By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.
mary_thompson/flickr
I love veggie chips and I pay WAY too much for these crispy treats. I convinced myself that they are healthy and therefore it is OK to pay at least twice as much as I would pay for a bag of regular chips. Boy, have I been taken in by packaging.
The fact is that packaged veggie chips are healthier than potato chips but still contain carbs, fats, and sodium.
How about controlling the fat and salt by making them yourself?
My favorite veggie chips are the ones made from beets. They are so colorful and impossibly swirled with white and color. Turns out you can make your own by
roasting them for just 30 minutes. No frying.
- Just grab a fresh beet from your local farmer’s market.
- Scrub well, but don’t peel.
- Slice thinly using whatever means you have available. I’ll be using my Cuisinart with slicer attachment.
- Place on a greased cookie sheet. Don’t let them overlap.
- Spray with a non-stick spray. (I’d like to come up with an alternative to this step.)
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Roast for at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Turn chips over and roast for another 15 minutes or until crisp.
- Eat. Yum.
You can make chips out of lots of different veggies. I also like carrot chips.
Another great snack that is way more nutritious if you make it yourself is fruit leather. When you make your own fruit leather, you can leave out most, if not all, of the sugar and additives. If you are lucky enough to have fruit trees on your property, this is a great way to use all that fruit. Remember to share with your friends and neighbors.
Do you know of other snack foods you can make yourself?
Browse the rest of our frugal recipes.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
Instead of using the spray, after you place the chips on the greased sheet, give them a slight wiggle, and turn over. They will be greased without the spray.
Using like a Pampered Chef mister, you can use olive oil-important in your diet-instead and this helps to salt/seasonings “stick” to the chip
If you don’t have a “mister”, you can put the veggie slices in a bowl, then drizzle olive oil (I would use my garlic oil, which is a combo of olive and canola oils plus 3-4 smashed cloves of garlic, kept in the fridge for a multitude of purposes). Lightly toss the veggie slices, the place on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil, which doesn’t need to be sprayed. When the crisped chips come out of the oven, just sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt over all.
Buy a bottle of “i can’t believe it’s not butter” spray. When you use up all the butter inside, wash it out well and refill with olive oil. Works just fine as a free mister.
@Kiersten ~ That’s a great idea! Does the sprayer get clogged the way some other spritzer bottles do? If not, I’ll give this a try.
Thanks for your great solutions to non-stick spray. EllieD your garlic oil sounds fabulous.
@Bobbi ~
Using half olive and half canola oils keeps it from “setting” in the fridge. EVOO will generally “set” by itself. And the smashed cloves give just the right hint of garlic without being overpowering. Healthier than butter, and you only need to use a small amount.