A gluten-free, vegan or paleo diet doesn’t have to mean a meal without tortilla chips.
By Lauren Jones, Photo courtesy of Siete Family Foods
Corn tortilla chips have been a favorite American snack food for years. They’re the perfect edible vehicle for tangy guacamole and spicy homemade salsa, and the Snack Food Association estimates that on Super Bowl Sunday, which takes place Feb. 4 this year, nearly 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips will be consumed nationwide. This year, opt for a more health-conscious choice and pop open a bag of Siete Family Foods’ grain-free tortilla chips. Not only will your stomach thank you, but you’ll also be supporting a local company.
Eat this: Siete Family Foods’ grain-free tortilla chips
Not that: traditional tortilla chips
Says who: Veronica Garza, co-founder and president of Siete Family Foods, an Austin-based and family-run company making grain-free tortillas and tortilla chips. The company uses wholesome ingredients, such as cassava flour, almond flour and avocado oil, so Siete products taste good and make healthy eating accessible for all.
Against the grain
Going grain-free can aid in digestion, eliminate brain fog and reduce in ammation, and according to the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a grain-free lifestyle can help those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease.
“For me, going grain-free began as a personal decision,” Garza says. “I deal with multiple autoimmune conditions and I was struggling with those for many years. At one of my brothers’ suggestions, I started following a grain-free diet to alleviate a lot of the in ammation and symptoms I was experiencing. When I started eating grain-free, my whole family changed their diet with me. I started feeling better and they did too.”
A taste of home
When Siete Family Foods got its start in 2014, there were no grain-free options on the market that even resembled the classic tortilla, a staple in the Garza household. “Our first product was our almond-flour tortillas,” Garza says. “At the time, I was looking for ingredients that I could eat that were more nutrient-dense, and so, almonds seemed like a great option. I was looking for any ingredient that I could mix together and create something that was reminiscent of a tortilla.”
The test kitchen
The quest to make the best grain-free products begins in the family’s kitchen. “I look for real food ingredients,” Garza says. “Sometimes it’s here in this kitchen or in my kitchen at home when I’m in a mood to create something. I can get in there and play around.”