Last week, snack enthusiasts were invited to check out delicious snacks. We got to taste new snacks from reputable brands launching new products, and also heard of some new up-and-coming brands developing new things. Check ’em out!
One of my new favorite snacks is Ocean’s Halo seaweed chips. Seaweed skeptics may be hesitant on this: can seaweed be tasty enough to snack on?! The answer is definitely yes. With a combination of healthy seaweed and delicious seasonings, these chips come packed with vitamins and minerals, and no GMOs, trans fats, or anything artificial. Flavors include Sea Salt, Sweet Onion, Texas BBQ, Korean BBQ, Hot & Spicy, and Chili Lime. We called out that the Hot & Spicy was, IMHO, not spicy enough, and they said that they have received similar feedback from other customers and are working on a new flavor with sriracha and other hot chillies. Stay tuned! Find this now at Whole Foods.
Pretzel Crisps is another fantastic snack brand, offering a variety of great flavors that you can never get sick of in a chip/pretzel hybrid. From humble beginnings of their original flavor, they included garlic parmesan, everything, buffalo wing, jalapeno jack, and chipotle cheddar, just to name a few. More recently, sea salt & cracker pepper and honey mustard & onion have come along. Not only are these great to snack on by themselves right out of the bag, but they are great to make party platters by layering cured meats and cheeses on top, or with a side of dipping sauce and hummus. Their dessert line includes peanut butter crunch and dark chocolate crunch, and we’ll be excited one their new Greek yogurt crunch hits stores.
Pasta Chips are exactly what they sound like: everything we love about pasta in chip form. I was afraid that they would be thick at first, like the density of real pasta, but they’ve made these thin so you get the fantastic crunch that we love about chips. The flavors are, of course, inspired by pasta dishes, such as Alfredo, Marinara, Spicy Tomato-Herb, Garlic Olive Oil, and Sea Salt.
Betty Crocker’s Suddenly Grain Salad will be my new go-to, easy and healthy dinner option. Rather than slaving away over chopping up tons of ingredients and mixing together a multitude of grains with different cook times in an effort to be healthy, Betty Crocker created an easy solution all in one bag that you throw in a pot, and a side of easy-to-mix dressings. The three grain salads – Harvest Grains, Southwest Grains, and Tuscan Grains – are all delicious. Throw the grains over lettuce to enhance your salad and veggies, or wrap them in a whole wheat tortilla for a healthy burrito options. Find way more recipe ideas here.
Applegate natural and organic meats came out with a line of convenient, ready-to-go lunch boxes for the kiddos dubbed Half Time. Choose from bologna, ham, or turkey, and stack it with crackers and cheese. The box also comes with Annie’s crackers and fruit snacks and Stonyfield Organic YoKids Squeezers yogurt. These will be available nationally in August 2014, just in time to go back to school.
Boulder Canyon is one of the pioneers of natural snacks, using only premium ingredients over artificial flavoring. Most known for their chips, we tested out their Ancient Grains line with sea salt. They are also coming out with an array of other snacks, a protein line with 10g of protein per serving in Asiago Cheese and Dark Chocolate, and a dessert-ish line with Greek Yogurt and Dark Chocolate to satisfy your sugar cravings.
Another Colorado brand, Earth Balance, creates snacks that are 100% plant-based, vegan, non-GMO, lactose-free, egg-free, casein-free, and have 0g of trans fat, using natural ingredients to create delicious products. Like these vegan cheddar flavor squares!
CVS recently launched Gold Emblem Abound, their new line of over 40 healthier snack options, free from artificial flavors and preservatives. Crunchmaster sounds like the next exercise fad, but they are a line a healthy, gluten-free snacks – certified by the Gluten Free Certification Organization – that are 100% whole grain, cholesterol free, low in sodium, low in saturated fat and with 0 grams of trans fat.
Other grand brands include Mini Babybel, SOYJOY, Saffron Road, Grace Food and their amazing coconut products, Arla Dofino cheeses, Atkins, and NAPSI-certified Pure Maple Water. And 5-Hour Energy – seriously guys, nowadays I can’t go a night out without one of these suckers. Zero sugar, four calories, and as much caffeine as a cup of the leading premium coffee. My favorite is the Pink Lemonade tasty on it’s own and even better in mixed juices (and cocktails!).
Go forth and snack healthily!
Yours,
Von
These are truly great snacks to have!