So, it’s Thanksgiving time again, time for the oh-so-American tradition of stuffing your face till you pass out, which I would call a pretty common tradition. Snacks are usually served before a meal, because honestly, while you’re waiting around to eat what else is there to do but eat? Surely you can’t enjoy talking to your crappy Uncle for that long, can you? As I’m sure I won’t be the only one who gains a few pounds this holiday season, I did manage to find a pretty great snack that won’t nearly be as bad for me as that side of mashed potatoes and gravy, amongst everything else I’ll be eating Thanksgiving.

Everyone knows what baked Lays are like at this point. Not greasy, flat, crispy, and according to the bag 65% better for you than regular chips. The brand has done plenty to expand, basically taking everything they had in their factory, baking it and putting it out as new, but besides Plain and BBQ, the Baked Lays line has seen literally no expansion since its release.

Motley Crue, Van Halen and Guns N’ Roses should all take notes from Frito-Lay on how to have a proper comeback. While in the case of those bands, waiting awhile led to serious failure, these new chips are just great. A subtle ranch flavor is there at first, not nearly enough to call these ranch chips, but they wear the southern badge about as well as any member of the Bush family. The bag advertises that the crushed red pepper blend is baked into the chip, which is why I would assume the spices kick in slightly after the ranch flavor. I’m really surprised at how much spice the chip packs, which makes them super enjoyable to me. Don’t get this if you want a good ranch chip though, the flavor is barely there. Not that I eat many chips, but I hadn’t picked up Baked Lays since around the time they came out. Now I may actually have a reason to grab some, and hey, at least I won’t feel as guilty about it.