Returning after a Covid-enforced hiatus, the 21 st Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards will take place during Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight and be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 8 September.

It was fantastic to see such a range of producers and individuals in this years entries and a massive congratulations to all those that have been named in the shortlist. The Cauliflower Crisps come in two flavours, Cheese & Caramelised Onion and Katsu Curry, which are low in calories and high in protein and fibre. Also consider sweet alternatives that may be coated in chocolate or yogurt as they will have a higher fat, sugar and calorie content. According to Diabetes UK, if you are looking to replace regular crisps and add healthy crisp alternatives to your diet then there are certain things you should consider next time you go to grab a bag.individuals, teams and employers who are raising the bar and helping to build Scotland’s reputation as a land of food and drink were also shortlisted across seven business catagories. Shortlisted products include everything from Scottish Beef Biltong produced by Errichel & Thyme, Native Hebridean Smoked Scottish Salmon from The Scottish Salmon Company to Chocolate Cornflake Clusters from Lazy Day Foods. Shiitake mushrooms are a useful source of all the vitamins and minerals ­mentioned above, including magnesium (for bone health) and B5 (for healthy skin, liver and nervous system). They are also one of the few plant sources of vitamin D — important for immunity.

However, you are unlikely to get a ‘high’ amount of any of these nutrients in this small serving. And while a good source of fibre, these are high in saturated fat (from palm oil), which may be bad for cholesterol levels. A massive congratulations to all of the individuals and businesses that have been shortlisted!” The full shortlist Cauliflower Puree (40%), Corn Flour, Pre-cooked Potato Starch, Potato Flakes, Native Potato Starch, Sunflower Oil, Pea Fibre, Rice Flour, Sugar, Onion Powder, Salt, Dairy-free Creamer (Sunflower Oil, Glucose Syrup, Modified Starch), Yeast Extract, Vinegar, Caramelised Sugar Powder, Natural Flavouring, Garlic, Acid E296 Powder. Well, fortunately for you we’ve bought together all of the healthy crisps/alternative to crisps into one handy list to help you decide. What is a healthy alternative to crisps? Although not the obvious choice when it comes to crisps, it turns out cauliflowers are pretty good for you (who knew?!) and extremely versatile when it comes to making flavour combinations. This is why we have been able to create two bold, but very different flavours of cauliflower crisps that people love. Katsu Curry and Cheese & Caramelised Onion.It's not that it's not OK to eat crisps every day, it's more that the main source of nutrients crisps offer is energy - so there are more healthy alternatives to crisps.

EXPERT VERDICT: These crisps are made from unpeeled slices of air-dried watermelon and nothing else. Cauliflower Puree (40%), Corn Flour, Pre-cooked Potato Starch, Potato Flakes, Native Potato Starch, Sunflower Oil, Pea Fibre, Rice Flour, Sugar, Salt, Spices (Cayenne, Coriander, Cumin, Fennel, Cardamom, Turmeric), Yeast Extract, Tomato Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Spice extracts.

What is a healthy alternative to crisps?

Katsu Curry Cauliflower Crisps - Cauliflower Puree (40%), Corn Flour, Pre-cooked Potato Starch, Potato Flakes, Native Potato Starch, Sunflower Oil, Pea Fibre, Rice Flour, Sugar, Salt, Spices (Cayenne, Coriander, Cumin, Fennel, Cardamom, Turmeric), Yeast Extract, Tomato Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Spice extracts. Rather than being deep fried like traditional crisps, popped crisps are placed in a pressurised container to ‘pop’. You could try swapping crisps for pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, both of which have a great range of health benefits and can act as an easily accessible healthy alternative to crisps.

There’s no salt — a good thing, but these are 46 per cent sugar. The sugar comes naturally from the watermelon in the form of fructose and should be absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream because of the high proportion of fibre. CLAIM: ‘Licensed by the Department of Health as one of your five-a-day. High in fibre and retains vitamin C. No added sugar.’ Cheese & Caramelised Onion Cauliflower Crisps - Cauliflower puree (40%), corn flour, potato starch, potato flakes, native potato starch,salt, pea fibre, rice flour, sugar, onion powder, dairy free creamer (sunflower oil, glucose syrup, modified starch), yeast extract, vinegar, caramelised sugar powder, natural flavouring, garlic. There is almost a teaspoonful of sugar in a serving — coming naturally from the mushrooms and added maltose.EXPERT VERDICT: A 30g portion (3/4 of a bag) of these shiitake crisps would count as one of your five-a-day. John Davidson, Deputy Chief Executive and Strategy Director at Scotland Food & Drink, said: “The Excellence Awards play an important role in recognising the innovation and creativity of everyone that is building the reputation of Scotland’s larder. There are various varieties and flavours across the crisp market, so it’s hard to know which is the healthiest.