Free Snacking: Spudsy

Free snacking is baaaaaack baby! This time with a savory option without garlic powder, brought to you by my neighbor who found them at Whole Foods. So many of the dairy free “cheesy” flavored things have garlic that I’d given up on checking each package. We still can’t eat the ranch flavored Spudsy things, but at least we can eat their cheddar puffs!

Spudsy’s goal is not just allergy related- they original got into business to help with food waste. They take sweet potatoes that are perfectly fine to eat, but too ugly to sell, and make them into “fries” or “puffs”.  Unfortunately my store only had ranch fries so we just tried the puffs.

Cheeto puffs with no allergens? Why, yes, thank you neighbor!

Vegan Cheesy Cheddar Sweet Potato Puffs

Okay so the household was split on these guys.

Adults who haven’t eaten a real Cheeto in many months: LOVED them. Could eat the whole bag in one sitting. It didn’t have the same bright orange… fake cheese flavor that gets caked onto your fingers when you eat Cheetos or nacho cheese Doritos; but it did have a vaguely cheesy taste and the puff texture was great.

Kid who has never eaten real cheese: liked them.

Kid who eats real cheese on the regular: did not like them one bit. Tried to like them. I mean really, truly tried. Not like when he "tries" a bite of a vegetable that he’s already in the process of spitting out before it touches his mouth. He tried them on 3 separate occasions. It came in a crinkly package! It’s junk food! He really wanted to like them. He did not.

Cinnamon Churro Sweet Potato Puffs

Household wasn’t as split on these- adults liked them, kids loved them. I think they do have a slightly strange aftertaste, but I can’t tell what it is from the ingredient list. Maybe pea protein isolate? I’m really not sure why that is even included- the nutrition for both puffs is very similar the Cheeto puffs (similar calories, similar protein, though the cinnamon sugar sweet puffs do have more added sugar). Whatever it is, it’s just a little off putting and I didn’t notice it on the cheesy puffs. 

I also think that churro is maybe not the best qualifier. Sure, churros have a similar delicious cinnamon flavor, but what makes a churro a churro is the crispy fried ridges on the outside with a doughy delicious center. Puffs, on the other hand, aren’t as crispy on the outside and aren’t a soft on the inside. With all that said, they weren’t bad! I just liked the cheddar ones more.

 

So if you haven't had a real cheese in a while, try Spudsy and save a sweet potato.