Veggie chips are a great snack, and they come in a wide variety of delicious flavors. However, they do not offer a lot of health benefits. Most manufacturers of veggie chips claim that their products are made with fresh vegetables, but the main ingredient in most veggie chips is corn flour or potatoes, and small amounts of vegetable powder or puree. Also, labels reveal that veggie chips contain high amounts of calories, salt and fats, and little else that is beneficial to health. However, there are a number of veggie chip products that do provide some benefits.
Basic Nutrition of Veggie Chips
One serving of 28 grams of veggie chips contains 120 calories, of which 36 calories are from fat. The total amount of carbohydrates present is 19 grams, which makes up 6% of the recommended daily consumption of carbohydrates. Veggie chips also have a high sodium content, with one serving containing 250 milligrams or 10% of your recommended daily value. Their total fat content is 4.0 grams, which represents 6% of the daily value, and the amount of saturated fat is 0.5 grams or 3% of the daily value. Veggie chips provide 1 gram of fiber, which is 4% of the daily value, and 1 gram of protein. Most veggie chip products do not contain any vitamins or minerals, except for a small amount of iron.
Vitamins A and C
Raw vegetables are great sources of vitamins A and C, but the vitamins are lost during the process of making veggie chips. Whole vegetables are converted to vegetable powder or puree first, and then the powder or puree is fried to make veggie chips. Since little vegetable powder or puree will remain in the final product, no vitamin will be left in the veggie chips. However, there are certain veggie chip products, such as Terra, that contain small amounts of vitamins A and C and are made from slices of vegetables. Potato chips that are made from potato slices provide moderate amounts of vitamin C.
Calcium and Iron
Most veggie chips do not provide any calcium at all, but they do have a modicum of iron. Garden veggie chips offer 2% of the recommended daily value for iron.
Fiber
Fiber is present in all veggie chips, but only in low amounts. While most veggie chips contain 1 or 2 grams of fiber, Terra vegetable chips have 3 grams.
Choosing Veggie Chips
Many people think that veggie chips are more nutritious than potato chips, but this is not true. Veggie chips are high in calories and sodium, and they contain almost as much fat as regular potato chips. People who want to consume veggie chips that have higher amounts of nutrients and fiber should choose Terra chips. For lower calorie and fat content, the best options are veggie chips from Robert's American Gourmet and baked veggie chips. Those who want low-sodium chips should go for Terra veggie chips or salt-free veggie chips.
