Looking for a tasty snack when you’re watching your carbs isn’t always an easy task. Recently, I ordered a bag, (4 oz.) of Carb Counters ™ Sweet Cinnamon Ovenbaked Pita Chips to try. I can report they are loaded with cinnamon and they are a satisfying treat to go with coffee or tea in the afternoon.
The pita base flavor is a little plain, but then pitas aren’t the epitome of bread flavor anyway. At least it tastes good and with the cinnamon and sugar substitute, you don’t really notice it.
Portion size wise, a serving size of 7 pieces is actually too many for my sweet tooth. Two of them will usually do me just fine. If you eat 7 pieces, the bag holds about 4 servings. This makes them a kind of pricey treat with a retail price of $8.39 from Dixie Diner. I ordered mine from Netrition.com for $6.49, which makes them a little more economical if you are placing a large order which will spread out the $6.99 shipping charge on it. Shipping cost is one of the problems with ordering these products online. I usually place a quarterly order at Netrition for all my needs and if I order more than $99, which is the norm, then my shipping is free.
So far as the low carb side goes, they are well within the low carb plan, even for those of use who can’t eat many carbs. The seven piece serving is 112 calories, but only 1 net carb. That makes it a very reasonable snack. Now, if you add a thinly sliced piece of apple* to your chip, it is really awesome and only about another half carb per chip.
Overall, I would give these a four tasty spoons rating. They are very good and satisfying, but I wouldn’t rush to keep them stocked in my house.
As an alternative, I would consider using a low carb tortillas (3 net carbs) and putting cinnamon, sugar, and butter on one, then popping it into the oven at 325 degrees to cook about 10 to 15 minutes to get it crisp, then cut or break into snacking pieces.
*When I say thinly sliced, I mean about 1/4 of a medium apple cut into 7 thin slices.
One of the coolest low carb snacks on the planet is the Parmesan cheese crisp and they are pretty simple to make. I’ve done it several times, but even though they are crisp and super tasty, they do not compare to the ones in this package that the roomie picked up at Sam’s Club this past weekend. These crisps are so good that it’s like eating potato chips — hard to stop!
They are a little over an inch in diameter and salted to perfection.
Patti picked up the Original flavor, but according to the company’s web site, they also come in Sesame and Jalapeno. We will have to be on the lookout for those. While Patti paid about $11 for a 9.5 ounce bag of them that has about 15 servings, the other outlets I’ve checked like Amazon and Netrition are about double that, but they do also have the smaller containers and single serving bags. However, even though they are pricey, the best value is in the larger bag.
Made with real Parmesan cheese and seasonings, the crisps are crunch and thicker than the ones I’ve made. They’re a great potato chip substitute and they go well with soups and salads as well as being dip-able. The biggest problem is the desire to keep eating. At only 100 calories and 0 net carbs in 15, they are a very sensible snack. The biggest drawback is probably that price tag, but I don’t know if I could buy the Parmesan and make an equivalent amount of snacks (about 225 little crackers) for the same price and have them come out as tasty.
So, give them a try if you get a chance and let me know what you think about this tasty snack.
While potato chips are the greatest crunch around, they aren’t always the lowest carb or calorie item you can snack out on or use as a dipper. Other vegetable chips work really well also and have a great flavor. They aren’t hard to make and you feel a little less guilty eating them.
The ones I’ve found that produce great results are zucchini squash, turnips, kohlrabi and daikon radish. You can also use carrots, other summer squash and eggplant. Look for large vegetables for this purpose since they will shrink up to 75% while they are drying out. About 10 slices of these veggies will give you a satisfying serving and come in at around 3 net carbs per serving.
Cut the vegetable into 1/4 inch slices (or about that). I use a salad shooter to cut most of mine and even then, they don’t always come out to the same thickness. You can also use a slicer or just cut them with a knife. For the turnips, put them in a small plastic bag, add a teaspoon of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon Splenda or other sugar substitute per cup of turnip slices to add a bit of sweetness to the turnip. Let sit for about 10 minutes, then drain the liquid off.
Zucchini slices ready to be oven dried.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F.
Line a cookie pan with parchment paper. Place the raw chips on the paper as closely together as you can. They will shrink. Sprinkle with seasoning salt and pepper (I like garlic pepper) or any other flavor you would like to add. I put Parmesan cheese on zucchini sometimes. You could also make a sweet chip with a bit of sugar substitute, cinnamon and a dash of ground cloves mixed together and sprinkled over the top. This works well with squash, but I’m haven’t tried it with the other veggies. Pretty sure it would be good with carrots.
Put in the oven for about four hours. Check it after three hours to see how dry they are getting. They need to completely dry out and get crisp, but you don’t want to burn them. Once they are dry, remove from the oven and eat. You can store them in a paper bag for a couple of days, if they last that long, but they will eventually pick up moisture from the air and soften. You can dry them out again in a food dehydrator, if you have one.
