes you feel like you just need something quick, easy and CRUNCHY….that isn’t a carrot stick.
Because my daughters, Mia and Emery, are as crazy about chips as I am, I have taste tested numerous “clean” chip brands and finally narrowed it down to the four we like best. These are the four that we keep going back to again and again…
My 4 Favorite Clean and Healthy Chips to Eat (that My Kids Like too!)
Here are the 4 clean and healthy chip brands we like best:
#1. Suzie’s Spelt Organic Puffed Cakes
Suzzie’s Spelt Organic Puffed Cakes – These delicious puffed cakes contain just two ingredients: organic spelt wheat kernels and organic agave syrup. If you are not familiar with spelt, it’s a great alternative to eating conventional wheat. Although it does contain gluten, spelt seems to be tolerated by many people more easily than wheat. A whole grain, spelt contains iron, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, selenium, niacin, thiamin, vitamin B6 and folic acid. Suzie’s Spelt Organic Puffed Cakes are definitely not an empty calorie snack!
#2. Rythym Superfoods Beet Chips
Rhythm Superfoods Beet Chips – Naked – Growing up my parents would eat beets all the time and I thought they were so gross. Fast forward twenty years later and I absolutely LOVE them. I add shredded beets to my salad. I love to roast them with a little olive oil and salt. I buy the spiralized beet “spaghetti” in the produce section of my supermarket and saute it with garlic and avocado oil. But I have to say, my absolute favorite way to eat beets is in a chip! I’ve made Beet Chips before (this is a GREAT beet chip recipe, by the way), but I don’t always have extra time to do so. Thankfully, Rhythm Superfoods Beet Chips are almost just as good as homemade. I especially love them dipped in Ivy’s Carrot Hummus! I don’t feel one bit guilty eating them either because beets have some pretty amazing health benefits. Some of the benefits include lowering blood pressure, fighting inflammation, detoxification and even improving blood flow to the part of your brain responsible for executive function. When it comes to choosing a healthy snack, you can’t beat beets!
#3. Rythym Superfoods Kale Chips
Rhythm Superfoods Kale Chips – Original – As a working mom with two daughters in elementary school, I don’t always have time to make a green smoothie, but I can always find time for kale chips (wink). But in all seriousness, kale chips really are a great–and delicious– way to get your greens! A true superfood, kale is packed with phytonutrients. It’s also high in fiber, protein, vitamins A, C, K and lots of antioxidants. Of course you can always make your own kale chips (here are 6 tips for making foolproof kale chips at home), but if you don’t have time for that you can’t go wrong with Rhythm Superfoods brand!
#4. Brussel Bytes —Tamarind Apple (in photo above) & Chili Pumpkin Seed
Brussel Bytes – Chili Pumpkin Seed & Tamarind Apple – I didn’t think I would EVER get my daughters to eat Brussel Sprouts, but my oldest daughter, Mia, actually asks for the Tamarind Apple Flavor Brussel Bytes! I won’t say my youngest daughter, Emery, asks for them, but she doesn’t spit them out either! And there is no way I could ever get either of them to eat Brussels sprouts any other way. As for the health benefits of Brussels sprouts, of course they are a nutrient-dense food, but they actually have some pretty amazing and unique health benefits in the area of DNA protection. One study has shown the antioxidants and enhanced detoxification enzyme levels that increase after eating Brussels sprouts are partly responsible for stopping DNA damage. If that doesn’t make you want to eat some Brussel Bytes then I don’t know what will!
Where to Buy Clean Chips
Natural foods stores such as Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s carry the three chip brands included above. But, if you don’t have a well-stocked natural foods store in your area then you can always buy them online at Amazon or an online grocery (such as Thrive Market or VitaCost).
Of course other clean and healthy chips are on the market. If you want to search for other brands, here’s what to look for…
Tips For Buying Healthy Chips to Eat
How to find clean, healthy chips can be very daunting but here are a few helpful tips:
- DO NOT buy ones that use refined vegetable oils (such as canola, sunflower, safflower oil, high oleic oils, pure vegetable oil, etc)
- DO find ones that use the whole vegetable or whole grain.
- DO NOT buy ones that are fried. Look for baked instead.
- Avoid trans-fat. That means no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
P.S. If you have a favorite clean and healthy chip to eat please tell us about it! I’m always on the lookout for new ones…
