Trader Joe's Roasted Plantain Chips

Don't be fooled by the monkey. These are not bananas. 

I've decided to give up salty crunchy things for Lent this year. Yes, it's not quite that time yet BUT STILL. The ultimate goal is to fast from lesser joys to feast on greater ones.  But what could be greater, more satisfying and comforting than salty crunchy things? Good question. That's the whole point of the fasting. Anyway, the mere act of publishing this into the blogosphere solidifies this into the real deal. Naturally until then, I'll be sampling anything from the salty crunchy aisle I manage to acquire. 

I've seen these plantain chips lurking on the shelves for a lonnnnng lonnnnng time, and I've avoided them because they resemble bananas. I don't have a very long do-not-eat-list, but bananas top the list. (The exceptions: banana bread and any other banana product where the banana taste is cleverly disguised). I know plantains ARE NOT bananas, but it's still somewhat of a psychological roadblock for me. But since I've enjoyed savory plantains, I picked them up anyway. 

I've never had plantain chips before, so I have nothing to use as the standard. Some people online have said these are not "authentic" enough, which is probably true to a degree. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that these are not the least bit sweet, which is wonderful news for the salty crunchy lover. They were pleasantly salty, more arduously crunchy than most chips, and very starchy. They remind me of poker chips, if poker chips were made of crunchy starch.  They're probably easier to make at home than regular potato chips - just slice and bake! I must get on that. 

I enjoyed these so much that I've been avoiding them because I KNOW I will eat the whole thing in one or two sittings because they're not too expensive at $1.69 or $1.79 per bag. Eek.

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Roasted Plantain Chips. Savory, starchy, crunchy NOT bananas. 8 out of 10.