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DJ&A Shiitake Mushroom Crisps | Chewsday Review

Here’s two foods I didn’t think you could put together – but apparently mushrooms + crisps make the perfect salty snack. I’ve been asked to review these new DJ&A Shitake Mushroom Crisps by some members in my Facebook group, and I’m here to deliver! Check out my latest Chewsday review to get the lowdown.

Ingredients

Positives

These are a source of fibre, 26.7g of fibre per 100g. Seeing as these are a vegetable-based snack (basically dried mushrooms cooked in oil with flavouring), they do have more fibre than other savoury snack type products. BUT, let’s consider the negatives first.
These ‘crisps’ look like mushrooms, so they could be a useful stepping stone towards fresh or cooked mushrooms. Dry and crunchy foods can be easier for some kids to learn to like, which gives them confidence branching out into other foods.

Negatives

These mushroom crisps are quite high in both total fat and saturated fat, with 20g of total fat per 100g and 8.7g of this being saturated (the bad kind of fat). This means these snacks contain double the healthy guidelines for total fat and almost triple the maximum amount of saturated fat recommended in the guidelines.
Surprisingly, for a savoury snack that doesn’t taste sweet, these are very high in sugar. These contain 27g of sugar per 100g – that’s more than 10 teaspoons of sugar in one bag! Mushrooms are not naturally high in sugar, so a quarter of this product is added sugar.
These crisp’s are (unsurprisingly) high in sodium, with 470 mg of sodium per 100g. One serving of these crisps contains around a third of a younger child’s recommended sodium intake and a quarter of an older child’s recommended intake.

Marketing

Alternatives

Fresh vegetable sticks would be a much more nutritious alternative to these (but perhaps not as exciting).
For older children (once these foods are no longer a choking risk), popcorn or roasted fava beans are a better option for a convenient savoury snack.
If your child does enjoy these mushrooms, perhaps use them as a way to experiment with cooking mushrooms. You could roast or air fry mushrooms and compare the textures and tastes.