Lundberg: Rice Chips: Sea Salt

“The original taste of sea salt with the delicious crunch of brown rice.

Lundberg® Sea Salt Rice Chips™ are great right out of the bag or with your favorite dip or salsa.”

There are 1.5 oz (43g) of chips in each bag. For a comparison, a snack sized bag of Doritos has 1 ¾ oz (49.6g) of chips. There was about 9-14 chips in the bag, which is a sad amount but that is expected from most chips nowadays. They seem similar to tortilla chips, except they are made out of brown rice (not corn) and are whole grain, kosher, non-GMO, and gluten free.

Nutrition Facts	Ingredients
Serving Size: 1.5 oz (43g) Calories: 150 Calories from fat: 70 Total fat: 8g Saturated fat: 0.5g Trans Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 90mg Total Carbohydrates: 18g Fiber: 1g Sugars: 0g Protein: 2g Vitamin C 2% Calcium 2%	>Organic Rice Flour (Parboiled Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour) >Organic Whole Grain Brown Rice >High Oleic Expeller- Pressed Safflower or Sunflower Oil >Organic Whole Grain Corn Masa Flour >Organic Sesame Seeds >Sea Salt >Organic Caramel Color

Since these are most comparable to tortilla chips, I am going to compare both of their nutrition facts. For one ounce, typical tortilla chips have about 140 calories, 6g of fat, 1g saturated fat, 110g sodium, 19g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, and 2g protein. There are not any significant nutritional benefits of rice chips compared to tortilla chips except that they have less calories. In this case, picking between these two chips will just come down to taste preference.

In addition to chips, Lundberg sells entrees, dishes, grains, snacks, and baking ingredients. The price of these rice chips varies from store to store, but they retail for about $1-2 for 1.5 oz, and $3 for 6 oz. For reference, a 32oz bag of Santina’s tortilla chips are $2.

The Lundberg website has a 'Where to Buy' page where you can enter in your zip code and a map showing local stores will appear. Some common grocery stores around me that carry this brand are Stop n Shop, Super Stop n Shop, and Whole Foods.

I love these chips. I much prefer them over tortilla chips, and they are cheap enough that I would not mind buying them over and over again. They are thicker than ordinary chips, and a lot crunchier. They taste like a bowl of salted and buttered brown rice! These rice chips are very hearty-- after eating the 1.5oz bag, I was content. These won’t make you overindulge like potato chips do. Though I could get a huge bag of tortilla chips for $2, I would choose these instead as I am only feeding myself. If you want to feed an entire family, perhaps these chips would not be for you since the largest size is only 6oz.

COST: If you are feeding yourself like me, these chips are the perfect size won’t hurt the wallet. If you are feeding a family, you should stick to chips that come in large bags.

TASTE: Buttery, salty, tastes like a bowl of rice.

AVAILABILITY: Available in fairly many stores

NUTRITION: Not much better than corn tortilla chips, but a plus is that they are whole grain

Earnest Eats: Chewy Granola Bar: Power Grains & Flax

“Bite into beautiful simplicity in our Power Grains & Flax bar – it makes the superfood grains the hero and adds nutritious and yummy almonds, sunflower seeds, and flax to create essential fuel for your day!”

This granola bar is a bit on the small side, weighing in at 1.2 oz (35g). For reference, a cliff bar is generally 2.4 oz. The front has a little bragging blurb about the ingredients- “Superfood Grains, Oats, Amaranth, Quinoa, Vegan, Wheat Free, 100% Natural”.

Nutrition Facts	Ingredients
Serving Size: 1 bar Calories: 140 Calories from fat: 40 Total fat: 4.5g Saturated fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 85mg Total Carbohydrates: 23g Fiber: 2g Sugars: 7g Protein: 3g 2% of daily Calcium intake 6% of daily Iron intake	>Superfood Grain Blend (Granola [Whole Oats, Cane Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Canola and/or Safflower and/or Sunflower Oil], Oats, Quinoa, and Amaranth) >Brown Rice Syrup >Rice Crisps (Rice Flour, Sugar, Barley Malt Extract, Salt) >Sunflower seeds >Almonds >Flax Seeds >Canola Oil >Sea Salt >Natural Flavor ALLERGENS: Almonds

I bolded nutritional stats that disprove the initial thought that this bar is nutritious, as there is only 2g of fiber and 3g of protein. People often associate natural with nutritious, which is not always the case. The ingredients do contain beneficial foods, but since there is such a small amount of each, this is not reflected in the nutrition facts. There is also 7g of sugar, which for reference, a Nature Valley protein bar (40g) only has 6g

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You can get a box of 5 of these granola bars for $5.67 on Amazon , and $5.99 on the Earnest Eats website. (However, right now they are on sale for $3.99 on their website)

That is roughly $1.20 per bar, and $1.00 per ounce. These are on the cheaper side compared to other granola bars.

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As far as I can see, you can only find these bars online. The brand has other food products, and some can be found on Walmart.com. My local Walmart does not carry this brand but you can check with yours to see if they do

The bar is very dense and chewy, with a strong oaty taste. The sweetness is not overpowering like I initially thought it would be, instead, it is quite mellow. The density of the bar did make it feel more filling (compared to other granola bars). Though I did enjoy the flavor and price tag, I do not see myself purchasing these again as I generally look for more nutritionally balanced snacks. If you are not concerned with that, and you are looking for an alternative to the overly sweet granola bars you find today, then this bar could be for you!

COST:
$1.20 each, not bad but they’re smaller than average granola bars

TASTE: Not overly sweet, oaty, dense

AVAILABILITY: online mostly, found at select stores

NUTRITION: More natural and healthier compared to commercial granola bars, but nothing overtly healthy. This is more of a sweet treat rather than a health option