#weirdbuttasty

I just tried the weirdest snack pairing ever... that turned out to be kinda genius.

I was at Trader Joe's and knew I wanted to get some smoked salmon (lox) to eat as a snack. But by itself, it seemed kinda sad.

I was like, "Hmmm... I def need something to put this lox on." I wanted something crunchy, but I didn't want to go the cracker route. For me, eating crackers is like eating air. They provide no nutrients and they're completely unsatisfying... yet they definitely have calories and carbs. I'm fine with the occasional cracker or chip (or 50), but I try to steer clear when I can. Caloric air isn't really my thing.

So, I tried to think: what's crunchy and cracker-like, but NOT a cracker? Veggies are crunchy (cukes, carrots), and would probably taste dece with lox, but they're certainly no cracker substitute.

That's when I spotted the banana chips -- unsweetened, made with coconut oil instead of omega-6-laden oils (canola, sunflower, etc.). I liked that they only have 160 cals and 13g carb per serving. Crackers are usually pretty comparable on the cals, but have more like 20-30g carb. Plus they're a lot more processed.

Ignoring the fact that it sounded disgusting (banana + fish?), I decided to go for it.

Buying banana chips with the intention of eating them with smoked salmon, I absolutely thought, "Yup, that's a little weird, but... I'mma give it a go."

And folks, let me tell you, it was delicious. Banana chips are pretty savory, with just a subtle hint of sweetness, not dissimilar to the slight sweetness of certain bread and crackers (think challah). They're also SUPER crunchy, which meant when combined with the smoked salmon, they totally tasted like a cracker.

I wanted to see if the banana chips would act like a cracker with other foods, so I also tried them with some cheddar cheese. The verdict? TOTALLY CRACKER-LIKE AND DELICIOUS. Finally, I tried them with some smoked trout. Also totally delish and not at all disgusting.

I know you don't buy that combining banana chips with fish or cheese isn't completely gross. That's okay, I understand. Just promise me you'll try it, because if you hate it? Well, worst-case scenario, you have a bag of banana chips and a package of lox, both of which are pretty dang good on their own or combined with other, more normal things -- banana chips with chocolate or peanut butter, let's say, and lox combined with cream cheese and a bagel.