- How are Beanitos chips made?
- We always start with whole beans, carefully sort, wash and cook the beans in small batches. Next, we combine them with whole grain rice (also adding in whole brown flaxseed to the pinto chip recipe) to create special dough which we then shape and cut into round chips. Our chips are baked, then flash-fried in pure vegetable oil and finished with a light dusting of sea salt or natural seasoning.
- What flavors and varieties of Beanitos chips are there?
- Beanitos come in four all natural great tasting varieties: Black Bean, Pinto Bean & Flaxseed, Chipotle BBQ and Cheddar Cheese.
- Can I eat too many Beanitos chips in one sitting?
- This is unlikely to happen because our chips are so high in fiber, which helps to fill you up faster. In fact, Beanitos chips have more fiber in a single serving than some potato and corn chips have in a whole bag! Compare the fiber in Beanitos to the fiber in corn or potato chips and you'll see that the only thing those other chips are high in is empty calories! Beanitos Bean Chips have more fiber in a single serving than some chips have in a whole bag too.
- Why beans?
- It's no secret: beans are loaded with health benefits but, sadly, are underused in the U.S. diet. Chock-full of vitamins and minerals, they are also high in fiber and protein and contain complex carbohydrates. In addition, both black beans and pinto beans are naturally low glycemic. Recent medical and nutrition research suggests that adhering to a low glycemic diet contributes to overall good health and wellness and can curb life-threatening health-related issues such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and metabolic syndrome. Bean Brand Foods created Beanitos with these factors in mind. Beanitos chips are certified low glycemic (index AND load), are trans-fat free, and are wheat and gluten free.
- Will eating Beanitos give me gas?
- Beanitos will not give you gas. Using a natural, proprietary method, Bean Brand Foods has developed a process that eliminates the common side effects some people associate with eating beans or bean-based products. Remember though, Beanitos are fiber-rich, and we suggest a measured approach when adding fiber to one's diet.
- Is this new? Aren't there other bean chips on the market?
- There are some bean 'crisps,' out there, including some made with soy. But you can't really use these as true snack chips, for things like dipping or making nachos.
Plus, some snack manufacturers market chips to consumers that claim to be bean chips. However, if you look closely at the ingredients in these chips, you will discover that most of them - if not all-are chips containing little-to-no actual beans! At best, they use beans as a supplemental ingredient, such as bean 'flavor' and most contain corn as a main ingredient!
The bottom line is that it is hard work to make a bean-based chip that also tastes great. It took us two years to get the Beanitos formula just right. Creating a unique product that delivers low glycemic results required extensive research and development. The result: chips made from beans instead of potatoes, wheat, or corn.
When in doubt, just compare the Nutrition Facts. If they are not high in fiber and protein like Beanitos, they simply aren’t real Bean Chips!
- Why now?
- The U.S. diet is saturated with corn. It's in most everything we eat, from manufactured foods such as sodas, juices, salad dressings, most cheeses, meats, fast food and, of course, chips! In addition, most folks do not get nearly enough fiber in their diet. With Beanitos, there is now a delicious and easy way to cut the corn while increasing things our bodies actually need!
Beanitos is changing the way Americans eat by educating consumers on their options. The simplest lesson is to cut the empty calories. And Beanitos makes it easy!
- What's so bad about corn?
- Corn is the single biggest ingredient in the American diet which, because of subsidies to the U.S. farmer and a variety of other factors, is used in the manufacturing of most food products. In addition to being used as feed to fatten cows, pigs and poultry, it's a big, fat kernel of simple starch that can be broken down and re-assembled to make high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, baking powder, sucrose, starch, and margarine (to name a few!) The big problem is that corn, as it appears in most processed foods (including leading snack chips like Fritos®, Doritos® and Tostitos®), has minimal nutritional value. What's more, corn in some of these altered states - including high-fructose corn syrup - is believed to be contributing to a public health crisis in our country by fueling obesity, particularly among children who consume a disproportionate amount of soft drinks, juices & traditional snack chips.
It is estimated that over 4,000 items in the typical supermarket contain corn. So, the more manufactured products that contain corn you consume, the greater your intake of empty calories is, and the greater your risk of becoming obese. This is especially a problem in lower income communities, where fast food and sodas are cheaper than organic produce and grass-fed meats.
