New Food Trends at Expo East 2015 Natural Product Show

expo east 2015

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 paleoNatural 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  … Grass fed

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)   maple water
-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 ingredientsScreaming Cow yogurt

 

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 overlyBlue Hill yogurt 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).

Savory Snacks

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. Ever Bar
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. chia bitesGreat 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

 

Banza chick pea pasta

 

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 chick pea snacks

 

 

Saffron Road Crunchy Chick Pea Snacks. Healthy crunchy  chickpea
snacks –  interesting flavors too. GF


Wild Pea hummusLove the great flavors and that they come in mini sized portions. Hopefully will soon be found in NYC . GF

wild pea hummus

 

 

 

 

SEAWEEDsea snax
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.  

 

 

Wildbrite kimchi

 

 

 

FERMENTED FOODS

Wildbrine Kimchi. Several flavors. Kimchi is loaded with probiotics and is so good for gut health. Not everyone likes the taste Wildly Raw Kimchi crispsof 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 Kelpentire 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

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. Froosh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RELATED POSTS

MEET MARTHA

I especially love problem-solving, whether it’s helping women defeat issues plaguing them for years, helping a busy executive find practical ways to get heart healthy, or providing tips to help you reverse diabetes. That’s why I’m on a constant quest to expand my knowledge by staying on top of the latest research.

  • Martha's Nutrition Page

    Looking for up to date information on nutrition?  Follow my nutrition page!

  • PCOS Nutrition

    Interested in the latest PCOS nutrition news?  Follow my PCOS page!

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • Pinterest

Leave a Comment





sushiandsticks

20 Ways To Eat Out 550 Calories or Less!

No time to cook? We’ve got you covered. Here are 20 healthy meals from a variety of cuisines that won’t pack on the pounds. Most of them also have less than 30 grams of carbs.

Subscribe to my newsletter and get this free download.

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.