Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Pita Chips

Growing up in my area, pita chips were a regular snack (well, typically the cinnamon sugar or garlic varieties). Pita chips entail some of my favorite things … bread and some sort of seasoning. I would occasionally pick them up when I went to one of my local Lebanese bakeries if I went to the meat market that sold a packaged version.  But, while at Trader Joe’s I decided to pick up their Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Pita Chips to give them a whirl.

What floored me initially was the fact that these are reduced guilt … and secondly the fact that the nutrition facts are half what they are on the ones I typically picked up.  When I opened them I noticed they are all cut into square pieces and I found each piece ranges in texture from either a softer crunchy to a hard crunchy.  They’re light, slightly salty, crispy and just a perfect snack.  I originally enjoyed these with some chive cottage cheese – but they’re also perfect on their own, dipped into hummus or even broken up into salad like in fattoush salad.

A 1 ounce serving is 100 calories or 2 points plus values.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of Trader Joe’s reduced guilt items?

Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

I enjoy potato chips, but if I’m buying plain chips I try to go with a lighter version. I had heard these were pretty tasty, so I picked up the Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Kettle Cooked Potato Chips.  Kettle chips are some of the best chips because they’re crisp, crunchy and just all around deliciousness.

These chips are all that plus they’re lightly salted! They’re crispy, yet slightly lighter in texture in comparison to regular kettle cooked chips. I like that they’re lightly salted because there are times with plain potato chips that I find the salt to be too overbearing on my taste buds and can actually make my tongue hurt. These don’t do that, so I’m happy with that aspect. The chips are perfect as a side to a sandwich but they’re even better with dip (more importantly alongside the Trader Joe’s Bacon Cheddar Ranch Dip).

My boyfriend and I enjoyed these with the dip and we found it was a perfect combination. I ate my serving and my boyfriend ate well, a few servings. As he went to roll up the bag to put it away, he said “They say reduced guilt … but I’m feeling guilty.” Haha.

A 1 ounce serving is 120 calories or 3 points plus values.

QUESTION:

What is one of your favorite crunchy snacks?

Good Natured Baked Multigrain Crisps – Cheddar Cheese

I have seen these Good Natured Baked Multigrain Crisps inCheddar Cheese from time to time but never picked up a bag because I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy them. While picking up a few items at the grocery store I spotted the double serving bags on sale for 2/$1 so I grabbed a bag.

The crisps themselves are very crispy and rather light. They certainly satisfy the crunch factor one would look for with chips and the greatest part is you get that with half the fat. But since they are multigrain the multigrain flavor is far more prominent than the cheddar cheese flavor. I mean, you do get “cheddar cheese fingertips” from eating them, but I get more of a multigrain flavor while eating. Not bad and I found them to be enjoyable on their own or with a sandwich.

A 1 ounce serving (roughly 17 crisps) is 120 calories or 3 points plus values.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of the Good Natured brand crisps?

Goldfish Puffs Buffalo Wing

Goldfish launched a new line of snacks which resemble goldfish shaped cheese puffs. These puffs come in a few different flavors, so while at Target I picked up a small double serving bag of Goldfish Puffs Buffalo Wing.

I was hesitant to pick up a full-size bag of the buffalo wing flavored puffs because typically I relate buffalo to flaming hot. I enjoy spice and heat, but for my taste buds too much is overwhelming.  When I cracked open the bag, I was rewarded with the classic buffalo scent. After the first puff I was pleasantly surprised that they weren’t burn a hole in your tongue hot. They’re truly a classic buffalo flavor without being overwhelming – either to spicy or too vinegary. I found as the more I ate of my serving, the more I got the heat, but they never quite got too spicy. The flavor was enjoyable and these have to be my favorite out of the flavors I have tried (mega cheese and salsa con queso).

Each serving is 1.1 oz (roughly 41 pieces) is 140 calories or 4 points plus values.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of the Goldfish Puffs?

PopChips Katy’s Kettle Corn

I have seen the PopChips Katy’s Kettle Corn at Target for the longest time. In all honesty, I refrained from picking them up because kettle corn is not one of my favorite snacks. While out shopping I found individual bags on sale at one of my local dollar stores for 50 cents, so I grabbed a bag to give it a try. This way, if I didn’t like it, it was 50 cents “wasted”.

The Popchips are light, airy and crispy like normal PopChips are. They are flavored with a mildly sweet coating. It’s actually not overwhelming (with that sugar flavor or even the artificial sweetener flavor) like some kettle corn popcorns can be.  It’s a good balance between savory and sweet. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed these and will most likely repurchase at some point when I’m looking for a sweet, crispy potato chip like snack.

A serving is 130 calories for roughly 16 chips, which is 3 points plus values.

QUESTION:

What is your favorite PopChips flavor?

HannahMax Baking Crunchy Cookie Chips – Chocolate Chip

After hearing about these HannahMax Baking Crunchy Cookie Chips I decided I needed to go on the hunt for them. Ever since I tried Brownie Brittle I have always wanted to try a chocolate chip cookie. So of course these were the perfect opportunity.  From what I had read on Instagram these were being purchased at Wal-Mart as well as a few grocery stores (that I do not have in my area).

