A super-convenient snack food you can find at Starbucks, Whole Foods Market, Wegmans, Rite Aid, CVS, and Amazon.com, Rip Van Wafels are indeed as the title says: good for you and great tasting.

Try a few and I’m sure you’ll also see them as something else: a godsend. That’s the word that repeatedly came to mind as I researched the company and read the questionnaires from the 10 people who taste tested the product for me.

Time for full disclosure.

On Dec. 16, I received an email from Diky Izmirlian, an early team member at Rip Van. She offered to send samples of the snack because she had come across my column and thought “a story around the benefits of our delicious, low-sugar snacks” would work as a column.

Two minutes of research told me she was right.

The story of how Rip Pruisken kept the great taste of the pastry he ate as a boy in Amsterdam, the stroopwafel (syrup waffle), while creating something so healthy that even a nutrition nazi like me intends to buy a box certainly deserves retelling.

It starts at Brown University in 2008 after Pruisken passes out some authentic stroopwafels and his friends love them. When he later realizes he’d like to be an entrepeneur, he remembers this. By 2010, Pruisken is making stroopwafels in his dorm room and selling them on campus. He then gets a good friend to help him, Marco De Leon, and an idea.

The idea that launched a company that has grown more than 500 percent in the last three years and has made both the Inc & Forbes “30 Under 30” lists.

A true stroopwafel is explained by Rip Van on LinkedIn as being “arguably one of the best tasting treats in the world but like most treats is loaded with sugar, made with poor ingredients and hasn’t changed in the last 200 years.” According to The Spruce Eats.com, following the traditional recipe creates a waffle that contains 208 calories, 12 grams of fat (7 saturated), 23 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, and 3 grams of protein.

So Pruisken set out “to create a different snack that has the indulgent taste of a candy bar with the sugar levels of a health bar.” According to the Nutrition Facts on the wrappers and the feedback from the 10 taste testers, he succeeded.

The Rip Van Wafels now being sold have 3 grams of sugar, a reduction of 11 grams from earlier versions, yet provide 6 grams of fiber - 2 grams more than a cooked cup of oatmeal.

And if you’re worried about snacking leading to weight gain, relax. Regardless of the flavor, each wafel only contains 120 calories.

When I asked the taste testers to use a scale of 1 to 5 to compare the Rip Van Wafels to their favorite snack food, the scores were all 4’s and 5’s. When compared specifically to granola bars, the average score was even higher.

What caused such high scores? One taste tester particularly liked that even though the outside of the wafel is crispy, the center is soft. A few commented that the wafel is just sweet enough.

And the guy who gave out 5’s straight across the board added at the bottom, “just plain tastes good!”

It’s now time to explain why I couldn’t get a certain word out of my head as I was creating this column.

Godsend: that’s what I call Rip Van for bucking a disturbing health-food trend. Instead of “devolving” their product to increase profits, they’re committed to making each new version healthier.

I’ve written about the de-evolution of health foods before, and a great example is the granola bar. Originally made with toasted grains, especially oats, and dried fruits, the granola bars marketed in the mid-1970s were legitimately a health food.

But not all - I daresay most - are that way today. Many contain added sugars. Some are dipped in chocolate and topped with sprinkles.

As a result, the nutritional numbers of a Snickers bar are better than the worst granola bars.

Yet Rip Van Wafels keep evolving nutritionally. The version you purchase today contains chicory root fiber (established in studies as a prebiotic), chickpea flour, flaxseed oil, and all ingredients are non-GMO.

And don’t forget about the aforementioned 78 percent reduction in sugar.

Even what seems to be the shortcoming of the wafels - that each only contains 1 gram of protein - actually adds to their versatility.

Eat the wafel as is before a workout because at that time you don’t want a significant amount of protein. Same’s true if you’re fueling up in the middle of a hike or a bike ride.

But if you eat it as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack and would like a bit more protein, simply drink some milk or spread a nut butter on top.