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BOTTOM LINE: Pleasantly surprised.

Usually, I bring fruit to the office for my mid-afternoon snack. But sometimes, a little crunch is needed. Before I knew it, a bag of soy crisps was staring me in the face. To be honest, they didn’t look particularly appealing.

Tiny rice-cake snacks? The word “Styrofoam” comes to mind: dry, bland and tasteless. One bite in, however, and I was converted. This was a great little snack! They are satisfying, crunchy and they pack a nice taste punch.

A few stats for the Salt & Pepper flavor:

• calories/ounce – 107.7
• % of total calories that come from fat – 14.3% (9 fat calories per gram)

FIRST, THE BAD:

Salt, salt, salt. 380mg in 1.3 oz of snack. That is a lot of sodium – about 16% of your daily-recommended allowance, in fact. (The Bar-B-Que flavor has 22%!) So, this is something to consider, especially for those who are watching their salt intake.

Addictive. Is that a bad thing? Kind of – yes. The first time I ate these, I didn’t finish the bag. The second time around, I was ready for another bag 5 minutes later. Maybe that was just my mood. But, I can fall into eating blindly and nonstop when there’s a munchy snack like this.

NOW, THE GOOD:

Taste. They’re quite yummy. And they have a great crunch factor. They are pretty loud to eat, which makes me feel like I’m eating more than I really am.

Low-cal, low fat. These are pretty satisfying for the calories consumed. The fat content is do-able. You’re not going to break the bank on this one – even if you do have two servings (in one 1.3 oz bag).

Other miscellaneous healthy bits. Soybeans are considered a “complete protein” – meaning that they "contain all the amino acids essential to human nutrition, which must be supplied in the diet because they cannot be synthesized by the human body." (Source: FDA.gov) I’m a vegetarian, so for me, every little bit of protein counts, as long as I’m not trading in calories and fat for it. Plus, the current issue (as of 7/5/07) of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that "soy proteins with or without isoflavones can decrease LDL [cholesterol] levels and increase HDL [cholesterol] levels, a result that does impact beneficially on heart health." (Source: Central & Eastern Europe Food Industry)

MY CONCLUSION:

If you are watching your sodium intake, this snack may not be right for you. Personally, I don’t think I’ll make it a daily habit, but it’s a nice, crunchy treat to have when I’m craving a loud, tasty munch.

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