Growing up with a strong belief that good-for-you food is not supposed to taste good, I made quite a few healthy and tasty discoveries at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco mid-January.
Organized by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), that celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, the Winter Fancy Food Show is the largest marketplace for specialty foods and beverages on the West Coast.
It was not easy to pick favorites out of 80,000 specialty products from 1,300 food producers and importers representing more than 35 countries and regions, but I did my best by sampling some of those created with a consumer’s health in mind.
Green Valley Organics and Redwood Hill Farm is a safe haven for the lactose-intolerant. The family-owned company makes cheeses, kefir, yogurt and sour cream out of cow and goat milk, lactose-free, organic, kosher, and sustainably produced.
Courtesy photoSimpli Oat Solutions produces gluten-free oatmeal, and not just whole grains and flour, but instant oatmeal mixed with berries, and fruit and chocolate award-winning oat shakes that resemble milkshakes, only without milk fat and cholesterol – 100% vegan.
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Linwoods, a family owned company, besides bakery and dairy, has a line of super foods, like ground flaxseed, almonds, Brazil nuts, and walnuts with added co-enzyme Q10, and other flaxseed-based combinations of vitamin-rich nuts, seeds, and berries. These fiber and Omega-3s-rich mixes can be sprinkled over cereal, salad, cottage cheese, soup, sandwich, ice cream, or just about anything.
Ramar Foods International is a family company that grew up from a small business of Filipino handicrafts at San Jose Flee Market back in the 1960s. Today, the descendants of the founders Ramon and Maria Quesada produce dozens of frozen food items as diverse as traditional chicken adobo, lumpia, and pancit – and tropical fruit and vegetable ice cream.
Kusina ni Maria line contains healthy and easy to prepare frozen meals in cardboard boxes, supplemented with cooking instructions, the family company history, cultural and geographical factoids about the Philippines, and some commonly-used phrases in tagalog. Magnolia ice cream and milk bars boast flavors as diverse as avocado, lychee, mango, coconut, purple yam, red bean, and Thai tea.
Fischer & Wieser, founded in 1969 as a roadside fruit stand in Fredericksburg, Texas, started with selling family orchard peaches and home-made jellies. It developed into an environmentally-conscious company that manufactures more than a hundred gluten-free gourmet sauces, preserves, and marmalades distributed worldwide. The absolute stars are Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce with fresh garlic and basil, and Fischer & Wieser The Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce.
Courtesy photoTillen Farms is a producer of pickled vegetables from the Yakima Valley in Washington State. Hot or mild crispy string beans and hot and spicy asparagus for a perfect Bloody Mary are pickled with vinegar, salt, garlic, and spices, and without preservatives or artificial colors. This year’s winner from Tillen Farms is Bada Bing Cherries – fleshy red berries healthily packed in glass jars filled with water, sugar, and citric acid, and colored with fruit concentrate. While Bada Bing is a proverbial cherry on top of any dessert, from cream pie to ice cream, Merry Maraschinos are indispensible for a savvy bartender.
Snikkidy takes a new approach to snacks, especially those beloved potato chips. A line of Eat Your Vegetables is gluten-free, made with a unique veggie blend that includes sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and navy beans, and promises a full serving of vegetables in every ounce.
Courtesy photoKitchen Table Bakers produces a great gluten- and sugar-free snack – Cheese Crisps. Parmesan Crisps are made entirely of baked aged parmesan, rich in calcium and low in carbs. Needless to say, this snack is addictively-delicious for any cheese lover, combining the flavor and substance of cheese and the crispiness of a cracker in one amazing crisp.
Jer’s Chocolates specializes in hand-crafted gourmet chocolates with Valencia peanut butter centers. Made with premium ingredients and in small batches, chocolate balls, bars, and squares are creative, delicious, and kosher. The flavors include the Original with peanut butter and rice crisp in milk, dark, or white chocolate; Pretzo Change-O containing pretzel pieces; Toffee Break with homemade toffee bits, and Cara Mella with fresh caramel.
Walkers Brothers of Scotland, is a well-known and very popular producer of delectable shortbread cookies since 1898. I mention my favorite Pure Butter Shortbread Cookies (made of wheat flour, butter, sugar, and salt) here because it’s a good example of how people used to eat flour and sugar for generations and still managed to avoid an obesity epidemics that plagues us now…
The Spice Lab produces more than 160 gourmet sea salts, enriched with herbs, spices, dried peppers, and suitable for cooking and finishing of the most sophisticated dishes. The salt embellishments vary from smoked chipotle to lavender and rosemary, and bring any seafood, meat, or vegetable plate to perfection. The company also carries a line of Himalayan salt products that include salt lamps, tea lights and paperweights made of beautiful pink crystals coming from salt beds formed 200 000 000 years ago.
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Colman’s of Norwich, founded in 1814, continues to produce its original mustard, which received the Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1866. The Colman’s flavorful mustard, always fat-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, and kosher, remains a favorite of royal family members, movie stars, and regular folks who can appreciate a good bite. The secret is simple: Colman’s is made of brown mustard and white mustard seeds, water, and a little bit of sugar, salt, turmeric, and citric acid.
Two Leaves and a Bud Tea Company is named after the essence of green tea – two upper leaves and a bud of a tea plant, which assures the extreme freshness of the product. Organic teas include classic black and green, and a variety of calming herbal combinations.
As is always the case at the end of the show, Winter Fancy Food Show exhibitors made a major food donation to Bay Area food pantries and soup kitchens in partnership with Feed the Hungry, an anti-hunger organization. More than 150 volunteers filled more than three tractor trailers to supply meals to 5,000 individuals.
More information at: http://www.foodspring.com/, http://www.specialtyfood.com/.
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