We've all eaten a lot of chips. That's because we tend to crave carbs, especially those with a crunch. That makes it hard to reduce your carb intake, but we found some alternatives to potato chips -- such as kale.
Memorial Hermann Dietician Penny Wilson said, "It doesn't look like competition to potato chips, but it actually is."
Wilson says kale chips have more vitamins and fewer calories and about a third fewer carbs. While the kale chips look like, well, kale, the taste was a different story.
"They have a really nice crunch I find satisfying," Wilson said.
Our taste testers agreed.
To reduce pasta carbs, Wilson suggests replacing pasta with cooked spaghetti squash.
"Scrape it and you see it becomes like spaghetti," she said.
You reduce and save 178 calories. Another suggestion -- mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes.
"Season it like you would potatoes, you really can't tell the difference," Wilson explained.
Fewer carbs, and 30 calories versus 200 calories.
Our volunteers found two out of four of the chip alternatives were as tasty as potato chips. Beware though, some of these tasty alternatives to carbs are expensive. Many of those kale chips were $6 a bag.
You can make your own kale chips by baking and seasoning kale from the produce department.
