2018 Top Healthy Gourmet Snacks Announced
The world is full of fantastic, delicious, and innovative healthy gourmet snacks. That’s why we’ve tasted some of the best, and here’s what we found.
The 4th Annual Snack Awards competition rewards the Top Healthy Gourmet Snack creations of the Year.
Products from across the country entered into this competition, and were sent to a select jury panel of food & wine media and industry judges located throughout North America. This panel tasted, reviewed and voted on which they consider to be the “Top Healthy Gourmet Snacks of the Year” by the TASTY AWARDS panel, the Academy of Media Tastemakers
As one judge said, “I need to make a general comment about snacks. There are different reasons to have snack such as between meal treats, to go with a beverage, to have as an hors d’oeuvre at a party, to munch on while you work, to be combined with a dip or something else and there are a few more.”
The Healthy Snack Awards look for the tastiest, most appealing , and healthiest snack choices on the market. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bar, a chip, popcorn, or nuts, as long as it looks good and tastes good and is good for you then it has the chance of making the list. Gluten Free, Sugar Free, or just made with fresh and natural ingredients, the bottom line is that they have to satisfy your urge to munch.
The judges and reviewers for this year’s selections come from a panel of gurus from the Academy of Media Tastemakers. Here are their favorites
Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips – Rosemary Herb 3.5oz
Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps : Sesame Citrus
Effie’s Homemade
Saffron Road Dark Chocolate Crunchy Chickpeas
AWARD CATEGORY: FLAVOR
- Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips – Rosemary Herb 3.5oz
- Saffron Road Dark Chocolate Crunchy Chickpeas
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps : Sesame Citrus
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Oatcakes
- Nonni’s Artisan Thin Cookies
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse CrIsps : Cranberry Pistachio “The Original”
- Wai Lana Snacks Chia Cassava Chips – Lightly Salted 3.5oz
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Cocoacakes
- Banner Road Baking Company The Original Granola
- Wai Lana Snacks Turmeric Cheese Cassava Chips 3.5oz
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps : Salted Almond
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Ryecakes
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Maple Sugar & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- Saffron Road Chili Lime ChickBean Crisps
- Enjoy Life Foods Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Chewy Bar
- Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Marshmallow Grain & Seed Bar
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Garlicky Dill SuperSeedz
- GF Harvest LLC Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal GoPack
- GF Harvest LLC Sweet Cinnamon & Golden Raisins Oatemal GoPack
- Banner Road Baking Company Thirst Aid Kit Snack Mix (Granola-ish)
- popchips popchips zesty jalapeno cheddar
AWARD CATEGORY: BEST INGREDIENT COMBINATIONS
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse CrIsps : Cranberry Pistachio “The Original””
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- popchips popchips zesty jalapeno cheddar
- Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips – Rosemary Herb 3.5oz
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Oatcakes”
- Enjoy Life Foods Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Chewy Bar”
- Saffron Road Chili Lime ChickBean Crisps”
- Wai Lana Snacks Turmeric Cheese Cassava Chips 3.5oz”
AWARD CATEGORY: BEST SWEET SNACK
- Enjoy Life Foods Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Chewy Bar”
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt SuperSeedz”
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Cocoacakes
- GF Harvest LLC Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Muffin GoPack
- Nonni’s Artisan Thin Cookies
- Banner Road Baking Company The Original Granola
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Oatcakes
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Ryecakes
- Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Marshmallow Grain & Seed Bar
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse CrIsps : Cranberry Pistachio “The Original”
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Maple Sugar & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- Saffron Road Salted Caramel Crunchy Chickpeas
- Saffron Road Dark Chocolate Crunchy Chickpeas
AWARD CATEGORY: BEST SAVORY SNACK
- Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips – Rosemary Herb 3.5oz
- Saffron Road Chili Lime ChickBean Crisps
- Wai Lana Snacks Chia Cassava Chips – Lightly Salted 3.5oz
AWARD CATEGORY: HEALTHINESS
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Garlicky Dill SuperSeedz
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Maple Sugar & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- Banner Road Baking Company The Original Granola
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps : Sesame Citrus
- popchips popchips nutter puffs
AWARD CATEGORY: BEST OVERALL SNACK EXPERIENCE
- Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips – Rosemary Herb 3.5oz
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt supersede
