Let's look at the nutrition facts on a typical package of chips. If you're looking at regular potato, corn, or tortilla chips, you'll see that an ounce provides around 140 calories. Pretzels and lowfat chips have around 110 calories in a 1-ounce serving. Just what is a 1-ounce serving? Probably far fewer chips than many of us eat at one time. An ounce is about 6 large tortilla chips, 20 mini pretzels or potato chips, or 2-4 cups of popped popcorn. That 1-ounce serving can supply 10 or 11 grams of fat (as much as a couple of teaspoons of oil) and as much as 500 milligrams of sodium (almost as much as 1/4 teaspoon of salt). Fortunately, there are lower fat and lower sodium versions of many snack foods, and in many cases they are pretty tasty—once you get used to tasting potato or corn and not just grease and salt.
What are the positives about chips? Many are made with unsaturated fats like high monounsaturated sunflower oil, canola oil, safflower oil, or olive oil. They are often a good source of vitamin E. Popcorn provides fiber, although other snack foods, such as chips and pretzels, don't have much. A few chips, those made with dried carrots or sweet potatoes, have decent levels of vitamin A. Although potatoes are a good source of vitamin C, potato chips are not. Chips and popcorn are not especially good sources of other vitamins or of minerals such as iron and calcium.
What about ingredients? A few chips are still made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, a source of trans fatty acids. High intakes of these fatty acids have been linked to heart disease. No chips only carried by the natural foods store contain trans fatty acids; some in the grocery store list hydrogenated oil as a possible ingredient. We recommend purchasing chips which do not contain hydrogenated fats. Olestra, a fat substitute that can be used in potato and tortilla chips, impairs absorption of some vitamins and can lead to stomach cramps and loose stools. Based on these problems, we recommend avoiding snack foods containing Olestra.
Which snack foods have animal-derived ingredients is usually pretty obvious. Phrases like "White Cheddar," "Lite Buttery Flavor," "Honey Dijon," and "Sour Cream 'n' Onion" certainly indicate products which vegans would avoid. In other instances, shoppers will have to pay attention to the ingredient list. We found Barbecue Chips, Nacho Chips, and Chili and Lime Chips with whey, and Pinta Chips and some pretzels that contained honey.
Some chips do use organic ingredients. These include Garden of Eatin', Guiltless Gourmet, Robert's American Gourmet, Skinny Naturals, Bearitos, Newman's Own, and Whole Foods products. These chips can be found in natural foods stores or the natural foods sections of supermarkets. In general, snack foods from the natural foods aisle had less fat and less sodium than their counterparts in the supermarket.
If snack foods are an occasional treat, you may not be too concerned about the amount of fat and sodium in many brands. If, however, you find yourself munching on a regular basis, it seems prudent to choose products with less fat and less sodium. Our top choice snack foods all have no more than 4 grams of fat and 250 milligrams of sodium in a serving and are vegan. They are:
| Product |
Calories |
Fat (gm) |
Sodium (mg) |
| Potato Chips: |
| Robert's American Gourmet Potato Flyers Original, v |
100 |
1 |
146 |
| Kettle Crisps Baked Potato Chips, v |
110 |
1.5 |
135 |
| Lay's Baked (contains sugar) |
110 |
1.5 |
150 |
| Kettle Crisps Honey BBQ |
110 |
1.5 |
160 |
| Terra Yukon Gold/Onion & Garlic, v |
130 |
5 |
65-80 |
| Terra Salt & Pepper/Salt & Vinegar, v |
130 |
5 |
110-120 |
| Cape Cod Yukon Gold, v |
130 |
5 |
160 |
| Robert's American Gourmet with Soy, v, org |
130 |
5 |
160 |
| Terra Spiced Taro, v |
130 |
5 |
170 |
| Tropics Yuca Chips, Barbecue, v |
135 |
6 |
100 |
| Cape Cod 40% Reduced Fat, v |
130 |
6 |
110 |
| Terra Blues, v |
140 |
6 |
115 |
