Late July Snacks Bacon Habanero Tortilla Chips

I picked up a bag of the Late July Snacks - Bacon Habanero Tortilla Chips on a quick trip through Whole Foods one day. I have seen the Late July brand of tortilla chips at my local grocery stores but for the most part they only have the plain or bean varieties. Considering I've got a weak spot for Doritos I figured I'd give these a whirl, especially since bacon habanero sounded amazing.

The chips turned out to be exceptionally delicious. They're very reminiscent of Doritos with that crunchy tortilla chip style chip which is flavored well with a smokey spicy seasoning. Initially the spice isn't quite noticeable but it does creep up on you. I wouldn't say these are firehouse hot, they're a nice subtle heat with a nice smokey undertone which plays off the whole "bacon" vibe. There's also a subtle sweetness to them that aids in masking the habanero heat on the first few chips.

Unfortunately I've only been able to find these at Whole Foods. I've rolled the dice in hopes to find them at other specialty stores that offer Late July Snacks, but I've yet to be successful outside of Whole Foods.

A serving, 1 ounce (roughly 12 chips) is 130 calories or 4 points plus values.

Hi I’m Skinny Sticks – Multi-Grain Sweet Onion

I stumbled upon a fabulous find out of all places: Bed Bath & Beyond.  Hi I’m Skinny Sticks – Multi-Grain Sweet Onion reminded me of the apple straws I’m a huge fan of so I made sure to pick up the sweet onion variety. Particularly the fact that it was sweet onion was a huge bonus because I absolutely love the flavor in crispy snacks.

The straws themselves are very much like apple straws. If you haven’t had those, then they’re along the lines of French fries (in shape) but are light, airy and crispy. I’d say they’re a healthier take on potato sticks. They have a sweet onion flavoring to them, but it was mild and not overwhelming. The multi-grain also wasn’t overpowering on the palette, which helped make them quite enjoyable. They’ve got the natural lightness of baked chips and are not as heavy as regular fried potato chips. I enjoyed these just as a simple snack, as well as alongside a sandwich.

A 28g serving (roughly 34 sticks) is 120 calories or 3 points plus values.

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 Fat Cheese Puffs

I spotted these Reduced Fat Cheese Puffs near my local Trader Joe’s checkout aisle, which of course caught my attention.  I flipped over the bag, took a peek at the nutrition facts and dropped the bag into my cart.  I love cheese puffs (or crunchies) and the serving size was a wowing 35 puffs (1 oz)!

They taste like cheese puffs, although you can tell they are reduced fat – which is typical with “reduced fat” foods.  They’re not missing any flavor because they are undoubtedly cheesy, but you can typically tell there is a reduction of fat in certain foods (I sadly don’t have a better way of explaining that).  That fact doesn’t make these bad, they’re actually quite tasty.  I enjoyed them over the course of the week, my four year old niece liked them (so much she wanted to take the bag home with her – hah), and even my mother was enjoying them.  

A serving if cheese puffs is 4 points plus values. Well worth it for the sheer volume of cheese puffs you get in a serving size.

QUESTION:

Have you tried the reduced fat cheese puffs from Trader Joe’s?