- popchips popchips zesty jalapeno cheddar
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Oatcakes
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Ryecakes
- Enjoy Life Foods Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Chewy Bar
- Nonni’s Artisan Thin Cookies
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Garlicky Dill SuperSeedz
- Saffron Road Dark Chocolate Crunchy Chickpeas
- Wai Lana Snacks Turmeric Cheese Cassava Chips 3.5oz
- Wai Lana Snacks Chia Cassava Chips – Lightly Salted 3.5oz
AWARD CATEGORY: BEST PACKAGING
- Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips – Rosemary Herb 3.5oz
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Garlicky Dill SuperSeedz
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- Banner Road Baking Company The Original Granola
- Banner Road Baking Company Thirst Aid Kit Snack Mix (Granola-ish)
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Oatcakes
- GF Harvest LLC Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Muffin GoPack
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps : Salted Almond
- Saffron Road Dark Chocolate Crunchy Chickpeas
AWARD CATEGORY: UNIQUENESS
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- Saffron Road Dark Chocolate Crunchy Chickpeas
- Saffron Road Chili Lime ChickBean Crisps
- Wai Lana Snacks Chia Cassava Chips – Lightly Salted 3.5oz
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Organic Garlicky Dill SuperSeedz
- Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips – Rosemary Herb 3.5oz
- Wai Lana Snacks Turmeric Cheese Cassava Chips 3.5oz
- GF Harvest LLC Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Muffin GoPack
- Kathie’s Kitchen – SuperSeedz Maple Sugar & Sea Salt SuperSeedz
- Saffron Road Salted Caramel Crunchy Chickpeas
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse CrIsps : Cranberry Pistachio “The Original”
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps : Sesame Citrus
- Enjoy Life Foods Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Chewy Bar
- Banner Road Baking Company Thirst Aid Kit Snack Mix (Granola-ish)
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Ryecakes
- Enjoy Life Foods Maple Sweet Potato Grain & Seed Bar
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Oatcakes
- Effie’s Homemade Effie’s Homemade Cocoacakes
- Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Marshmallow Grain & Seed Bar
- Nonni’s Artisan Thin Cookies
- Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps : Salted Almond
- popchips popchips nutter puffs
- popchips popchips zesty jalapeno cheddar
- GF Harvest LLC Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal GoPack
- GF Harvest LLC Sweet Cinnamon & Golden Raisins Oatemal GoPack
- Banner Road Baking Company The Original Granola
- Banner Road Baking Company Kick Start Granola
SELECTED JUDGES COMMENTS
Resealable packaging whenever possible would be nice because snack foods go stale so quickly and you don’t always finish a bag of them in one sitting, (I appreciated Kathy’s SuperSeedz for this.) The unique and interesting flavors of the Wai Lana chips, along with their bright packaging, made them very appealing. The crispy texture of the Wai Lana Chia Cassava Chips was great. All of Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps make super cheese pairings .. . can’t wait to try some combinations!
The GF Harvest trio would make a good breakfast
The Enjoy Life Lemon Blueberry bar was moist and satisfying like a muffin. The GF Oatmeal was perfectly oatmealy, and the ingredients were clean and good…. The Popchips Nutter Puffs had a rich peanut butter taste and are a fun snack.
GF Harvest is more than a snack. I had them for breakfast since they were more dense and substantial than just a snack. Sweet and tasty. Kind of an old fashioned winter breakfast to “stick to your ribs.”
Purple Sweet Potato and all 3 pumpkin seed snacks ….well done both of you!
FAVORITES: Chicolate chip artisian thin cookies, waI lana purple sweet potato chips, saffron chocolate chickpeas
FAVORITES: Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips – Rosemary Herb (interesting flavors) Wai Lana Snacks Chia Cassava Chips (nice texture) Kathy‘s Kitchen SuperSeedz Garlicky Dill (intriguing taste; would go nicely with Sauvignon Blanc!) Enjoy Life Lemon Blueberry bar — delicious! Effie’s Oatcakes and Cocoacakes (again, great with malty beer) NutterPuffs with Honey, Jan’s Farmhouse Crisps (especially the Cranberry Pistachio – a perfect accompaniment for cheeses; her Salted Almond was also good, but the Cranberry Pistachio Crisp was my overall favorite of everything!
FAVORITES: Enjoy Life Lemon Blueberry Poppyseed Chewy Bar, Kathie’s Kitchen SuperSeedz Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt, Wai Lana Snacks Purple Sweet Potato Chips, and Effie’s Malted Cocoa-Cakes
FAVORITES: The Wai Lana Purple Sweet Potato Chips may not be unique, but they are exceptionally delicious! The same is true fro the Cassava Chips.
FAVORITES: Nutter Puffs were awesome
FAVORITES: Wai Lana Purple Sweet Potato Chips, Jan’s Farmhouse Sesame Citrus, Nonni’s Cookies, Effie’s Oat Cakes
FAVORITES: Effie’s Ryecakes, Wai Lana Turmeric-Cheese Cassava, Saffron Road Dark Chocolate Crunchy Chickpeas, Jan’s Farmhouse Sesame Citrus and Banner Road Thirst Aid Kit
FAVORITES: Saffron Road chickpea snacks
FAVORITES: Wai Lana snacks, The Banner Road Pecan Coconut. Jan’s Farmhouse. The Enjoy Life products
