Potato Chip Substitute

I am not a person who can stick to a diet.  The attempt at such lasts about.... a couple of hours?  Lol.  I have been one of the lucky few in this country never to need a diet.  I've always been very skinny (boney, scrawny, etc).  I even had a boyfriend at one time who believed I was anorexic.  What?!  In the past, I've been known to put down a lot of food.

I have noticed that I get a little older (I am only 30 after all) that my metabolism changes.  I knew it would happen.  And I noticed when it did.  I used to be able to eat an entire medium pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut all by myself in one sitting -- no side effects.  Now if I were to do that, I'd be bloated for days.  Lol.  I've never been one to eat only junk food, but I do enjoy it.  I have noticed that I eat too much of it at times.  I go in spurts.

When I worked 3 jobs, my diet was awful.  I worked 18-20 hours a day, 4-5 days a week.  Made decent money, but it tore up my body in more ways than one.  When I worked for the police department and went through the academy, I ate very healthy.  I found out through the department nutrionist how to eat correctly for my body type, gender, and activity level.  Learned a lot from her.  When I left the department and was self-employed part-time, substitute teaching here and there, and unemployed the rest of the time, my diet was crappy.  I ate whatever was convenient and "felt good" (aka junk food).  I still ran a lot, but nothing like training in the academy.  Body started to show it too, but I didn't get fat.  Then I got my current job as an orchestra director at a high school.  My diet is rather controlled again and I eat healthier when school is in full swing.  During the summer, I eat more junk food.  School's in session again, so my diet is healthier again.  Lol.

I'm not very creative when it comes to eating more vegetables.  I like them just fine, but I crave saltier things for the most part (especially when I'm training regularly).  A co-worker bought me a bag of his favorite snack: Terra Vegetable Chips.  I love potato chips; he said it was a good alternative without going super-healthy.

I love them!  I am totally addicted!  I ate half the bag that afternoon.  I've brought them with my lunch for two days and now they're all gone.  They have a similar texture to potato chips.  I love the seasoning on these.  They don't taste like potato chips (obviously!), but they still are great to snack on.  They're a bit sweet.  Not as crunchy as potato chips, but that's fine.  There's a decent amount of fiber in them and not nearly as many carbs and fats.  I'm a fan.  :)

If you haven't yet, give them a shot!  One ounce of these equals one serving of vegetables.  How easy is that?!  They aren't Ruffles (my favorite potato chips), but they sure make a good substitute in my pantry.

Trader Joe's has some of their own vegetable chips.  I bought some last night.  I'll be trying them tomorrow for lunch.  :)