Anyone who knows me know that I’m a total crisps fiend. I’ve had a love affair with the little discs of joy for as long as I can remember, and one of my favourite comfort snacks (after being introduced to it a couple of years ago) is potato crisps and salsa. I like it heaps better than corn chips and salsa, but I’m weird like that.

Once I went low salt I looked for low salt potato crisps – I knew that they’re not very rare because low salt corn chips were relatively easy to find. Well, yes and no. Thomas Chipman low salt potato chips were the only low salt crisps that I can find in Disappointing Woolies, but they’re widely available in all good grocery stores (usually in the health food aisle), gourmet food shops and delis. They’re not very cheap at $3.40 per 100 g pack, then again that’s not a bad thing because it forces me to eat less junk. And they are junk food, just slightly better for you than your bog standard potato crisps. Thomas Chipman chips are certified gluten free, certified organic, cholesterol free, dairy free, vegan and certified halal and kosher. It’s also Australian made and owned if that’s something you look for.

Taste wise these chips are fantastic. Because they’re low in salt, the potato flavour really shines – these are probably the most potato-y crisps I’ve ever had. The chips are also cut slightly thicker than normal potato chips so each serve is very satisfying. The only downside is that the chips are a bit oilier than what I’m used to and it’s high in saturated fat (it’s junk food after all). Despite that I’m a huge fan – so big a fan that I’ve whipped up a salsa recipe just to have with the crisps!

Tomato Salsa
Makes approximately 2 cups

1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Spanish/red onion, finely chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 green capsicum, finely diced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 400 g can no added salt diced tomatoes
Chilli flakes to taste
1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
Dash lemon juice

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a medium saucepan. Sautee garlic and onion until onions have softened. Add jalapenos and green capsicum. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add cumin, smoked paprika, tomatoes and chilli flakes. Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes (less if you like your veggies more crunchy). Stir in sugar and lemon juice – you may need to play around with the amount of sugar and lemon juice to get your preferred sweet/sour balance.

Nutritional information per serve (approx. 1/4 cup, not including crisps)

Approx. sodium count: 4 mg
Approx. calories: 35

Verdict: Can’t talk. Must eat. 4.5 salt shakers

Thomas Chipman Potato Chips nutritional information

Nutrition information	Per 50 g serve	Per 100 g
Energy	260 cals	521 cals
Protein	4.2 g	8.4 g
Total fat	13.5 g (5.6 g saturated)	27.0 g (11.2 g saturated)
Carbohydrates	30.3 g (< 0.1 g sugar)	60.6 g (< 0.1 g sugar)
Sodium	47.5 mg	95 mg

Thomas Chipman website.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 9:41 pm and is filed under Low Sodium Recipes, Product Review, Vegetarian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.