Snack Review: Somersaults

Despite the fact that I’m a Candy Addict at heart, my move to the west coast and (albeit reluctant) transition into adulthood have succeeded in transforming me into somewhat of a health nut in recent years. I do yoga. I avoid partially hydrogenated oils. I am pretty damn close to vegan when I’m not indulging a lethal cookie craving. And I snack constantly. (Really, constantly.) As such, I’ve become well acquainted with the myriad ways to dress-up a carrot stick, and have befriended many a bowl of high-fiber cereal. But as I also maintain an active lifestyle, I’ve found that these go-to snacks aren’t necessarily ideal for on-the-go, and am on a seemingly endless search for the perfect portable treat. Until now, that is. Because that treat has just recently somersaulted into my life, compliments of the Somersault Snack Co., utterly winning over my crunchy nugget-craving, gymnastic-loving heart.

Per the company’s product info, Somersaults come in three flavors: S.S. Sea Salt, Salty Pepper, and Chez Cocoa, and are “A crunchy bundle of goodness baked with toasted grains, sunflower and sesame seeds. They are the perfect blend of protein, fiber and nutrition!” That all sounded very pleasing indeed, though it left me rather unclear as to what Somersaults actually WERE. What might they taste like? I wondered. What might they be comparable to?

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Snack Review: Snack Patrol Cheese Jerky

Some words just naturally seem to fit with “jerky.” You know, like “beef.” Or perhaps “turkey.” Heck, even “soy” doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Even vegetarians get cravings for salty bits of high-protein chewing gum now and again.

On the other hand, there are some things most sane people never want to hear directly before “jerky.” “Sofa,” for instance… and I can’t imagine many people would be too anxious to try Cigar Jerky. Then again, most people wouldn’t touch a product called “Cheese Jerky” with a ten-foot pole, either. After all, cheese is basically rotten milk. How would someone go about drying that out and turning it into jerky?

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Snack Review: Deep River Asian Sweet & Spicy Chips

 

Deep River chips and snacks have been the “Snack of the Day” on the Rachael Ray Show, and magicianPenn Gillette called them a “damn good chip,” ranking their Rosemary and Olive Oil Chip third on his list of Top 10 Best Potato Chips.

With such endorsements, I thought I’d give Deep River a try. Besides, I’m a fool for quality kettle chips; I just can’t get enough. When I dug into the bag of their Asian Sweet & Spicy chips, I admit I was skeptical. Would these chips taste like cheap and greasy Chinese takeout? What do Rachel Ray and Penn Gillette know anyway? Apparently, they know a lot.

Oh Grasshopper. These were fresh and delicious.

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Snack Review: Kettle Brand Chips

The enlightened snack purveyors at Snackaisle.com sent us a huge box of assorted treats. It was a wonderful thing they did, but it transformed the Snackerrific Review Lab into a feeding frenzy of snack sharks. Chip dust everywhere, dry-roasted edamame husks on the desks, Lara Bar wrappers strewn all about - oh, it was ugly.

Based in New Hampshire, Snackaisle is an online source for tons of all-natural, low-fat, low-sodium, gluten-free snacks, too many to mention now. We’ll be reviewing many of them here over the next few weeks.

Kettle Brand Baked Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper Chips
It was only a 4 oz. bag, but the contents disappeared (during the aforementioned feeding frenzy) in about 10 seconds. I snagged enough chips for myself to know that they’re simply the tastiest potato chips I’ve eaten in years. It was all I could do to keep from licking the inside of the bag.

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Snack Review: Wheat Thins Toasted Chips

The folks at Nabisco/Kraft are mighty crafty. And I don’t mean cunning or guileful, but rather smart. At the introduction of their new toasted chip line, they’ve jumped on the eco-friendly “green” bandwagon with a gymnastic and graceful flourish.

One bag features a wispy sepiatone photo of a mountainside, while the other shows a little girl in a sun dress smiling radiantly down at healthy stalks of wheat. If their product were subpar I’d chide them for a blatant attempt at riding the conservation tide. But these snacks are lip-smacking good! Go, Nabisco/Kraft, go!

Still, I wonder why they refer to them as chips when they sure seem like crackers to me.

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