Friday, February 17, 2017

Just Pure Foods

I have a snacking problem.  I admit it.  I love snacks.  I love to munch on things.  Popcorn (savory or sweet) is a major weakness of mine.  And all varieties of (homemade) Chex mix.  Seriously, I'm a munchaholic.  And, sadly, most of the things I want to munch on are not necessarily the healthiest.  While basic chips have never been my vice, virtually any other crunchy finger food is.  I am always seeking out healthier alternatives.

Veggie chips are one item I love to try.  Of course, the ones I generally end up loving are even worse for me than regular potato chips, like the Creative Snack Co veggie chips I eat by the bucket when I visit my family.  Occasionally, I find some great kale chips that aren't totally unhealthy, but, in general, the healthier, dehydrated style of veggie chips rarely do it for me (like the dehydrated broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower snacks I tried from Dipperz or the strange zucchini puffs from Snapz).  But I keep trying.

Just Pure Foods is another maker of healthy snacks - minimally processed, raw, to preserve the nutrients.  They are certified organic.  They make kale chips, tomato chips, and zucchini chips, plus onion rings and kale-nola, most in several different flavors.  "Highly Nutritious & Insanely Delicious" is their trademark.

I was pleasantly surprised by the items I tried, and would like to try more of their products.
Seasoned Zucchini Strips.
"We didn’t want to call them fries to confuse y’all. Just dip in ketchup—‘nough said."

Most of the other veggie snacks produced by Just Pure Foods are standard round chips.  And they do make 3 varieties of zucchini (sesame dijon, pesto, and sour cream & onion), that way, but, also make these strips.  I picked them as they looked a bit more fun.

"Just like fries - dip in your favorite organic or raw ketchup!", the packaging proclaimed.  I can't say I was compelled to do that exactly (really, ketchup on zucchini?), but, they were a fun snack.

The strips came in different sizes, all thin strips of zucchini, still skin on.  They were crunchy in a good way.  The "seasoning" was a mix of herbs and spices (mesquite powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt), plus tamari, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar.  They were a bit zesty, almost cheesy tasty, and fairly fascinating.  There was a slight bitterness that I didn't care for though, perhaps from the sprouted buckwheat that was also added?

Anyway, I easily polished off the bag, not sharing with Ojan.  Given the collection of various kale chips, tomato chips, cheesy quinoa chips, and more arranged on the counter (my rejects), this was the first bag I didn't hand over to him in a long time, so, that was saying something.

I wouldn't want another bag of these due to the bitterness, but, I'd try other items.
Spicy Jalapeno Tomato Chips.
"A perfect friend for you bowl of fresh guacamole or hummus!"

Tomato chips are offered in two varieties, pesto or spicy jalapeno.  I went spicy.

I almost liked these.  They were slices of roma tomatoes, dehydrated and crispy, with lots of seasoning (jalapenos, onion, carrots, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, bell pepper powder, and rock salt).  There was lots of flavor going on, and they were almost too zesty for me.  Like the zucchini sticks, they also had a bitterness, which I again attribute to the buckwheat.  Why was that added?

They were just too much to munch on plain, so I passed them off to Ojan, but he also didn't like them.
Spicy Tomato Chips: Salad Topping!
A few days later, I was making salad (to try out a new salad dressing for my blog, stay tuned!), and decided to try adding the spicy tomato chips on top.  I already had tomatoes, but I figured these would serve more like a crispy crouton, plus add some zing to the salad.

And ... they did.  Now my salad had crunch, more pops of color, and some kick to it.

So, while I didn't like eating them on their own as chips, they did work as a salad topping.  I imagine they could work inside a sandwich for some crunch too, or on a burger.

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