Vegetable crisps are officially pointless

I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this but vegetable crisps – y’know, those fried carrot crisp things – are shit. They’re shit. Why would you eat a deep fried beetroot when you could eat a packet of Squares, for example, or some Wotsits? Maybe you like them better, in which case you’re wrong and cannot be trusted to make decisions. Maybe you’re at a party and they’re the only thing you can shove in your mouth as you stand by a table attempting not to make eye contact with anybody, in which case knock yourself out.

Or maybe you’re eating them because you think – because everyone has told you this – that they are healthier. If this is the case, I regret to inform you that new research has found they’re as bad for you as normal crisps because, well, they are fried in fat and covered with salt.

A study from Wren Kitchens has analysed (looked at the packets of) a variety of different crisps and found that veggie crisps are waaaay worse for you, with most packs containing kind of disgusting levels of oil and salt. It’s part of their new ‘Behind the Label’ tool, which aims to give you “the truth” about so called healthy alternatives. 

“Crisps are crisps, and even if they are made with vegetables, they are likely to contain too much in the way of fat, saturated fat and salt,” said nutritional expert Charlotte Stirling-Reed. “In fact, the vegetable crisps here have higher levels of saturated fat and salt than some well-known, regular crisp brands.”

A bad of Tyrrell’s vegetable crisps, for example, might sound healthy, containing beetroot, parsnips and carrots. But in actual fact they contain 14.82g of fat in a bag – twice as much as you’d find in a cheeseburger in McDonald’s and more than you’d get in a Mars Bar or a Krispy Kreme donut (though they do have fewer calories). 

Tyrrell’s say that their crisps are a “special treat to be enjoyed rather than a healthy snack” and are meant to be enjoyed in moderation. But you may as well stick to a packet of Discos or Nik Naks, if you ask us. If you’re going to eat stuff that’s bad for you, the least you can expect is that is tastes nice.