The Best Healthy & Low Calorie Chip Brands for Summer 2022

The Best Healthy Chip Options for Your Summer Snacking

When early July rolls around, the weather gets hotter and people start planning picnics, beach days, and summer barbecues. Chips are a popular snack to bring to these summer gatherings. However, traditional potato chips are often fried and loaded with fat, salt, and calories. Thankfully, there are healthy chip alternatives on the market made from beans, lentils, vegetables, and whole grains that give you the crunch you crave without the junk.

What Makes a Chip Unhealthy?

Traditional potato chips get their irresistible crunch from frying. When potatoes are fried in oil at high temperatures, the starch in the spuds dehydrates and becomes crispy. Unfortunately, frying also causes inflammation-inducing free radicals and trans fats to form. Excess sodium and saturated fat are added during processing too.

Most leading chip brands pack a single 1-ounce serving with about 150 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 250 milligrams of sodium. Eating multiple servings sabotages any healthy diet. When shopping for chips early in the summer, beware of unhealthy varieties masquerading as healthy options. Look for chips made from whole food ingredients like beans, lentils, quinoa, and flaxseeds instead of potato flour or cornmeal.

Characteristics of Truly Healthy Chips

When searching for healthy alternatives to regular potato chips, look for these characteristics:

• Baked instead of fried
• Made from vegetables, legumes, whole grains
• Low in sodium, sugar, and harmful fats
• High in protein and fiber
• No artificial flavors, colors or preservatives

Chips meeting this criteria deliver nutrition instead of just empty calories and crunch. They give you sustainable energy to fuel summer activities over greasy traditional potato chips that lead to crashes later.

9 Healthiest Store-Bought Chip Brands

You don’t have to give up chips entirely to eat healthy. The brands below offer crunchy plant-based chips made from high quality ingredients:

1. Beanfields Bean Chips

Beanfields makes grain-free chips from navy beans, pinto beans, and black beans. With 5 grams of plant protein and 4 grams of fiber per serving, these veggie chips deliver nutrition. They are vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, and cooked in expeller pressed sunflower oil. The sea salt flavor adds minerals without too much sodium at 150 milligrams per serving.

2. Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips

These whole grain tortilla chips blend corn, flaxseed, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, quinoa, amaranth, and millet. They deliver 4 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving. Lower in sodium than regular tortilla chips at 140 milligrams per serving, they get flavor from real ingredients like black beans and cheddar cheese instead of chemical seasonings.

3. Late July Snacks Multigrain Tortilla Chips

Also made from a blend of whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, flaxseed, and amaranth, these baked tortilla chips contain 5 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving. They are non-GMO, gluten-free, nut free, Kosher, and vegan. The sea salt flavor includes only 150 milligrams of sodium per serving.

4. Brad's Plant Based Organic Vegan Chips

Brad makes bean chips, root vegetable chips, and veggie chips from real foods like green lentils, beets, and kale. The ingredients include only organic vegetables, beans or lentils, and expeller pressed oil. Seasonings come from herbs, spices, onion, garlic, lemon juice, lime juice, and Himalayan pink salt. With 2 to 5 grams of plant protein and 3 to 4 grams of fiber per serving, these veggie chips deliver nutrition.

5. Bare Snacks Simply Baked Fruit Chips

For a sweet snack, Bare Snacks makes oven baked fruit chips without any added sugar. They source premium fruits like Granny Smith apples, pineapple, mango, coconut, and banana then dehydrate them. With antioxidants, fiber, and nutrients from the whole fruits, these chips give you natural sweetness along with nutritional benefits lacking in regular chips. Enjoy them alone or dip them in nut butters.

6. Saffron Road Veggie Crunchy Chickpea Snack

These chickpea snacks have 5 grams of plant protein and 4 grams of fiber per serving. They skip the artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives as well as allergens like gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, egg, tree nuts, and peanuts. Just five simple ingredients: chickpeas, sunflower oil, sea salt, black pepper, and turmeric make these baked bites super healthy.

7. Snack Factory Pretzel Chips

For those who want a crunchy, salty snack, Snack Factory makes pretzel chips baked with non-GMO whole grain flour. They have 110 calories, 22 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of protein per serving. At least the salty flavor comes from sprinkled pretzel salt instead of unhealthy powdered seasonings. Those avoiding gluten can try the gluten-free version.

8. Popchips

These popped chips start from potato flakes made of potatoes ground into tiny pieces then reconstituted with water. The potato mixture cooks under pressure, causing the moisture inside to turn into steam and "pop" into crispy chips. Since they aren’t fried, Popchips have 50 percent less fat than regular potato chips. They are also gluten-free and contain no cholesterol or artificial preservatives.

9. Lesser Evil Organic Grain Free Veggie Chips

As their name suggests, Lesser Evil makes healthy versions of usually unhealthy snacks, like their grain-free veggie chips. They use expeller pressed avocado oil and coconut oil to bake chips made from vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potato, broccoli, kale, and spinach. With 3 to 4 grams of fiber and 2 to 5 grams of plant protein per serving, you get nutrients instead of just crunch. The chips are certified organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan and Kosher too.

Tips for Choosing the Healthiest Chips

Use these buying tips when browsing the chip aisle early in the summer to pick the healthiest options:

• Seek out chips made from beans, lentils, whole grains
• Ensure baked instead of fried
• Check labels for lower sodium, sugar, saturated fat
• Look for higher fiber and protein amounts
• Select certified non-GMO, organic when possible
• Avoid artificial additives and preservatives
• Watch out for allergen warnings if needed

While traditional potato chips and cheesy snack foods do tempt during summer, your best bet is choosing crunchy plant-based chips made from quality ingredients. Brands like Beanfields, Late July Snacks, Brad’s Organic, and Lesser Evil offer satisfying crunch and salty flavor without the excess fat, sodium, and preservatives weighing down regular chips and cheesy crunchy snacks.

With varieties made from lentils, quinoa, flaxseed, sweet potatoes, and more, you can get innovative flavors beyond plain salted chips. Opting for these healthier options ensures you make nutritious choices while still enjoying crisp snacks perfect for summer events.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.