Review - Brami Beans

Brand:  Brami

Flavor:  Snacking Lupini Beans

Where to get it: here @ BramiBeans.com

                Everything about these beans is ADORABLE. The packaging, the little bean dressed up as a Trojan warrior, the other little bean on the back who’s naked; I die. Small size, delicious taste, great package, nutrition on point, all the yes. 50 calories per little vacuum pack, which includes 6g of protein. Plus, they’re DELICIOUS. A little bit salty, and like edamame, but less nutty. Eating them out of the package is completely permissible. I put these on a salad (after I knicked two of them to eat plain), and that was also delicious.

I went to Palm Springs for Spring Break one year in high school. I went to a restaurant with my grandmother, and their little house salads came with garbanzo beans in them. 16-year old small town me was FASCINATED by this, so I’ve been a big bean-on-salad fan ever since. I actually liked these better than the garbanzos that I typically use, because there’s not such an overpowering “earthy dirt” taste with these. With the garbanzos, I feel like I really have to use a vinegar-based dressing to make it work; with these I think I could really use anything at all and be happy with the addition.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Slightly salty snacky beans

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, vegetarian, vegan, Gluten free

What’s in it:

Review - Chicken Nacho Meat Chips

Brand:  Meat Chips

Flavor:  Chicken Nacho

Where to get it: here @ MeatChips.com

                                                                                                                                                      

                “Meat Chips,” well, that’s certainly an attention-grabbing name! I didn’t know if they would be jerky, tortilla chips, or some weird freeze-dried experience. Turns out, they taste pretty much like your standard tortilla chip with some seasoning on them. Not exactly like a true tortilla chip, but I’d say maybe 85% like them. I ate them plain, but you could totally bust into these with some salsa and be pretty dang happy, I’d say. I’ve had a lot of protein chips, and they have pretty much all had varying degrees of weirditude. Not these. No weird texture, no bizarre aftertaste, no sticking-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth…kaplech!

                As far as I can tell, the chicken is ground with the corn in the chip making process, which I am sure is essential to making it not ultra-weird, like it sounds like it might be. The nutritionals on these might scare you off – 380 calories, 17g fat, and 31g carbs – but I did find that they didn’t spike my blood sugar AT ALL, which I was not expecting.. I checked it about an hour after eating them, on a day I DID NOT go to the gym, and it was cruising along at a very pleasant 99.Plus, they have 21g of protein in the same parameters as the other stats, which is really killer. If you’re going to eat tortilla chips, you’re going to get all that fat and calorie content anyway; you might as well get a massive dose of protein while you’re at it.

                These are going on my short list of snacks that I’ll continue to eat even though I’ve already reviewed them.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Lightly seasoned tortilla chips

Taste rating:  9/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, Made in the USA

What’s in it:

Review - Laiki Rice Crackers

Brand:  Laiki       

Flavor:  Red and Black Rice Crackers

Where to get it: here @ LaikiCrackers.com

                                I’ve never been a fan of rice crackers. I don’t like their smooth surfaces, their resistance to being smashed satisfactorily between my teeth, or their smug puffiness. When I received these Laiki crackers, I almost gave them to my coworkers without even looking closely at them. I am very, VERY glad that I didn’t give them away – they are NOTHING like I expected. They look like small Triscuits – no shiny surface or smug puffiness! They are salted to the gills – YES. They tasted a lot like the mass-market, oil-soaked, salty heaven corn chips that always gave me a hydrogenated headache – but without the snack hangover, an no remorse at all. Just 3 ingredients – it doesn’t get any “cleaner” than that. These crackers are probably the biggest surprise I have had since I started this blog, and I would like to thank you, Laiki, for reminding me to keep an open mind, and an open mouth. 

                 

               

Tastes like:  Healthier, better “Bugles”

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free

What’s in it:

Review - Pop Corners Chips

Brand:  Pop Corners

Flavor:  Various

Where to get it: here @ Pop Corners  

                If you were to ask me, I would tell you that I don’t like popcorn. When it comes in my subscription boxes, I don’t even try it. I give it to my coworker Jessica, who LOVES popcorn. It’s not the taste that keeps me away - it’s the sticking-in-my-teeth-and-gums-until-I-go-insane that keeps me away. I also hold a big grudge against popcorn, because it NEVER tastes as good as it smells, not even at the movie theatre.

