Why swap it
Chips are fried, fast-digesting, and engineered with the exact combination of salt, fat, and crunch that makes stopping at a handful so hard.
Read why: What potato chips are actually doing to your maintenance →
Best choices
These fit the Weigh to Stay approach: real food, with refined carbs and added sugar kept low.
- Roasted, salted nuts. Crunch and salt, with protein and healthy fat. Portion them out instead of eating from the bag.
- Baked cheese crisps. Crunchy, salty, and very low in carbs.
- Homemade beef chips. Thin-sliced lean beef, seasoned and dried until crisp. All protein, no carbs, and seriously satisfying. Heat the beef to 160°F before or after drying to make it food-safe.
- Seaweed snacks. Light, salty, and crisp, with very few calories.
- Vegetables with a savory dip. Cucumbers, peppers, or snap peas with guacamole or a yogurt dip.
In moderation
Better than the original, and a fine everyday choice. Just keep the portion reasonable.
- Air-popped popcorn. A whole grain with real fiber, but it adds up. Measure a small portion.
- Baked vegetable chips. Better than fried potato chips, but check the label, since many are mostly starch.
What I use to make beef chips
I bought this and made the most delicious beef chips ever with it. Crunchy, salty, and pure protein, which makes them one of the best chip swaps there is.
Shopping tip
Never eat from the bag. Pour a portion into a bowl and put the bag away. That one habit does a lot of the work.
← All Healthy Food Alternatives
Some links on this page go to products I personally use. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.