Are Veggie Straws healthy? This Veggie Straws Dietitian Review will help you decide if Veggie Straws are nutritionally sound and live up to their marketing claims. Read on for our dietitian review of nutritional properties, ingredients, and how they measure up to potato chips.
About Veggie Straws
Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Straws are a crunchy snack made from potatoes, tomatoes, and spinach. They are available in seven flavours: Sea Salt, Zesty Ranch, Screamin’ Hot, BBQ, Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream & Onion, and Cinnamon Apple.
Nutrition Marketing Claims
Veggie Straws are promoted as a healthier alternative to potato chips. They are advertised as having “30% less fat than the leading potato chip”. The name veggie straws also implies that they are made from vegetables which most consumers would associate with being a healthier option.
Taste & Texture
Veggie straws have a light and airy texture. They are crispy to bite into, and the original flavour tastes salty.
Veggie Straw Ingredients
Potato starch, potato flour: the first and main ingredients.
Canola oil and/or safflower oil and/or sunflower oil: the chips’ main fat sources. All three of these oil types are mostly mono-unsaturated fatty acids.
Spinach powder: one of the two main vegetable ingredients in these straws.
Tomato paste: the second vegetable ingredient used in these straws.
Salt: used as a flavour enhancer.
Cane sugar: used as a flavour enhancer in minuscule amounts.
Corn starch: a source of carbohydrates, likely used to help with texture.
Potassium chloride: an added source of potassium that can give foods a salty flavour while maintaining a lower sodium content.
Tumeric: used as a colour agent.
Beetroot powder: used as a colour agent.
Priority Allergens
At the time of this review, no priority allergens are listed on the label of the Sea Salt flavour. Note: some flavours contain milk. Always read nutrition labels for allergen information before consuming a product.
Veggie Straws Nutrition Facts
Note: the nutrition facts below reflect the Sea Salt flavour of Garden Veggie Straws.
1 serving = 68 straws (50g)
Calories: 240
Total Fat: 13g coming from canola, safflower, and/or sunflower oil.
Saturated Fat: 1.5g from the oil(s) listed above.
Sodium: 390mg from salt.
Carbohydrates: 30g from potato starch, potato flour, and to a lesser extent, corn starch.
Fibre: 1g from potatoes.
Sugar: 1g from cane sugar.
Protein: 1g, trace amounts found in potatoes.
Other nutrients: 150mg calcium, 1.25mg iron, 400mg potassium.
Are Veggie Straws Healthy?
Veggie Straws received a score of 25 out of 100. The first two ingredients in veggie straws are potato (potato flour and potato starch), so despite their name, these are in fact, potato chips. Veggie Straws are also fried like traditional potato chips, making them an ultra-processed food.
On the plus side, veggie Straws contain powdered spinach and tomato powder that add flavour and trace nutrients to the product, something that traditional potato chips do not have. For example, Veggie Straws contain 0.5mg more iron per 50g serving than potato chips. However, despite these trace amounts of micronutrients, Veggie Straws are not a nutritious food overall.
Read more about our Food Nutrition Score here!
How Do Veggie Straws Compare to Potato Chips?
Compared to traditional potato chips, veggie straws are lower in fat, with 13g per serving compared to 18g in chips. They also contain 0.5g less saturated fat per serving. Veggie Straws are higher in carbohydrates than chips, with 30g and 26g, respectively. Both Veggie Straws and chips contain low fibre, with 1g per serving. Veggie straws contain 1g of sugar per serving, whereas potato chips contain none. Veggie Straws are higher in sodium than traditional potato chips, with 390mg per serving compared to 330mg in chips. They are also lower in protein, with 1g per serving vs. 3g in chips. Lastly, Veggie Straws are lower in potassium, but higher in calcium and iron than potato chips. See the comparison chart below for details.
Veggie Straws Frequently Asked Questions
Are veggie straws healthier than potato chips?
Despite the name, Veggie Straws are actually potato chips. They are made from potatoes and are fried like traditional potato chips. Though spinach and tomato are added to these chips, the amount added does not translate to any additional nutrient content.
Can veggie straws help you lose weight?
Likely not. Veggie straws have a light texture and are only 130 calories per serving, however, they do not contain any fibre or protein needed to keep you satisfied between meals.
Do veggie straws actually have veggies?
Veggie straws are mainly potatoes, with small amounts of spinach and tomato powder. There does not appear to be a significant enough amount of spinach or tomato powder used to add additional nutrients compared to what would be in a traditional potato chip.
Are veggie straws good for digestion?
Veggie straws do not contain any fibre and would likely not have any benefit related to digestion.
Are veggie straws gluten-free?
Veggie straws do not list gluten-containing ingredients on their ingredient lists. Always check with the manufacturer about the risk of contamination and allergen information before consuming a product.
Are veggie straws good for people with allergies?
Some flavours of veggie straws contain milk. Though no other priority allergens are listed on the ingredient list, they are not produced in an allergen-free facility. Always contact the food manufacturer for ingredient and allergen information before consuming a product.
Are veggie straws chips?
Yes, Veggie Straws are potato chips. Just like traditional potato chips, veggie straws are fried. They also are made mostly out of potato, with potato starch and potato flour listed as the first two ingredients.
Are veggie straws keto?
Veggie straws are not considered keto as they contain 12-19g of carbohydrates per serving.
Are veggie straws nut-free?
Veggie straws do not contain nuts but their website states that they cannot guarantee that their facility is nut-free.
