Who's The Boss? Reviews

FritoLay Pinch of Salt Chips

There are four things that are must-haves for any summer time BBQ:  hamburgers and hotdogs, corn on the cob, fresh watermelon.... and FritoLay Classic Potato Chips.  I know, they aren't the healthiest snack around.  But oh my those chips are perfect.  Crunchy.  Salty.  Yum. 

But the salt is too much for me.  After a handful of Classic Chips, I'm already reaching for a big glass of water. 

So I was quick to try out FritoLay's new line of Pinch of Salt chips.  Pinch of Salt contains 30 to 50 percent less sodium than their originals.  FritoLay isn't lying when they say it is just a pinch of salt.  The four varieties all are Low Sodium choice chips.   They have less sodium than preztels, microwave popcorn, and those little fish shaped cheese crackers my son is addicted to.

The recipe and flavors taste identical.  In fact, I actually prefered the Pinch of Salt Classic Chips and Crispy Rounds to their originals.  The amount of salt was just enough to satisfy that salty craving but not enough to make me feel like I was retaining water with every chip.  With the ingredients all natural - no artificial preservatives or flavors in these bags - it makes it an easy choice for summer time BBQs.

Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn

We are a popcorn family.  I love it as an anytime snack.  I can not watch a movie in a theatre without a big bag of buttery popcorn.  So I was thrilled to try out some microwaved popcorn by Orville Redenbacher.

For full disclosure, I'm usually not a fan of the microwave-able popcorn.  I grew up with an air popper in the house and now pop my kernels in a dutch oven over the stove (so tasty).  But making popcorn over the stove or using an air popper requires attention.  It's not like I can just press a button and forget about it.  You must to stand over it and pay attention.  Because, really no smell is worse than burnt popcorn.

Last night before dinner, I popped a bag of the Smart Pop 94% Fat Free Popcorn.  I figured one bag to feed three adults and one hungry four year wouldn't spoil anyone's dinner.  We were all so hungry, we scarfed the whole thing down in no time.  And there was still plenty of appetite for a home-made meal less than a hour later.

The popcorn was tastier than I expected microwave popcorn to be.  I expected a more manufactured taste.  The popcorn was tasty.  Knowing that it had 0g trans fat and 0 cholesterol. Since I am reading labels as a part of my Food Dye Rebellion, I was dissappointed to see that the popcorn was not 100% natural. Orville does carry a line of Natural and Organic microwaveable popcorn.

Bottom Line: The SmartPop bag was tasty but has articifical ingredients. I'll be sticking with the stovetop popped method where I get to control the fat, salt, and amount. 

Brother's All Natural Crisps

When I was contacted to try and review some flavors of the Brother's All Natural Fruit Crisps and try their new Potato Crisps, I jumped at the chance.  We've been big fans of the Pear Crisps for a while now.

The crisps come in self contained snack bags making it easy for this working mom on the go to dole out a healthy snack.  With zero fat and barely any calories, I never have to worry about spoiling dinner when I had these out to my family.  My son loves them - but so do the rest of us.

We were sent four bags of snacks - Apple Crisps, Peach Crisps, and two flavors of Potato Crisps.  My son did not like the potato crisps and I was thrilled.  It meant more for me.  The potato crisps have a similar texture to baked Lays - but with a ton more flavor and zero fat.  I loved them to satisfy my "salty" craving.

Apple Crisps were a hit with the whole fam - we polished off the bag in about zero point two three seconds.  Unfortunately, the Peach Crisps didn't pack enough flavor for us.  The crisps were very bland tasting, unlike other crisps we have tried.  It is a new flavor for Brother's All Natural and I hope they go back to the drawing board to get more peachy-ness in those peaches. 

Overall, the snacks are wonderful.  The are no fat, low calories, freeze dried, real fruit (or potato) snacks.  The only thing better would be eating the real deal - a piece of fresh fruit.  But for any working mother driving to and fro all over town, these snack bags have a lot less mess.  And I don't have to worry about an apple going rotten in the heat of a summer day.

I hope they start coming out with Organic options too!