Trader Joe's Corn, Pea, Bean & Quinoa Crisps

I love seeing new salty crunchy snacks on display. The joy of seeing something savory outweighs the likely hidden truth that another TJ's product has been terminated. Discontinued. Forgotten. That got dark. But yay salty crunchy snacks! 

There's probably a good segment of the population who would read the product title and automatically get turned off. And then there are those of us who love junk food and love that there are now more junk foods disguising themselves as healthy vegetables to allow us to eat more junk food. Would it have been simpler to name them legume crisps? Vegetarian cowboy crisps? Salt and pepper legume crisps? Who wants to call these CPBQ crisps? 

Nitpicking aside, these bear resemblance to a fabulous snack I've had from Costco - the Off the Eaten Path mosaic veggie crisps (much better product name IMO). They're light and crisp but not at all styrofoam-like, which some "healthier" puffed crisps can taste.

 Mind you - this isn't a huge bag. 4.5 oz, which means each serving is about 1 ounce. Which means I could easily finish this bag off myself. Dangerous.

Healthy junk food or not - these are addicting. You can taste most of the individual components except for the quinoa. I suppose the quinoa adds some sort of nuttiness that you really have to search hard to find. The pea and the corn are especially nice. They are exceptionally crunchy but still light, much like the ones from Costco. These are more heavily seasoned with salt and pepper. My first impression was that these were a little too salty for my taste, but once my taste buds adjusted there was no going back. I personally think using these crisps to dunk into some dip is a waste. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of seasoning the crisps in the first place?

I once made kale chips for some college kids that subsist on a monochromatic diet of carbs and meat. They were like, "wow these are surprisingly good. I'd eat kale if they tasted like that!" Which is to say they'd eat it if doused in olive oil, roasted, and liberally seasoned with salt and pepper. Better than no kale I guess? So could you say the same thing for these crisps? "Wow I'd eat quinoa if it tasted like this!" You mean...pressed into a light crispy crunchy snack with some other vegetables so that it no longer resembles a vegetable and instead can be downed by the fistful? Sure.

$2.49 for a 4.5 oz bag. I have a problem with salty crunchy snacks, especially ones disguising themselves as healthy food...can't repurchase. :P

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Corn, Pea, Bean & Quinoa Crisps. Salty and peppery, "healthier" legume crisps. Snack away. 8 out of 10.