Fun at the ALOHA Healthy Snack Break

A few weeks ago, I was invited to be one of the first to try some new and soon-to-launch healthy products by a company called ALOHA. ALOHA is a health and wellness company dedicated to creating great tasting, real food products from the simplest, purest, and cleanest ingredients. But I must admit that I knew nothing about them before I was contacted! The company was having a 'Healthy Snack Break' on June 24th, 2015 where some of us were invited to come in and check the snacks and other products out. Verdict? I'm glad I went :)

Healthy Snack Recipe: Spicy Baked Plantain Chips

Excerpt from article by Joanna Miller on TheKitchn

We're used to reaching for the riper yellow versions with plenty of black spots on the peel. These are great for grilling in a pan or frying. But sweet and juicy is not what you need in a plantain for chips. The less-ripe green fruit are much firmer. They can hold up to the heat even in a thin slice and provide the perfect crunch in chip form.

Smartfood Selects Popped Chips

So the other day, I received a sample of the new Smartfoods Selects Popped Chips to try out (Thanks Lauren!). Just like ever other potato chip and popcorn company, Frito Lay is trying to lean towards the "all natural" snack choices with their Smartfood Selects brands.

These Popped Chips come in a variety of flavors: Italian Herb Multigrain, Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Multigrain, Feta Herb Hummus, and Garlic Tomato Basil Hummus. 

Pros:

• Each pack contains about 3.5 servings so it is big enough to share. And if you can control yourself, 130 to 140 calories per serving (about 22 chips) is not bad for a snack. They try to make it easy for you by making the bag resealable.
• When you look at the list of ingredients, there isn't a bunch of things you can't pronounce. I know a lot of companies claim to be "natural", but it does look like the products do not contain preservatives.
• The number of calories that come from fat are not that high, which is great because that means it is coming from the whole grain and the protein. For example, with the Cinnamon and Sugar Multigrain flavor, out of 130 calories, only 40 of those calories come from fat.
• It is low in sodium compared to other snacks. This is probably because of the lack of preservatives.

Cons:

• To be honest, anyone can make a bag of anything, divide it into a few servings, and say the calories per serving is low. 130 to 140 calories is great only if you can control yourself. The true number of calories in a bag can go from 450 to 500 calories. If you love your crunchy snacks, you could go on and on.
• I didn't try all the flavors, but I don't think they have much heat in what they have available. Can we get some pepper please?

What would I like to see from Frito Lay and other chips makers? A true healthy snack perfectly portioned for a vending machine or a store with 1 serving that isn't like 5 pieces of chips. I like these popped chips and I think it is a great start to entering the healthy market. I can't wait to see what else they have to offer! If you haven't, you should try it as an alternative to the regular bag of chips or the bland baked kind.

Have you tried these popped chips? What is your opinion?

Cheers Eights & Weights!