Trendy words like nutritious, healthy and balanced can easily make anything look safe to eat. But is it truly so? We at The Jar - Healthy Vending believe that such notions should not be used recklessly. Which is why before making an addition to our menu, we carefully examine all the benefits and potential drawbacks of a product.
Probably, one of the most popular and most unhealthy snack choices are crisps. With all the new variations of baked, hummus or lentil chips that declare their healthier status so proudly on the front of the packaging, we need to make sure that these claims are actually consistent with our understanding of healthy nutrition. In our first facts and fiction series, we discuss the nutritional value of crisps and introduce you our own choice of a unique crunchy snack.
Nutritious crisps: combining the incompatible
In Britain, crunchy snacks are definitely a big deal. To the extent that they became a part of local culture, some may say. According to the latest estimates, consumption of crisps in Britain reached 6 billion packets a year, which is an average of 150 bags per person. It’s now basically an essential snack, despite the synthetic additives and amount of oil that usually come along with it.
Luckily, health geeks and even big manufacturers pitched in to introduce some alternative options that would be a little bit easier on our diets. Without sacrificing the taste of the favourite snack, of course.
However, the new fancy packages might say “healthy” but are they really? Well, that’s where the nutritional facts labels come in handy. When choosing your crisp craving satisfaction, make sure you do not only check the calories, fats and saturates count, but also the presence of artificial colours, MSG, preservatives and sweeteners.
Now lets have a look at some examples: the average regular potato crisps contain around 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 15 grams of carbohydrate and 2 grams protein per serving. This is already a lot, let alone the artificial flavours and additives. Definitely not healthy.
A better version of potato snacks on the market are baked crisps, which are supposed to be a much safer option. And most of the famous brands actually are free from trans fat or artificial flavours, and generally are half as low in fat as fried crisps however still reach about 140 calories and contain a lot of salt, which is a major drawback. Same applies to other veggie crisps. These options might be indeed a relatively healthier option compared to other traditional choices, but unfortunately, most of these crisp snacks in any form are still usually nutritionally empty.
However, we at The Jar - Healthy Vending found another solution for a crispy craving satisfaction. A famous Indian snack, lotus seeds in their dry-roasted form are known as not only the healthy crunchy snack but the source of numerous benefits, unlike the other regular crisps. The low sodium and high magnesium content make them a safe option for those who have diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. Also, quite surprisingly they contain anti-ageing enzymes and natural flavonoids that prevent inflammation.
Of course our team couldn’t overlook this exciting discovery and now you can find sugar and gluten free, vegan popped lotus seeds by Native Snacks available at our Healthy Vending machines in London. One bag of this irreplaceable snack contains only 96 calories, 2.4 grams of fat, of which only 0.4 are saturates and 2.7 grams of protein and fibre. A quick comparison to the traditional choices and we doubt there is any remaining uncertainty about what is better off on a supermarket shelf and what is the better option for your daily nutritious plan.
There are three delicious flavours – jalapeno and kaffir lime if you are a fan of a spicy kick, pink salt and black pepper for those lovers of everything original, and obviously the all-time favourite cheesy flavour. Savoury and crunchy cravings satisfied, without yielding to any nutritional losses.
Stay healthy!