Healthier Chips Meet New Consumer Demand

Most American’s were introduced to crispy crunchy potato chips at an early age. The current varieties are tremendous and almost always delicious. Chips go nicely with a sandwich, hot dog, hamburger, or simply in a bowl waiting to be devoured. There are corn chips and potato chips, sprinkled with salt, cheese, vinegar, barbeque seasoning, and sour cream and onion flavors. Is your mouth watering yet? They come prepared via the deep fryer or some even baked in the oven. They are by far one of the most snacked on food items on the market today. Despite
its good taste, they are not always the healthiest of snack choices.

One of the new food trends for 2009 lends to helping clean up the image of the chip. In January, the Fancy Food Show showcased trendy food items from around the world. Represented at the show, manufactures are coming up with innovative healthier alternative snack chips that absolutely please the taste buds. The Corazonas was the only “potato” chip represented at the food show. Besides the great taste, they are made with plant sterols, which are known to lower the LDL cholesterol; thereby making these chips a healthier alternative. Although they have similar calorie counts as Doritos, they have less saturated fat and more fiber than traditional chips.

Cassava chips…a.k.a. yucca chips are an up and coming crowd favorite to keep an eye out for. These ancient roots are transformed into delicious gourmet guilt free chips that will make your mouth water. They are made from thin slices of the cassava root. These lightly fried snacks contain a huge amount of fiber and are free of cholesterol, transfats, gluten, lactose, genetic modification and are suitable for vegans as well.

In today’s economy, healthier usually means a bit more expensive products. When consumers learn about the health benefits of these tasty alternatives, they are sure to stock up on these new snacks!