                I am so glad that I didn’t let my grudge keep me from trying these Pop Corners chips. The texture is more of a thin rice cake, but the flavor is about a zillion times better than any rice cake ever dreamed of being. It’s popcorn without the hulls, and evenly coated with flavor. The Kettle Corn flavor really blew me away, perfectly salty, perfectly sweet – not too much of either one. If you love popcorn, you will love these. If you hate popcorn…well, I think you’ll still love these. Jessica’s gonna have to get her own bag.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Popcorn without the pain

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten free, Vegetarian, Made in the USA

What’s in it:

Review - Fabz Sea Salt Fava Beans

Brand:  Fabz

Flavor:  Sea Salt Fava Beans

Where to get it: here @ FanzSnacks.com

                A savory snack that I haven’t tried – HOW EXCITING! These little beans don’t disappoint either - nice & salty, great for snacking, and you get 7g of protein for your 130 calories. They’re also a lot more substantial than they look. You can’t really pound these by the handful unless you really, really like to chew for a really, really long time. I feel they are best savored one bean at a time. I also think these would be great in a trail mix…for me maybe some yogurt raisins, sunflower seeds, almonds…and perhaps some peanut butter chips. The possibilities are basically endless.                            

                 

Tastes like:  Salty bean smiles

Taste rating:  8/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Non-GMO, Vegetarian, Vegan, Kosher, All Natural, Made in the USA

What’s in it:

Review - Simply 7 Pomegranate Chips

Brand:  Simply 7

Flavor:  Pomegranate Chips

Where to get it: here @ Simply 7

                Ohhhhhh salty! Yes. I like it. Disclaimer, these are not chips made of pomegranates, nor are they pomegranates that have been chipped. They are potato chips that have pomegranate powder added to them. You can taste it, a little bit. If you want a delicious salty snack , buy these. If you want a fruit snack, or a snack made of fruit, these are not the chips you seek. But they sure are pretty! Personally, I’ll be sticking with Simply 7’s quinoa chips when I need a fix – less calories, and a decent amount of protein. But these were fun to try!

               

Tastes like:  Salty potato chips with a little extra

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Kosher, Gluten free, all natural, Made in the USA, Non-GMO, vegetarian, vegan

What’s in it:

Review: Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips

Brand:  Sensible Portions

Flavor:  Garden Veggie Chips – Sea Salt

Where to get it: here @ Sensible Portions

                Flavor-wise, I’m way into these. But, like chips that have gone into my mouth before them, they aren’t all that they appear to be. They aren’t veggie chips, they’re potato chips. Yes, I realize that potatoes are vegetables, but you KNOW that isn’t what the marketing gurus mean by “veggie chips”. The veggie ingredients listed are more for color than flavor – tomato paste, spinach powder, and beetroot powder. They are slightly better for you, nutritionally speaking, than your typical potato chips…and let’s face it, they’re salty and delicious. Just ask yourself what you’re REALLY after in a crisp, because if it’s something healthier than potato chips, these are only a little bit better for you. Just be careful not to trick yourself and then wonder why you aren’t dropping pounds.

                 

               

Tastes like:  Salty potato chips

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Non-GMO, Kosher, Vegetarian, Vegan

What’s in it:

Review: Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame

Brand:  Seapoint Farms

Flavor:  Dry Roasted Edamame

Where to get it: here @ Seapoint Farms

                Edamame is almost always a good snack choice, no matter what you do to it there’s a ton of protein there. I loved the portable snacking package size on this, but I felt it was under salted. If you’re not a total and complete salt hog like me, you should definitely add these into your snacking repertoire. I ended up dumping them into a bag of stuff I put on my salads because they weren’t salty enough for me to just mow down straight out of the bag.

               

Tastes like:  I want more salt!

Taste rating:  6/10

Qualities:  All-natural, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free

What’s in it:

Review: Goldbaum's Kale Chips

Brand:  Goldbaums

Flavor:  Kale Chips

Where to get it: here @ Amazon.com

                I’m not entirely sure what angle I want to take with this review, because on one hand, these are a little nutritionally misleading, but on the other hand, they taste delicious. Maybe we’ll just stick with the facts. They are called “kale chips,” but there are A LOT of ingredients in here before kale makes an appearance – including sugar. So…calling them kale chips is kind of a marketing ploy, I feel. That being said, for a chip-esque snack, these aren’t all bad. 100 calories in the single-serving bag, and you get a good amount of chips. Not a lot to speak of nutritionally except for the things listed below in the “qualities”. That being said, they are really tasty. They have a fair amount of salt, which I am a fan of. And they don’t have that straight-up, air puffed potato flavor, which I am not a fan of. Long story short, if you want a salty chip snack, these taste great. If you’re thinking of buying them because of the kale, you might be disappointed.

               

Tastes like:  Salty chips without the blerch

Taste rating:  10/10

Qualities:  Gluten-free, Non-GMO

What’s in it: