From better-for-you snacks made with less sugar to products brimming with beneficial probiotics to pasta made with pulses, I had an opportunity to sample and sip a smorgasbord of new and nutritious food products at the 2016 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) in Boston.
FNCE is the annual meeting of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics where registered dietitian nutritionists like me gain access to new food trends and scientific sessions.
As I do every year, I scoured the Expo floor for the latest, greatest family-pleasing food products that may soon be coming to a supermarket near you.
This year, I noticed some common themes on the Expo floor including foods made with pulses, snacks made with more protein and less sugar, foods and supplements designed for good gut health, and ready-made meals aimed at getting nutritious dinners on the table quickly.
Read on for my favorite finds.
The Year of Pulses and Beyond
2016 is the International Year of Pulses. Lentils, chickpeas, beans, and peas are nutritious and sustainable plant foods that bring fiber, protein, and flavor to a variety of everyday meals. And now food companies have jumped on the bandwagon by adding pulses to a surprising and unexpected variety of food products. Lentil chips anyone?
These no-bake lasagna noodles from Explore Cuisine are made with green lentil flour, green pea flour, and brown rice flour. All of their pastas are made with some sort of bean-based flour and they are all gluten free.
Over the past few years, I’ve tried various pasta products made with beans. I were never completely sold on the flavor, but after a few bites of this new chickpea pasta from Banza, I’m definitely hooked. Whether you’re looking for a gluten-free alternative to regular pasta or want more protein from your noodles, this product is definitely worth a try.
Enjoy Life has a lineup of gluten free, dairy free, and peanut-free food products designed for people with allergies. Their Margherita Pizza Lentil Chips (AKA Plentils) are seriously yummy. The main ingredient is lentils, and each servings has 2 grams of plant-based protein.
Move over French fries, because there’s a new chip in town. Veggie Fries, a Boston-based company, has created some seriously delicious potato fries made with add-ins like chickpeas, white beans, carrots, and broccoli.
Better For-You Snacks with A LOT Less sugar … and More Protein
There were a lot of bars at on the Expo floor, but the one that tempted my taste buds the most were there Mediterranean-Inspired bars from Mediterra. The company has a few sweet bars as well as a lineup of surprisingly scrumptious savory bars. While my favorite was the Kale & Pumpkin Seeds bar, I also loved the Black Olives & Walnuts and the Bell Peppers & Green Olives. Their bars have just 1 to 2 grams of sugar.
Broad beans (AKA fava beans) are the star ingredient in these crunchy, satisfying snacks from Enlightened. From the oh-so-subtley sweet Cocoa Dusted flavor to their savory Mesquite BBQ, this company knows how to satisfy a snack attack. When I spoke to their marketing guru, he even suggested replacing croutons on salad with their Sea Salt crips. All options are gluten free, high fiber and contain 7 grams of protein.
I’m obsessed with smoothie bowls and smoothies, so this frozen fruit ‘n greens blend from Dole grabbed my attention. Keep a bag (or two) in your freezer for fast ‘n easy after-school snacks. {Oh, and while you’re at it, check out my download for a free copy of Color, Cook, Eat! Smoothie Bowls}
Crunchy snacks get a makeover with these dehydrated apple sticks by Snack Factory. There are six apples in every bag, and it’s impossible to eat just one … which is a good thing!
I have always been big fans of sweet potato chips and kale chips, and now beet chips have joined the list of my favorite veggie-based nibbles. Each serving of Rhythm SuperFoods beet chips has 5 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein.
I’ve never had great luck roasting my own chickpeas, so I’m super excited about these nutritious chickpea snacks from Biena. With six flavors including Sea Salt and Rockin’ Ranch, each 1/4 cup serving has 6 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, and no sugar or saturated fat. Crunch on!
Foods with Gut Health Benefits
This chai flavored protein powder from Bob’s Red Mill can be added to smoothies, protein shakes, and even added to overnight oats. Each servings has 11 grams of fiber (wow!), 20 grams of protein, and 240 milligrams of omega-3 fat. The cool thing about this food find is that it contains beneficial probiotics, the so-called good bacteria.
If you experience digestive discomfort after drinking milk, check out a2 Milk. While some people are sensitive to lactose, others have a tough time digesting a common protein in milk known as A-1 beta-casein. This milk is easier to digest because it comes from cows that produce only A-2 beta-casein. It sounds pretty scientific, but apparently this minor difference is all it takes for many milk lovers to be able to tolerate their favorite thirst quencher.
Sorghum is a gluten-free ancient whole grain that’s making its way into hearty side dishes, creative salads, satisfying soups and even popcorn. Pearled grain sorghum takes 45 to 50 minutes to cook. For info and and recipes, head on over to Simply Sorghum.
Having issues with regularity? Regular Girl has come to the rescue with a tasteless, colorless powder made with 5 grams of prebiotic fiber and 8 billion probiotics. Probiotics are bacteria important for gut health and the prebiotic fiber feeds them. Together, they maintain regularity and promote intestinal health.
Kraut, kimchi, and other fermented foods contain good bacteria that can improve digestion and immunity, and several were on display in the Expo hall. Farmhouse Culture was sampling their probiotic kraut, which you can add to salads and sandwiches for an immunity booster.
Salad Kits and Meal Kit Services
Fast and easy gourmet salads are what you’ll get when you assemble these simple salad kits from Eat Smart. Each salad features an array of super foods — kale, brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds — and they come in interesting varieties like Sunflower Kale and Asian Sesame.
When you’re cruising the Expo floor, a fresh salad is always a welcome sight. I loved this organic Caesar salad from Dole. Other offerings in their salad kit line include Barbecue Ranch, Southwest, and Creamy Balsamic.
One of the hottest food trends for today’s busy consumer is meal delivery services like Hello Fresh. Healthy ingredients for nutritious meals delivered to your door. I ran into their dietitian and was impressed with their lineup of recipes — Chicken Paillard, Potato and Brussels Sprout Hash, and Shrimp Banh Mi Burger — so I’m itching to give this service a try.
Other Fun Stuff
A big trend in the food industry is a shift away from artificial ingredients like food dyes to clean labels and colors made naturally. The Fancypants Baking Co. is a Massachusetts-based company, and their treats are decorated with frosting made with fruit and vegetable dyes, so the colors are muted … not neon. Oh, and they’re super yummy too.
Other FNCE-related blog posts from fellow registered dietitian nutritionists:
Nutritious Meets Delicious by Carolyn at Oneil On Eating
Trendspotting at FNCE by Janet Helm at Nutrition Unplugged
My Top FNCE Take-Aways: Where Nutrition Science Meets Food Trends by Rebecca Scritchfield
Food Favorites at FNCE by Katie Morford at Mom’s Kitchen Handbook
Top 5 Nutrition Trends You Can Use Spotted at the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo by Elena Paravantes Hargitt at Huffington Post
We Went, Saw, Tasted, Heard: Now We Decide by Rosanne Rust at Chew the Facts
FNCE and Fall Food Trends from Michelle Dudash, Facebook LIVE
4 Trends Driven More by Consumers’ Fears Than Science by Keri Gans at US News
This was my first FNCE and it was so fun learning about all of the food trends! Thank you for capturing and sharing everything with us!
You are most welcome. We are adding links to other RDN blog posts. It’s amazing how much new science and food trends news comes out of one meeting. Scroll down in the post for links!
Lots of fun things for adults and kids to try that are conveniently packaged to make meal planning easy!
Yes indeed! Thanks for stopping by.