Natural Products Show Delights Palate

A walk through the miles of aisles that make up the Natural Products Expo at the Anaheim, California Convention Center is not only an exercise in endurance, but a wonder at all the passion and creativity that go into creating delicious, FoodTrients-filled, healthy foods that enrich our bodies and our lives. The intrepid FoodTrients Team waded through nearly 2,800 vendors, rubbing shoulders with over 65,000 fellow attendees to spot trends and share some of the exciting products we found. What follows are only some of the new product highlights. Over the coming months, we will bring you more of the exciting new foods, drinks, home and beauty products we discovered.

Paleo Blends

For those who find their path to good health is to follow a “Paleolithic” diet comprised of pre-agriculture foods such as wild seafood, grass-fed, pasture-raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and limited grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, sugar, and processed oils, there were a number of tasty, on-the-go options. OMNIBAR omnibars.com is a nutritious combination of 35% pasture-raised beef from the company’s own ranch. The rest is made up of complex carbohydrates and essential fats from sweet potatoes, oats, flax seed, almond butter, dried plums and savory seasonings. They offer three tasty sweet-savory flavors—Chipotlé Barbecue, Mango Curry and Cranberry Rosemary. Along the same line, but in a different form was The New Primal thenewprimal.com line of grass-fed beef jerky including varieties with dried fruit in attractive, convenient trail packs. We munched on Beef Jerky—Regular and Spicy—Beef Jerky with Dried Mango and Beef Jerky with Dried Pineapple. Finally, some brave individuals were sampling Chapul Original Cricket Bars http://chapul.com/. With 15% more iron than spinach, twice as much protein as beef and as much vitamin B12 as salmon, crickets are a high quality food. Our intrepid foodies were rewarded with delicious, nutrient dense tastes of Aztec Bars with chocolate, coffee and cayenne; Chaco Bars made with peanut butter and chocolate; and Thai Bars made with coconut, ginger and lime.

Testing the  Waters

It’s not enough that water simply hydrate. We sipped waters with a number of nutrients and refreshing flavors as well as sampled healthful and flavorful items to mix in. Caliwater™ http://drinkcaliwater.com/is bottled in Los Angeles and flavored with a sweet-tart combination of prickly pear cactus juice, organic lemon juice and a touch of fruit and vegetable juice for color and organic stevia.  It’s completely natural, has no preservatives and is lower in sugar and calories than most coconut water and aloe juice products according to the manufacturer. Another unique refresher is Blk.® http://www.getblk.com trace mineral infused water. It contains electrolytes, zero calories or sugar and is alkaline at pH 8. And yes, the trace minerals make it black, but not to worry; it comes in juicy flavors including Lemonade, Tropical Punch, Blueberry Acai and Mango Splash. We tasted a number of healthful and intriguing flavorings and additives for water. A product from Scotland called Sufficient-C® www.sufficiantc.com is a high dose vitamin C drink mix in a delicious non-GMO lemon-peach iced green tea flavor with immune support function. It’s available in two different sized canisters: 135 gm and 270 gm. Just scoop the recommended serving amount into your 12 oz. bottle of water. In the “Why Didn’t I Think of it First?” department, Owl’s Brew www.theowlsbrew.com has come up with “Tea crafted for cocktails.” You add one part of the spirit of your choice to two parts Owl’s Brew for a unique cocktail with a gentle side. Made with fresh brewed tea, whole spices and herbs, purified water and agave, it’s available in three varieties: Coco-Lada, Pink & Black and The Classic. All three flavors taste delicious poured over plain ice or mixed with bubbly water if you’re a tea-totler.

Spice up Your Life

Commonly used herbs and spices may help protect against certain chronic conditions such as cancer or diabetes. And by liberally using herbs and spices in cooking, you reduce the need for salt, which can contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease. Cinnamon is full of antioxidants, which are associated with lowering inflammation in the body. Red Ape Cinnamon www.redapecinnamon.com, located in Eugene, Oregon manufactures several unique certified organic cinnamon blends including a Jamaican-style Rasta™ Shake, a Cajun flavored Mardi Gras Shake™ and Buddha Shake Curry Mix™. Located in Southern California, afire™www.afireinc.com has a line of dry rubs to flavor meat, seafood and poultry. These herb and spice blends come in Steak & Hamburger Rub, Turkey & Chicken Rub,  Pork & Lamb Rub and Seafood Rub. All of  afire’s rubs are 100% natural, gluten-free, and contain no MSG or artificial flavors or colors. Don’t limit their use to protein, though—sprinkle on vegetables, salads and side dishes. Gustus Vitae Condiments www.gustusvitae.com located inVenice,California was showing off their artisan international herb and spice blends. Salt-free versions include Taste of Bordeaux, Taste of India, Taste of Provence, Taste of Thailand, Taste of Tuscany—you get the idea. These blends are crafted in theU.S. from all natural ingredients, are free of preservatives, artificial colors/flavors and MSG and are never irradiated or treated with ETO gas. Packed in American-made tins, the labels are printed on recycled paper. Each tin is individually inspected for quality, signed with its batch number and the signature of the master blender.

One More Thing

We saw enough exciting products to fill many articles, but here’s one more that’s worth mentioning.  Tru Table  http://www.trutable.com/ protein-enriched dressings and dips. Invented by a chef inFlorida, these delicious dressings and dips are enriched with premium whey isolate. Each serving delivers 15-20% of the recommended daily intake of protein with only 5-7% of the calories. The flavors include Orange Citrus & Black Chia Seeds, Orange Blossom Honey & Balsamic, Southwest Tumeric & Black Bean, Asian Sweet Chili & Tamari and Key Lime Caesar with Asiago. Great for salads, crudites or as a sauce for meat, chicken and fish.