Alisa Fleming ~ If you frequent food blogs, then there is no doubt that you have seen the kale chip trend. Drizzle pieces of kale with oil, sprinkle with salt, then roast until crispy … surprisingly the result is not unlike potato chips! Of course, it is only a matter of time before food manufacturers pick up on a good idea, and this trend caught the eye of Blue Mountain Organics. They recently released their new line of Earth Chips (aka kale chips) in three super-powered flavors.

1. While I usually promote homemade as more nutritious than store-bought, Earth Chips could be an exception. Here are a few advantages they may have over homemade kale chips (besides not having to make them yourself!):
2. The people at Blue Mountain Organics are experts at creating “raw” snacks. Their Earth Chips are actually low-temperature dehydrated to preserve much of the nutrition (vitamins A, C, and K and minerals iron, manganese, and calcium … for example) that can be lost in higher temperature oven roasting. If you are like me, and do not own a dehydrator, then the Earth Chips win this round.
3. Earth Chips are made without added oils. I’m not that skilled as of yet … my homemade chippies do use some oil. Once again, I am impressed.

Earth Chips come in three scrumptious flavors, packing in even more nutrition from the rather virtuous added ingredients …

(Disclaimer: These were some of the most unattractive food subjects I have ever photographed, but trust me, they taste  much better than they look)

Nutty Cheeze Kale – Holy Velveeta batman! When I first spotted Earth Chips, I thought “Kale chips? Been there done that – boring!” But these are definitely not your run of the mill, roasted in the oven and sprinkled with salt pieces of kale. These are perfectly crunchy, bursting with cheesy flavor, clusters of seeds and kale (really no longer identifiable in flavor as kale – a good thing for me!). I was shocked but pleased by the savory flavor rush.

Ingredients: Kale, Cashews, Nutritional Yeast, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Red Bell Peppers, Lemon Juice, Sea Salt, Turmeric.

Cheezy Spice Kale – These were pretty much identical to the Nutty Cheezy Kale version, but with a spicy kick from paprika and chipotle.

Ingredients: Kale, Cashews, Nutritional Yeast, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Red Bell Peppers, Lemon Juice, Sea Salt, Paprika, Chipotle, Turmeric.

 Chocolate Kale – I was told that this flavor would be “nothing like you have ever tasted.” I have to agree. I loved the rich chocolate taste, the light sweetness, the hint of coconut, and the wonderful crunch. My taste buds really couldn’t decide if this was a snack or a sweet. For me, the only drawback for this flavor, was that the lack of salt (or possibly the sweet contrast) allowed me to get hints of the kale flavor (I’m not particularly fond of kale), which seemed a tad off. Fortunately, this seemed to disappear as I took my third, and fourth, and fifth bites.

Ingredients: Kale, Cashews, Coconut Sugar, Coconut Flakes, Chia Seeds, Cacao Butter, Cacao Powder, Coconut Oil, Vanilla Bean.

How else do Earth Chips differ from many homemade kale chips? While your homemade chips may actually be chips sized and individually crispy, Earth Chips are more like big crispy clusters. I’m not complaining, I would probably just call them crispy clusters instead of chips.

Because of the extra cost of buying premade snacks, I will probably keep experimenting at home with my own veggie chips. However, when traveling or out running errands, these will be great to pack along or pick up at Whole Foods (I definitely rely on that place when away from home!).

Review and photos by Alisa Fleming, author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook, and founder of GoDairyFree.org. For more information on these products, and to purchase, visit the Blue Mountain Organics Website.