I like snacks, particularly between meals. What better way to improve my daily intake than by switching and grabbing a bag of Harvest Snaps as my go-to snack option. It’s far healthier than my usual fare! What you might not realize if you haven’t tried Harvest Snaps is that they’re actually made from veggies with a seasoned coating. I know, it sounds a bit weird, but it really isn’t. In fact, with the huge range of options there’s sure to be a variety that matches your own flavor preference:
I popped into the local Safeway to see what flavors they had in stock and found quite a number of choices on the shelf. Don’t look for them in the snack aisle, though, or the organics section, because they’re stocked in the produce section, which is some pretty smart thinking!
Here’s how the Boulder Safeway displayed them, tucked between some delicious produce and lots of bags of spices:
With all those bags of spices, you’d think that it would be a natural to have Mango Chile Lime and Habanero, but, alas, I couldn’t get either to try from this particular market, and here I’m someone who loves spicy food! Instead my taste test of flavors was a combination of a classic flavor and two new options: Wasabi Ranch and the new White Cheddar and Parmesan Roasted Garlic.
Of course, they all look similar since it’s only the spices that vary:
These are made from green peas, but some of the other flavors are made from red lentils and black beans. As I said, I really appreciate the range of healthier snack options we have in the market nowadays and with their tear-to-open foil pouch packaging, these would be great for backpacking, a day hike, or for one of my kids to share with their friends.
Regular readers know that my daughter Ashley (21) is “plant-based” (I call it vegan, but that’s another story) and so I have become more and more sensitized to the ingredients in the foods I eat. As a result, it’s definitely good to know that the majority of Harvest Snaps flavor options are completely plant-based and gluten free and supply 4-5g of plant-based protein per serving. Note that Tomato Basil is the only flavor that isn’t entirely GF.
The real question is how do they taste? To find out, I color coded the bowls (as you can see above) and left them out as a snack. My friend veered towards the Wasabi Ranch as a zesty (well, spicy) option but I was surprised when I found the combination of cheese and garlic flavors in the Parmesan Roasted Garlic were my personal favorite. Not the spicy one! Go figure.
The consistency is pretty darn interesting, mouth-friendly and fun to eat too: they basically look like baked pea pods, as you can see in this close up:
Honestly, the combination of tasty flavors, healthy ingredients and foil pouch convenience make these a no brainer to toss into the car for an emergency post-school snack, a backpack for during a long walk or hike, or just to have a few bowls of the various flavors out the next time your friends or family are visiting. In the spirit of truth in blogging, I also have to report that the Parmesan Roasted Garlic Harvest Snaps are entirely consumed. The theory of “try a few, save them” is good, but the reality is that it’s one darn good flavor and they, well, ummm, vanished. It was the weirdest thing! 🙂
More seriously, we live in a remarkable era of food startups and ingredient experimentation. I hope you’re not just stuck on corn tortilla chips and potato chips as your go-to snacks. There are lots of fantastic – tastier and healthier – options out there, like Harvest Snaps. So give ’em a try, y’all. Then post here and let me know what flavor you tried and how you liked them.
To learn more about Harvest Snaps, visit their Web site.
Heads Up Denver Folk! Head on over to Oktoberfest Denver where Harvest Snaps brand ambassadors will be near the entrance, handing out samples 11-5 on Saturday, Sept 29 and Sunday, Sept 30. Learn more at TheDenverOktoberfest.com!
Also for Denver area folks, you can click on this link to Safeway’s Just for U digital coupon offering $1.00 off two bags of Harvest Snaps. Valid thru 10/6/2018.