Snack Attack Food Review: Seneca Apple Chips Ganny Smith

Hi everyone.

I consider myself a sudo-conscious consumer. When I shop I read labels, mostly. I would have to say, I don't generally buy box or bagged foods unless they are cereal or tofu, but occasionally I get the craving for a not so heathy snack food and I find it hard to find one that's tasty, not sickeningly gross, and vegan.

I wanted to start a series of posts based on snacks. These are snacks I'm curious about from seeing them in the store. I'm going to give my prespective on how they taste to a vegan palette. I'm sure most of these snacks are not meant for the non animal eater, but still, we are a part of the market. None of the snacks I review will be over $5.

To start things off I have Sensca farms Crispy Apple Chips: Granny Smith Flavor.

I should give a little back story. I snack. Not too much, but sometimes when I forget nature's candy (my own homemade trail mix or a piece of fruit) I make a jaunt to the local grocery two blocks from my work and grab something.

This store, like most major chain groceries, are filled with $2 giant pastries, junk foods and eatings that are honestly nothing but corn. I don't want bread, that just makes me sleepy, and often the fruit I forgot at home isn't want I'm after either.

I want to try something new, fun and something I wouldn't normally buy. These chips were on sale, 2 bags for $4. Okay. Ill try it.

I skimmed the package and all the seals and labeling of green and 'fresh apples' duped me, I must say. My mind was triggered by the brandings of USDA organic, and other such often meaningless labels and I have to say, I'm sure that this package design was not happenstance. I bet it played on those symbols and it got me. 

Of course the apples are 'fresh'. They are probably underripe. How else can you chop them up ad fry them? Yeah, fry. These chips reek of oil from the first bite. As someone who does not eat a lot of oil, its noticeable. But I do enjoy the occasional potato chip, and I'll just say my saliva felt like it got thicker from the oil eating these.

They are sweet. 9g of sweet considering this 2.5oz package has 2.5 servings. I juice granny smith apples all the time, and they have the least amount of sugar in the apple family. With these, I feel like I was eating a Fiji apple, so I can only imagine how sweet their other apple chips are.

I mean they look nice. It's clear these are 'fresh' apples. They just don't taste light like a real fresh apple would. I guess that was my own expectation.

Another drawback for me is these use an oil blend of safflower, sunflower and canola. Yuck. Canola oil tastes very heavy to me. Also those are sweetened with corn syrup. That should have been a big no no to begin with. It's not HFCS (or corn sugar as it's now called), but it's still corn. Lastly, the acids are most likely derived from corn. So I'm eating an apple fried in corn, and seasoned with corn. Oh joy.

I mean it is junk food, so I'm not expecting a superfood, but my own impulse shopping tendencies got the best of me with this snack purchase. I will not be buying these again.

If I had to pick the chips or the apple again, Ill get the real fresh apple.

Ratings Good 10 to bad 1:

• Criteria: 
• Taste, the flavor of the snack.
• Health, how bad is it for you.
• Price, paying for its value.
• Ingredients, is it made of good or bad stuff.
• Expectation, my overal take on this snack. Was it worth buying it?

• Taste: 4
• Health: 3
• Price: 4
• Ingredients: 3
• Expectation: 4

Make it at home!

A recent juice: apple, carrot and beet.

Lovely CSA

Its been a lovely week of food for me. I'm still eating out for lunch with my lunch buddies, but rumors around the workplace are a circling and we may be downsized. Crap. I've been here a year, and what I do is valid, at least that's what they tell me, but strange silent ninja things are a foot and whatever happens, I goes I've got to get back to cooking.

Watermelon, kale and apple.

I mean, without getting into too much detail, I have never felt secure about my job. I've felt like I've been on a rickety foundation for the longest, and turns out I'm not alone. A lot of people who work where I do feel that. I guess tis the agony of working for a start up.

On another note I made a light dinner this weekend. I had some beans in two of my CSAs and I wanted to use them before they went bad. I cut their ends of, sautéed the beans in a bit of water with a dried rosemary sprig and crushed garlic. I also used a secret weapon of mine. More on that in a later post. 

Finished dinner!

On a light bed of sushi rice these beans tasted delish. A quick meal in 20 minutes. I love that. Gotta stop being so lazy.

I also geared up at the Cost Plus Market on my 'international' stuff. I made sushi for the first time at home! It's pretty easy and relatively cheap.

Cost Plus total: $32

I snack on nori a lot at home and other than it getting stuck between my teeth at times, I thought I should take a crack at using it for what you are supposed to use it for.

I in no way shape or form have even attempted to prefect my sushi rice. The very first time I made sushi earlier last week I just used some rice I had made a few days earlier. What I did do though was pickle my own veggies. That was easy to do.

I boiled two cups of rice vinegar with a bit o sugar and let it reach a simmer, I then poured it over some veggies and put them in the fridge for the night. That next day I was ready to make my sushi!

The hard thing was cutting the roll. I don't have a fancy knife, so I just used a steak knife. Worked fine.

Other than the rolls being a bit bland from the lack of seasoning in the rice, they tasted great and I do plan to make sushi over and over again at home. It cost me no more than $1 a roll! So much for that $4 sushi rolls i keep getting thinking they are a good price. Feh. Ha! I love experimenting with food!

This week's CSA!