Around the time Aldi started carrying gluten free products a few months back, my wife just so happened to be in the midst of a loose, short-lived gluten free diet. So it only goes without saying that when she was on the diet, so was I. Flash-forward to the present day: Her days on the diet are long gone, but since Aldi just had a massive LiveGFree Special Buy week, we indulged in our healthy side and picked up a couple of products from that line.
My choice was LiveGFree Tomato Basil Veggie Crisps, which look like little mini potato chips and, according to the packaging, are “a unique blend of potatoes, carrots, and beans.” While it didn’t sound immensely appealing, I have faith enough in Aldi products to know that, for the most part, even at their worst, they manage to be edible, so I wasn’t all that nervous as I cracked the bag open.
The only bit of hesitation I had was the mention of “beans” on the front of the packaging. This made me flash back to some terrible gluten free barbecue bean chips that my in-laws bought my wife while she was watching their dogs back in her gluten free phase. Not only did the bean flavor take center stage, but there was a certain disgusting graininess to the texture that made them really off-putting…I haven’t had one in months, yet I can still picture the texture and flavor as if it was yesterday.
Thankfully, LiveGFree’s Tomato Basil Veggie Crisps avoid the “beany” texture and flavor…in fact, I would venture to guess that if you didn’t tell someone these were gluten free, they would have no idea. Each crisp is loaded with a generous helping of tomato and basil flavor, which take center stage, as they should, and the crispy texture is just right, strongly reminiscent of a “typical” potato crisp.
The bags appear small–and are, coming in at 4.5 ounces–but the crisps are small, so there are a lot in each bag. While I really liked the taste, there was also the added benefit that it wasn’t something I could just sit back and crunch on for hours, so that helped limit my serving sizes. These are a special buy, so I’d suggest you hurry in and grab them before they run out!
Overall: 8/10. The combination of potatoes, carrots, and beans come together to form a tasty little gluten free snack crisp, without any grainy textures or off-putting flavors. The tomato and basil comes through front and center, as it should, and there’s a generous helping of seasoning throughout the entire bag. Speaking of the bags: They look small, but since so are the crisps, there are actually a lot in each bag, and the $1.99 price tag isn’t at all bad for a “specialty” product. I’m not part of a gluten free diet, but I picked them up, and I would not hesitate to get them again.
