Love Chips and Dips? Try These Recipes For Healthier Alternatives

Try these simple recipes at home to replace the fattening fried potato chips with some home baked goodness!

In fact wrong snacking has always been a major hindrance in sustainable weight loss and health gain.

(Photo: iStockphoto)

Most health issues we face today are due to the fact that now we prioritise comfort and convenience over everything else and taste becomes non negotiable. So we gorge on packaged comfort foods completely sidelining the fact that processed foods have an extremely detrimental impact on our health.

In fact wrong snacking has always been a major hindrance in sustainable weight loss and health gain. The biggest culprits here are the easily accessible and widely consumed, potato chips.

They are a formidable foe and weaning people off their satisfying crunch can be quite a task. After all, they pamper the taste buds - and supposedly also help to beat the blues. Every 100 grams of fried chips contain 350 calories and 30 grams of fat, and by the time you feel guilty of binge eating these fried monsters, the damage is already done.

Follow these recipes to get rid of the preservatives, excess sodium, additives, unsafe colour, and swap the fried potato chips with some home baked goodness that offers the same crunch and taste.

Home Baked Chips Recipes

1. Sweet Potato Chips

(Photo: FIT)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit. Cut the sweet potatoes into extremely thin slices.
2. In a large bowl, toss them with the oil, sea salt and pepper.
3. Now place them in a single layer on to an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes (keep a look out for browning), rotating cookies sheets once, until edges are crisp but potatoes are still soft in the centre.
4. Cool for 5 minutes, remove form cookies sheets to parchment paper. Let them cool completely (chips will become crisp as they cool).

These delicious treats are a great source of mineral magnesium which helps in relieving stress and is known as the relaxation mineral.

2. Baked Beetroot Chips

(Photo: FIT)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. With a sharp knife slice your beets into thin slices.
2. Brush a cookie sheet with some olive oil and arrange the beet slices on it.
3. Brush beets with olive oil, salt and pepper on both sides. Put in oven and bake. After 15 minutes turn the beets over and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
4. Take them out and let them cool.

A big bonus of this snack is that the nitrates in beetroot help lower blood pressure and may help to fight heart disease too.

Dips with Chips

More often than not potato chips are accompanied with ketchup which is laden with sugar and salt. Try these healthier, home made alternatives instead. Make tomato dips in just a few simple steps.

1. Salsa Verde Dip

(Photo: FIT)

Method

1. Place tomatoes and jalapenos in a pot filled with water. Bring to a boil and cook until the tomatoes and jalapenos are slightly soft.
2. Add them to a blender along with other ingredients such as onion, lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro.
3. Puree to desired consistency and refrigerate and serve cold.

2. Fresh Tomato Salsa Dip

(Photo: FIT)

Method

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix till all the ingredients are properly combined.
2. Refrigerate this mixture for half an hour. Serve cold.

(The author is a nutritionist, weight management consultant and health writer based in Delhi. She is the author of Don't Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People (Jaico) and Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kickass Traditional Habits for a Fitter You (Rupa).)