Planning on chip-and-dip for the Superbowl? What if there were a way to make it healthier – and appealing to kids as well? With that thought, we started experimenting with a variety of different veggie chips this week. Not kale chips, mind you – those are so 2010. We were thinking even further outside the box with beet chips, carrot chips, and even radish chips.

To start, we headed over to the farmers’ market where we got some fresh veggies, including these two big bunches of beets and radishes. Then we read through multiple recipes to figure out what might work best for the beet chips. Some recipes have you soak the beets in a simple syrup first; others say that soaking doesn’t necessarily speed the process. Then there’s the question of whether you should roast the chips on a higher heat for a shorter time, or at a low heat for a long time. We found a happy medium in this beet chip recipe from Foodie Reflections that calls for roasting them at 325 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. Tip: You really need a mandoline or some other fine slicing tool to get thin chip-like slices. If your slices are too thick, the chips will be tough and chewy.

Next we moved on to carrot chips, which were easy enough thanks to this simple carrot chip recipe from Weelicious. All you have to do is slice the carrots, add a little salt, and pop them in the oven. Note: While you’re making all of these chips, you probably don’t want to have the kids involved in the slicing. But once you’ve got the slices ready, kids can definitely help arrange them all on the baking sheet (which is an otherwise time-consuming task).

Next we moved on to radish chips, with some degree of trepidation, because none of us in the house likes radishes all that much. We came across this recipe from Green Kitchen on the Cheap Healthy Good blog and we were charmed by how enthusiastic Jaime is about these chips (she says this whole recipe only serves one). Guess what? She was totally right. These were, hands-down, everyone’s favorite chips. It could be the fact that these were the only ones that used oil, so they had a little more of a familiar crispy chip taste. Overall, the flavor was very mild with just the faintest hint of pepper. Completely irresistible.

Now for the real test: How would these go over at a Superbowl party? Well…a certain male relative who shall remain nameless declared that if we were only going to serve veggie chips he would be staying home. So there’s that. But if you have open-minded friends, and plenty of other foods to go around, these chips make for a great little snack. Just make sure to make more than you think you’ll need – they shrink down so much that even a large bunch of radishes may only yield a very small bowl of chips. And of course, don’t forget the dip.

Fun Food Saturday: Because food should be fun.