| Terra No Salt Added Sweet Potato, v |
140 |
7 |
10 |
| Terra Jalapeño/Mesquite BBQ Sweet Potato, v |
140 |
7 |
65-70 |
| Terra Exotic Vegetable Chips, v |
140 |
7 |
70 |
| Boulder Totally Natural, v |
140 |
7 |
75 |
| Terra Salsa Sweet Potato |
140 |
7 |
75 |
| Terra Spiced Sweet Potato, v |
140 |
7 |
105 |
| Olive Oil Potato Chips, v |
140 |
7 |
120-210 |
| Boulder Malt Vinegar/Spicy Barbecue/Herb & Garlic, v |
140 |
7 |
160-220 |
| Cape Cod, v |
150 |
8 |
110 |
| Kettle Chips Yogurt & Green Onion/Salsa/Honey Dijon |
140-50 |
8 |
150-170 |
| Kettle Chips Sea Salt & Vinegar, v |
150 |
8 |
180 |
| Kettle Chips No Salt, v |
150 |
9 |
10 |
| Kettle Chips Lightly Salted, v |
150 |
9 |
110 |
| Terra Stix, v |
150 |
9 |
110 |
| Good Health Shoestring Potato Sticks, v |
160 |
9 |
200 |
| Barbara's Natural, v |
150 |
10 |
180 |
| Lay's Classic, v |
150 |
10 |
180 |
|
| Tortilla/Corn Chips: |
|
| Guiltless Gourmet Unsalted Yellow Corn, v, org |
110 |
1 |
26 |
| Garden of Eatin' Salted California Bakes, v, org |
110 |
1 |
65 |
| Baked Tostitos, v |
110 |
1 |
200 |
| Garden of Eatin' Hot & Smoky Chipotle/Roasted Sesame California Bakes, v, org |
120 |
2 |
35-80 |
| Skinny Natural Corn Chips, v, org |
120 |
2 |
115 |
| Guiltless Gourmet Yellow Corn/White Corn/Blue Corn/Red Corn, v, org |
110 |
2 |
160 |
| 365 Yellow Corn, v |
110 |
2 |
160 |
| Guiltless Gourmet Mucho Nacho/Picante Ranch/Chili Lime |
110 |
2 |
200 |
| Skinny Natural BBQ Corn Chips, v, org |
120 |
2 |
180 |
| Garden of Eatin' White, v, org |
140 |
5 |
50 |
| Garden of Eatin' Little Soy Blues, v, org |
140 |
6 |
55 |
| Kettle Little Dippers/5 Grain Yellow Corn/Blue Corn, v, org |
140 |
6 |
80 |
| Tostitos, v |
140 |
6 |
80 |
| Barbara's Pinta Chips |
130 |
6 |
210 |
| Bearitos White Corn Unsalted, v, org |
140 |
7 |
5 |
| Garden of Eatin' Blue Chips No Salt Added, v, org |
150 |
7 |
10 |
| Garden of Eatin' Black Bean/Mini Corns/Red/Blue, v, org |
150 |
7 |
45-65 |
| Garden of Eatin' Red Hot Blues, org |
150 |
7 |
80 |
| Garden of Eatin' Black Bean Chili, v, org |
140 |
7 |
80 |
| Bearitos Yellow Corn/Blue Corn/White Corn, v, org |
140 |
7 |
120 |
| Newman's Own Yellow Corn, v, org |
150 |
7 |
120 |
| Newman's Own Jalapeño, v, org |
150 |
7 |
160 |
| Garden of Eatin' Sesame Blues/Sunny Blues, v, org |
150-60 |
8 |
65-70 |
| Kettle Sesame Moons, v, org |
150 |
8 |
80 |
| Fritos, v |
160 |
10 |
160 |
|
| Pretzels: |
|
| Natural GH Foods Waffle Pretzels |
110 |
0 |
400 |
| Whole Foods Minis/Sticks, v, org |
100 |
0.5 |
300 |
| Robert's American Gourmet with Soy, v, org |
102 |
1 |
110 |
| Newman's Own Salted Rounds/Salt & Pepper Rounds/Thin/Salted Stick, v, org |
110 |
1 |
350-400 |
| Wege Sourdough Thin |
120 |
1 |
560 |
| Wege Honey Wheat with Sesame Seeds |
140 |
1.8 |
23 |
| Natural GH Peanut Butter Pretzels, v |
140 |
6 |
160 |
|
| Popcorn: |
|
| Robert's American Gourmet Nude Food - Original, v |
46 |
0 |
0 |
| Good Health Half Naked, v |
120 |
1 |
140 |
| Bearitos No Salt, No Oil, v, org |
120 |
1.5 |
0 |
| Whole Foods, v, org |
140 |
5 |
50 |
| Bearitos Lite Buttery Flavored, org |
140 |
6 |
140 |
| Robert's American Gourmet Dude Food Popcorn |
120 |
6 |
220 |
| Bearitos Lite, v, org |
140 |
6 |
230 |
| Wise Popcorn |
150 |
10 |
370 |
| Bearitos White Cheddar, org |
170 |
11 |
230 |
| Miscellaneous: |
|
Good Health Veggie Sticks Baked Potato, v |
120 |
0 |
360 |
| Robert's American Gourmet Veggie Booty, v, org |
120 |
2.5 |
137 |
| Good Health Veggie Sticks Baked Potato & Sour Cream/Cheddar |
120 |
3 |
360 |
| Stacy's Pita Chips, v |
140 |
4 |
140 |
| Eden Sea Vegetable Chips/Hot 'n Spicy Wasabi Chips, v |
130-40 |
4-5 |
220-60 |
| Harry's Garden Beet Garlic Chips, v |
134 |
5.1 |
80 |
| Good Health Potato Onion Veggie Rings/Veggie Sticks Mixed Vegetables, v |
140 |
6 |
230-310 |
| Maine Coast Sea Vegetable Sea Chips, v, org |
146 |
6.6 |
65 |
| Harry's Garden Vegetable Chips, Veggie Mix, v |
141 |
7 |
80 |
| Hain Carrot Chips |
160 |
9 |
170 |
