New Food Trends at Expo East 2015 Natural Product Show
Last Saturday I was up at the crack of dawn to catch a 7 am train to Baltimore. I was heading to the 30th annual Natural Products Expo. I’m always on the lookout to find new food products and with 1300 exhibiting companies; I was sure to find a few! Read on to hear about new food trends and some of my fav picks.
My train was late so I only had about 3 hours to hit 1,363 booths. So needless to say, I flew through the aisles stopping only if something jumped out at me (so I wasn’t as thorough as I would have liked). Let the EATING FRENZY begin …
My observations:
Since this was a natural food expo, I’ll state the obvious – the foods were natural and most were organic. Here were some other big trends:
-Paleo
-Vegan … or “Pegan” as it’s been coined (a paleo and vegan mashup containing no dairy, grains, or animal ingredients)
-Foods good for the gut including probiotic rich foods, fermented foods and products with added probiotics
-Jerky. This was huge! Jerky has come a long way from Slim Jims
-Hemp and Chia seeds
-Chick peas
-Seaweed
-Teas
-Maple found in water, in yogurt and bars.
-Organic and Gluten free were big
-Grass fed and full fat yogurts
-Food with fewer ingredients
New trends & my favorite picks:
SAVORY FOODS. Food companies are cutting back on added sugar in foods and replacing it with nuts, coconut, seeds and other spices. So of my favorites were:
Yogurt. Three of my favorites:
Dreaming Cow Maple Ginger yogurt. Made from all natural ingredients including non-homogenized grass fed whole milk, maple syrup, ginger, live cultures. It was very rich and not overly sweet with interesting taste of ginger – unusual for a yogurt. Not in NYC yet. 6 oz container has 123 calories, 6 gm protein, 5 gm fat and 13 gm sugar.
Blue Hill yogurt with flavors like butternut squash, carrot and parsnip. I know this is around NYC but I hadn’t tried them yet. A far cry from most of the sugar laden yogurts we are used to. Keep in mind that all yogurt made from milk will contain some natural sugar (lactose).
The Chaat Co Savory Yogurt Snack. I loved these savory yogurts with interesting flavors like Ginger and Cucumber Mint with lentil puffs on top. Coming to NYC soon.
SEEDS – HEMP & CHIA:
Chia and flaxseeds have been the super stars in past years but now hemp is making a go for it.
EverBar. I’m kind of over energy bars – but this one was good! It caught my eye because hemp seeds were the main ingredient. I was curious.
Hemp seeds are loaded with omega 3’s and fiber. 240 calories and 14 gm protein per bar. I tried these flavors:
Blueberry cashew made from hemp seeds, blueberries, cashews, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, honey, tapioca syrup, cacao and cinnamon. Was not overly sweet. Has a different taste from most bars. GF
Almond Cranberry made from 7 ingredients including hemp seeds, almonds, coconut, cranberries, sunflower seeds, honey, tapioca syrup. Great flavor combo and not too sweet. GF
Go Chia Chia Bites. Looking for a healthy snack? These chia bites are made with chia seeds, chocolate chunks, vanilla, sunflower seeds and honey. GF
CHICK PEAS. Who would have thought these little guys would become one of the expo stars!
– Banzo pasta is made from chick peas. It was served with a marinara sauce. While it didn’t taste like the white pasta most of us are used to, I would definitely buy it. It has double the amount of protein than regular pasta, four times the fiber and significantly fewer carbs. GF
– Saffron Road Crunchy Chick Pea Snacks. Healthy crunchy chickpea
snacks – interesting flavors too. GF
– Wild Pea hummus. Love the great flavors and that they come in mini sized portions. Hopefully will soon be found in NYC . GF
SEAWEED
Seaweed is low in calories and fat and a good source of iodine.
Sea Snacks Lime flavored organic roasted seaweed snacks. I liked the lime flavor.
FERMENTED FOODS
Wildbrine Kimchi. Several flavors. Kimchi is loaded with probiotics and is so good for gut health. Not everyone likes the taste of fermented vegetables … but give it a try!
Wildbrine Wildly Raw & Fermented KimChi Crisps in Thai Curry flavor. Interesting … and very healthy.
Gold Mine Kelp noodles … you may need to be brave to try this one. I never had kelp noodles before. I actually kind of liked the way there were prepared at the expo but I’d have to try them on my own before giving a thumbs up to taste! If you do like them, you get to eat the entire bag for less than 50 calories. Here is an article on Kelp Noodles
More finds
Here are some finds from my colleague Jackie Topol, RD
Mikeys muffins These little muffins (2.2 oz) have only 95 cal, 4 gm carbs, 5 gm protein, 3 gm fiber … and taste good! GF
Froosh Bottled fruit. Love this “ugly but lovable” flavor – spinach
coconut milk, apple, kiwi, banana, guava, lime juice and natural safflower extract
Sound Tea. These teas just have natural flavorings – no sugar, artificial sweeteners or added natural sweeteners like monkfruit or stevia.
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