Here’s a rather unique offering (at least as far as Aldi is concerned): Garden veggie crisps, which substitute corn as a main ingredient for potatoes, beans, and carrots. But maybe best of all are the health benefits: A full serving of vegetables per 1 oz. serving, along with 50% Vitamin A, both pretty solid numbers for a snack. Sodium and sugar levels are also pretty decent (160 mg and 2g, respectively), though the fat content (7 g) is still surprisingly a little bit high.
These chips are also available in a jalapeno ranch, but since these sounded a little more “healthy”, we opted to grab the tomato basil. The first thing you’ll notice as you open the bag is a very strong tomato-ey smell that kind of reminded me of ketchup chips. Not surprisingly, there’s also the scent of basil somewhere in there, though it’s not nearly as strong. All-in-all, it’s a rather pleasant smell, assuming you don’t get a full nose full of it.
Since these are “crisps”, appearance-wise they have more in common with “tater skins” than they do normal potato chips, though they are much smaller. They still deliver a nice, big crunch when bitten into, and feel a bit lighter than “tater skins” do, so even texture-wise they feel a little “healthier”. Though it doesn’t say it anywhere on the bag, they seem to be baked, rather than fried, as I did not get any of the usual potato chip grease on my fingers after digging in, so that’s another plus.
On the taste-front, they are decent, but nothing spectacular. As hinted from the aroma, the “crisp” delivers a strong initial offering of tomato-ey goodness, which is then paired up with a hint of basil. While I do like the flavor, I do find the tomato to be a little too strong for my tastes. So while they are clearly edible, they get rather tiring after a relatively short amount of time, which I guess is a good thing, because it prevents me from eating too many. I would say it’s a decent little snack to have on hand for the occasional snack attack, but expect to get sick of them rather quick. Unless you’re like my wife, who doesn’t like them at all. Oh well, to each their own.
Overall: 6/10. While better-than-average and offering some decent health benefits for a snack (50% Vitamin A and a full serving of vegetables per 1 oz. serving to name a couple), Clancy’s Tomato Basil Garden Veggie Crisps are too strong on tomato flavor, meaning they get really tiring, real quick. There’s also some rather high fat content in there, as well, which cancels out at least some of the good. At $1.49 for a 4.5 oz. bag, the value is pretty decent, as the crisps are small, meaning there are a lot within a bag. I’d say these are worth a try, but nothing to write home about.
