Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks
The ingredient list was straightforward: various grains and vegetables ( corn, sweet potato, black bean, quinoa, chia ), sunflower or safflower oil, and sea salt.
The taste? Pretty darn tasty. I was pleased a serving size was 11 chips ( more than enough to satisfy my urge to crunch ) and the nutrition on the sweet potato variety was decent: 130 calories, 100 mg sodium. The black bean was slightly higher. Both varieties give a small percentage of things like Vitamin A, calcium, and iron..
But...
Keep in mind: normal, run of the mill Tostito chips also have very similar ingredients and nutrition.
Believe it or not, things like unflavored, regular tortilla chips and potato chips are relatively Clean. Yes, they are fried in oil, as are these Simply Sprouted snacks. They are what I call "Border Foods" - foods that are just on this side of the Clean continuum of foods, but are not something I eat every day.
( Side note: To be clear, Simply Sprouted products are both baked AND fried. They use a 2 step process. First they bake the chip to reduce the moisture content, then they fry it in sunflower oil. )
If you are looking for a chip, you can definitely make your own sweet potato chips but if you are looking for convenience, Simply Sprouted Way Better Snacks aren't a terrible deviation from the Clean Eating diet. Would I eat them every day? No - but these are really yummy and would be a nice crunch to go with a veggie wrap at lunch time or a late in the evening / oh my gosh I need something salty snack.
( Side note -I did like this notation on their FAQ page:
Do you source any ingredients from Asia?
Unlike many of our competitors, we do not source any ingredients from Asia due to concerns of unreliable labeling practices with natural and organic items coming from this part of the world. In 2010, it was estimated by the Organic Consumers Association that only about 30% of Chinese products labeled organic, are actually organic. )
Even my Chip Connoisseur husband deemed them really good...which is why after my first taste, I went back to check the ingredients and discovered the Black Bean tortilla chip bag in the trash. ( But on a side note, at least he put the empty bag in the trash can. That's a step up from his normal "leave trash where it lies" modus operandi )
Are they good? Yes! Are they healthier than normal chips? Um, well...that's debatable. Will I buy them again? Yes, probably. Will I hide them from my husband? Yes.