Dried vegetable chips – from the top are turnips, daikon radishes and kohlrabi.
Nutrition Info:
Zuchinni (1/2 cup pre-dried – about 10 chips when dried)
Calories: 19.4 Fat: .5 g Net Carbs: 2.2 g Protein: 1.6 g
Turnips (about 10 chips when dried)
Calories: 42 Fat: .2 g Net Carbs: 6.9 g Protein: 1.6 g
Kohlrabi (about 10 chips when dried)
Calories: 30 Fat: .0 g Net Carbs: 2. g Protein: 2 g
Daikon Radish (about 10 chips when dried)
Calories: 20.7 Fat: .0 g Net Carbs: 2.9 g Protein: .7 g
Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 8/14/2013 11:24 AM
It’s hard to beat topped crackers, breads, corn chips or potatoes for snacks while the big game is on. But, they can really add a lot of carbs to your intake for the day. Fortunately, you can have tasty snacks that are almost as good.
Here’s some suggestions that I use for sports viewing — or even awards shows viewing — that will round out the viewing without rounding you!
Pig Skin Nachos
This is a natural for a football game, but the pigskin I’m using is actually pork rinds or chicarrones. If this sounds odd, think about it for a moment. Bacon is made from pork and this is pork, so why not? It’s crispy like a tortilla chip and it has a pork flavor. What’s not to like? And best of all, it’s just about 0 carbs.
Use about 1 1/2 cups of cooked pork rinds on the plate, sprinkle with cheddar jack cheese and microwave for about 45 to 55 seconds. Watch for when the cheese begins to melt, then remove it. Put your favorite salsa in a dipping dish, a small bowl will work, and add some guacamole to the side of the dish if you’d like. Don’t put the salsa on the nachos as they will get soggy.
Nutrition Info 1 serving
(with guacamole) Calories: 399.3 Net Carbs: 3.8 Protein: 22.5 g
(1 servings without guacamole) Calories: 314.8 Net Carbs: 1.8 Protein: 21.5 g
Sweet Porkers
For those who might like a sweet snack and who like the taste of bacon and maple syrup, this is a tasty alternative (although the bacon works also). I use Piggy Tails cinnamon and sugar pork rinds for this snack. You can order them through Amazon.com and they come un-puffed. Put 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of pellets on a microwaveable paper plate for about 2 minutes and they puff up into a full plate of goodness. The cinnamon sugar flavor is really mild though, so I pour out a little cup of sugar free maple syrup and dip the pork puffs in those while I munch on them. Wal-Mart sells a sugar free Log Cabin syrup that is delicious. DaVinci also has a sugar free pancake syrup that tastes great, but is a little thinner.
Bacon Cheese Chips
Tempting tomato, cheese and bacon topped daikon chip.
Here’s a tasty little appetizer made with daikon chips topped with bits of bacon and cheddar cheese. What could be easier to put together for a TV afternoon? The daikon has a slight peppery taste that is enhanced by the garlic pepper seasoning.
6 inch piece of daikon radish, cut into 1/3 inch slices
6 thick bacon slices, baked and broken into thirds
Sharp cheddar cheese, grated or sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Garlic pepper seasoning
Heat a large griddle or skillet and put 1 tablespoon olive oil on it. Cook the daikon slices, 9 at a time on the griddle until they are browned. Add more oil before doing the second batch.
If you are making a lot, you can roast them instead of frying. Spread slices on a baking sheet and cook in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until just tender.
Place the cooked daikon on a baking pan and place 1/3 slice of bacon on each piece. Sprinkle a little garlic pepper on each piece. Top with a small piece of cheddar cheese or about a tablespoon of shredded cheese.
Place under broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Makes 6 servings, 3 pieces each.
You can also put these in a microwave for about 30 to 40 seconds to melt the cheese. Watch closely to make sure the cheese doesn’t overflow.
Makes 6 servings of 3 chips per serving.
Nutrition: per serving Calories 182.1 Net Carbs: 1.5 g Protein: 8.5
Variations:
Use cream cheese spread on each chip and top with sliced tomato or thinly sliced sausage or ham.
Italian style: Spread cooked daikon with pasta sauce and top with pepperoni and sliced mozzarella cheese
You don’t have to be limited to daikon. This also works well with kohlrabi, jicama, golden beet and turnip slices that are fried or roasted. Jicama remains crunchy when cooked.
Hot snacks: Top clockwise – salami and cheese beet chip, jicama chip & daikon chip
Hot snacks: Top clockwise – salami and cheese beet chip, jicama chip & daikon chip
I mentioned using the fillings for the mushrooms as snack toppers. Here is the Pesto Sausage filling on tops of daikon chips, golden beet chips and kohlrabi chips. Delicious although my favorite was the golden beet.
Pesto sausage filling on daikon, golden beet and kohlrabi chips.
