New veggie crisps: hero or villain?

August 27, 2014

Dubai – Those au fait with the supermarket snack aisle will have noticed a newcomer. Vegetable crisps – thinly sliced, fried vegetables packaged like the regular potato sort – purport to be a healthier snack option than their starchier counterpart.

Indeed, fried or not, vegetables such as sweet potato, beetroot, parsnip and carrot have got to be better and more nutritious for you than carb-loaded potatoes. Be warned, however: this might not necessarily mean you can scoff the snacks guilt-free.

If you’re needing validation for your new favourite nibbles, though, you needn’t look far to find it. Vegetable crisps are made with non-hydrogenated canola oil, a cooking agent that’s healthier than the shortening and lard used to make for potato crisps, helping to keep the veggie variety free of harmful fats and cholesterol.

An ounce serving of veggie crisps contains 134 calories and 6.6 grams of fat (of which 0.5 grams are saturated), compared with the 154 calories and 10.3 grams of fat (of which 1.1 grams are saturated) found in potato crisps.

You can even use the excuse of good nutrition to legitimise your new craving. That low fat ounce also supplies you with 1.37 milligrams of vitamin E (nine per cent of your recommended daily intake), a nutrient that helps protect cells from the sort of damage that can increase your risk of heart disease and cancer.

The crisps also contain moderate levels of iron, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin K. Carrot crisps are an especially good choice – each ounce contains 10 per cent of the recommended daily serving of vitamin A. Not so fast, though. The sodium content of vegetable crisps is still shudderingly high – an ounce contains around 101 mg, 4 per cent of the 2,300 mg you should limit yourself to each day (and let’s face it, no one can limit themselves to a single ounce of these tasty treats).

Still, however, this is at least preferable to the 466mg found in potato crisps. Overall, it’s difficult to deny that vegetable crisps are a better snack option than the potato kind. That is not to say that they are categorically good for you, but making the switch is a simple and effective health choice for you and your family.

You could always make your own, too, for more nutrition – simply drizzle olive oil over thinly sliced vegetables, sprinkle with dried herbs and spices and roast until crunchy.

The writer is an intern at XPRESS

Source: Gulf News
Published: 27 Aug 2014