One day while picking up some groceries at Wal-Mart, I happened to spot the HannahMax cookie chips and grabbed a bag of the chocolate chip.  I tucked them away in the cabinet and one day I wanted a sweet snack, so I pulled them out and opened them up. They reminded me of brownie brittle, so I removed my serving and took a bite.  At first I was a little confused by the flavor, so I tried it again and it reminded me of pure butterscotch.  I ate another cookie and got a chocolate chip butterscotch flavor and by that point I was so overwhelmed by the sweetness of these cookies I couldn’t eat anymore. They are richly sweet and that is in part of them being made with can brown sugar – and with that, it’s the first ingredient on the nutrition label.

I know these cookies are loved by many and not loved by others and unfortunately I fall in the not loved category. They’re too richly sweet for me. I like a nice chocolate chip cookie but it packs a punch in the sugar department and I can’t quite handle it.

5 cookies is a serving, which are 120 calories or 3 points plus values.

QUESTION:

Are you a fan of HannahMax Baking cookie crisps?

Barbara’s Peanut Butter Puffins

Puffins cereal, a favorite for many, but a cereal I have seen time and time again but had yet to try … until recently.  After checking the nutrition information I decided to pick up a box of Peanut Butter Puffins. Puffins are a gluten free cereal, which are made of corn, multigrains or honey-flavored rice.  There are a number of different flavor varieties (original, cinnamon, fruit medley, peanut butter and chocolate, etc.) provided by Barbara’s to really satisfy anybody’s “cereal tooth”.

Upon opening the box of Puffins I was initially surprised at how large the cereal pieces are. They reminded me of a shredded wheat (in size only) but puffier, which then made me think of a Captain Crunch cereal but only enlarged.  I tried one piece before adding it into my bowl and I was sold. They are crunchy, but airy, peanut buttery but not overwhelming and are slightly sweet.  They are good on their own, paired with fresh fruit or even (if you’re adventurous) paired with a bit of another cereal.  I’ve found the cereal is perfect, even when I eat it slower, because it doesn’t get soggy as fast as other cereals tend to.

A serving is ¾ cup, which is pretty staple in the cereal world, 110 calories, or in Weight Watchers terms 3 points plus values.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any Puffins cereal?

Doritos Locos Tacos – Nacho Cheese & Crunchy Taco

I’m a sucker for a new Doritos flavor.  Doritos are a favorite of mine and I can handle them in smaller servings or single servings but I cannot handle them in a full-size bag.  I tried the Cool Ranch & Crunchy Taco variety, so when I spotted this Doritos Locos Tacos – Nacho Cheese & Crunchy Taco double serving bag at Walgreen’s I decided to give it a try.

I can say off the bat, the Cool Ranch variety is a lot better. These were rather … lack luster for me.  You get the strong nacho cheese flavor with the slightly spiced crunchy taco flavor.  But I don’t feel the two blend together well nor do they make a “wow” appeal for a snack.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re alright … but that’s about it. Alright.

A serving size is 1 ounce, which gives you roughly 11 chips.  A serving will cost you 4 points plus values, which is typical for almost any chip and Dorito.  They are selling the full size bags at the grocery store, but I’m not sure how long they’ll be around since these are a limited edition flavor.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of the Doritos Locos Tacos limited edition flavors?

Trader Joe’s Inner Peas

I spotted these Trader Joe’s Inner Peas while shopping at Trader Joe’s soon after these were re-released in stores.  I have tried baked pea snacks in the past by other brands and found them to be a unique twist on a snack.  Trader Joe’s describes Inner Peas as “a delicately crunchy, baked green pea snack.”

I’d say if you do not like peas, you will certainly not like these.  Granted, they don’t taste like peas out of a can, but they do taste like a baked chip that has a very mild pea flavor.  They’re a little on the “plain” side of things, but they certainly are different.  They will give you the crunch you may be looking for without all the grease and fat that come with eating potato chips.  I can only describe these as a unique and different type of snack.  Typically I like flavored potato chips, so oddly enough, I think I’d enjoy these more if they had a garlic flavor Inner Peas. That being said I’d never add garlic to my peas … well, unless they were in the pod and added to stir fry…

You do get a lot of these in 1 oz serving – roughly 22 peas.  They’re not bad nutrition stats wise either – a serving calculates out to 3 points plus values.

QUESTION:

Have you tried Inner Peas or any of the other dried pea snacks?

Doritos Locos Tacos – Cool Ranch & Crunchy Taco

I spotted these new Doritos Locos Tacos Cool Ranch & Crunchy Taco at CVS and was intrigued. I’ve tried the Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco in both the original and cool ranch flavors and enjoyed them.  So I figured the Doritos version had to be equally as delicious because I truthfully only tried the taco for the Doritos flavored shell.

The Doritos Locos Tacos flavor is a twist flavor that consists of cool ranch and taco flavored Doritos. I’ve tried the Crunchy Taco flavored Doritos on their own before and found they were “okay” but mixed with the cool ranch they are delicious. You get the classic bold and zippy cool ranch flavor, with a mildly spiced crunchy taco – you can tell the difference based on the coloring of the chips.

A serving is 1 ounce – roughly 11 chips.  A serving is 4 points plus values.  The bag I purchased was the, I guess “deluxe” size bag (99 cents – $1.50). These are sold in a full-size bags at the grocery store.

QUESTION:

What is your favorite Doritos flavor?