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Veggie Straws have become a popular snack for people looking for a healthier alternative to traditional potato chips. Marketed as a nutritious option, these colorful, crunchy straws made from potato starch and various vegetable powders seem like the perfect solution for a healthy snack. But are Veggie Straws really as healthy as they seem?
While they’re an improvement over regular potato chips, they may not deliver on their promises. Despite their vegetable-based colors and appealing marketing, Veggie Straws are highly processed and contain added salt and oil, which can negate some of the supposed health benefits. Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of Veggie Straws and get recommendations for healthier chips.
What are veggie straws?
Veggie Straws are a snack made from a mixture of potato starch and flour, vegetable oil, vegetable powder (such as spinach powder, beetroot powder and tomato paste) and spices. They are shaped like straws or sticks, with colors corresponding to the different vegetables used in their production.
There are different varieties of Veggie Straws, including:
- Sea salt
- Pizza Hut
- Screaming hot
- grill
- Cheddar
- Sour cream and onions
- Cinnamon Apple
Nutrient content
- Nutrition (per 1 oz (38 straws) serving):
- Calories: 130
- Fat: 7 g (saturated fat: 1 g)
- Sodium: 220mg
- Carbohydrates: 17 g (fiber: 0 g, sugar:
- Protein:
The first three ingredients in Veggie Straws are potato starch, potato flour and vegetable oil. This is similar to the ingredients in traditional potato chips, where potatoes, vegetable oil and salt are listed as the only three ingredients. Veggie Straws contain additional ingredients such as spinach powder, tomato paste and cane sugar.
Veggie Straws are often marketed as a healthier alternative to traditional potato chips because they tend to have fewer calories and fat per serving. However, many varieties contain more sodium per serving than Lay’s Classic Potato Chips and also contain less fiber than traditional potato chips.
Health benefits
Gluten-free
One of the main benefits of Veggie Straws is that they are gluten-free, making them a suitable snack choice for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. This allows more people to enjoy a crunchy, savory snack without worrying about negative reactions associated with gluten consumption.
Less fat than conventional potato chips
Veggie Straws contain about 30% less fat than regular potato chips, which can be beneficial for people looking to reduce their fat intake. Additionally, of the 7 grams of fat in each 1-ounce serving, only 1 gram is saturated fat. This makes them a better choice for heart health, as saturated fat can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 13 grams of saturated fat daily.
No artificial flavours or preservatives
Veggie Straws are free from artificial flavors and preservatives, making them a good choice for people who want to avoid these additives.
Health disadvantages
Higher sodium content than regular potato chips
In many cases, Veggie Straws contain more sodium than regular potato chips. For example, a serving of Sea Salt Veggie Straws (28.35 g) contains 220 mg of sodium, while Sour Cream & Onion Veggie Straws contain 370 mg of sodium per serving (28.35 g). For comparison, Lay’s Classic Potato Chips contain 210 mg of sodium per serving (28.35 g). Keep in mind that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend consuming no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. In the case of Sour Cream & Onion Veggie Straws, they contain 16% of the recommended daily amount.
What’s the problem with consuming too much sodium? Sodium binds water. When you consume a lot of sodium, water enters the bloodstream, which can raise your blood pressure. This is called hypertension and causes your heart to work too hard. The pressure of the blood can damage arteries and organs and, over time, increase your risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease.
Low in fiber
Veggie Straws contain no fiber, while regular potato chips contain about 2 grams of fiber per 1-ounce serving. Although 2 grams of fiber isn’t much, any fiber you eat contributes to satiety. Because regular potato chips contain more fiber than Veggie Straws, regular potato chips may keep you fuller longer than an equivalent serving of Veggie Straws.
Low protein
Vegetable straws are also low in protein. Protein is another nutrient that promotes satiety. If you eat a serving of vegetable straws alone, you probably won’t stay full for long because they contain very little protein.
It’s easy to eat too much
Like traditional potato chips, Veggie Straws have high salt and fat content, which makes them over-palatable. This type of food can bypass your satiety mechanism, leading to overeating. Because they are over-palatable and low in satiating nutrients like fiber and protein, they are a snack that is easy to overeat, which can lead to weight gain over time.
Are vegetable straws healthy?
Overall, Veggie Straws can be a tempting choice for people looking for healthier snacks, but their drawbacks outweigh their potential benefits, and from a nutritional standpoint, they’re virtually identical to traditional potato chips. They’re high in sodium and low in protein and fiber, making them overly palatable and leading to overeating.
For a more balanced and filling snack, you can pair Veggie Straws with a nutrient-rich dip like hummus, which adds protein and fiber to keep you fuller longer. However, we wouldn’t recommend Veggie Straws as a regular snack, as they don’t provide many nutrients. Instead, choose whole grain crackers, raw vegetables, popcorn from a hot air machine, or healthier chips like protein chips or lentil chips.
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