Cheers to the Chopin Vodka Booth (All Photos By Gail)
For Foodies and Food Writers alike, the change of seasons brings on excitement for holiday foods and ideas for entertaining! It also means that it’s time for Fall Food Fete, a great event to sample new products and get in the mood to celebrate. Here are few of our favorite products from the show, which took place on October 27th!
An Array of Natural Flavor Ingredients in Cabo Chips (Reviewed Below). All Photos By Gail.
Making the scene at a Food Fête Health & Wellness event is always a good time, because attending one means getting more than a dozen delicious chances to discover ways in which eating smarter tastes fantastic. Check out our favorite products — from snacks to breakfast to meal mainstays — from this Springtime showcase! Continue reading Food Fête Spring 2015: Health & Wellness Showcase Recap!
All Photos By Gail (Click on Any Image to Enlarge for Detail)
Food, Glorious Food Fête! Our favorite quarterly food trade show and media networking show packed the cozy Helen Mills Event Space in Chelsea on February 24th with booths showcasing sixteen innovative products ranging from Premium Organic Jarred Tomatoes to Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies, and Vegan Meat Substitutes — all every exciting! Here are a few of our favorite products from the show!
The first booth we came to when we entered the show was Plum Organics — a company focusing on the nutritional needs and often finicky appetites of babies and children. Their huge display extended possibly three booth spaces, and with good reason: these folks had a lot of cool products to present! It was a chilly night and Plum Organics helped warm everyone up with their hearty and delicious Tomato and Turkey Meatball Soup.
You can see that this soup is packed with lots of tiny, ground turkey meatballs for a savory and satisfying meal that kids (and adults) will devour!
Go Bars, in tempting flavors like Chocolate Brownie and Pumpkin Banana, make a healthy after-school snack!
Plum Vida is an organic, squeezable fruit and veggie blend snack created by the women of Plum, and is the company’s first product specifically for adults. At only 70 – 90 calories, with 3 grams of fiber per resealable pouch, Plum Vida is an ideal on-the-go snack. Find out more about the fine products of Plum Organics at This Link!
Imagine how sad it would be if you had to eliminate delicious butter from your diet due to being lactose intolerant. I don’t even want to go there. Thank goodness that Challenge Dairy has actually created “Lactose Free” Spreadable Butter, which tastes just as awesome as the real thing! This new and exciting product is enhanced with fine olive oil to maintain a smooth texture without sacrificing any rich flavor. Amazing! Challenge also debuted two new flavors of their Soft Cream Cheese Spread: Strawberry — flavored and sweetened only with fresh ripe strawberries with no sugar added — and Salsa Flavor, made with an assortment of fresh garden vegetables. Both of these cream cheese spreads were crazy delicious and perfect for snacking or serving at your next party!
Also, they were giving away Free Cows! Fall in love with the wonderful products of Challenge Dairy at This Link!
Muir Glen Organic Jarred Tomatoes make cooking all of your favorite tomato recipes — from soups and stews to sauces and pizza — so easy! Using only California-grown tomatoes, Muir Glen offers four unique varieties of prepared tomatoes including the sweet and smokey Diced Fire Roasted Red Tomatoes, San Marzano Style Plum Tomatoes (perfect for Italian cooking), Arabella Tomatoes, and Crushed Tomatillos (Green Tomatoes), which are so versatile especially in the preparation of Mexican Cuisine!
I brought a jar home so I can make a vat of my famous homemade chili! Get recipes and more information by visiting Muir Glen Dot Com!
Bailys Coffee Creamers bring the beloved, classic flavor of Bailys Irish Cream Liqueur to your morning coffee, but without the alcohol! Who needs Starbucks when you have this product in your pantry? Two new flavors introduced at Food Fete were Macadamia Brittle and Bourbon Vanilla Pound Cake! We also had a chance to sample tasty Macadamia Brittle cupcakes made from a recipe incorporating Bailys Creamers! Get Recipes, download money saving coupons and find out where to buy Bailys Creamers at Baileys Creamers Dot Com!
Master of Mixes Bloody Mary Mix kept the atmosphere festive by offering a custom Bloody Mary Bar featuring the Classic, Loaded, and 5 Pepper varieties of mix, each with varying level of heat to match you taste! Master of Mixes products are based on classic scratch cocktail recipes — with the goal being for their one-step cocktails to be as close as possible to the originals…or maybe even better!
Those who stopped by the booth received a fun gift bag including their preferred Master of Mixes variety, a Bloody Mary Glass, Tomato-shaped stress ball and lots of recipes! Learn more about Master of Mixes impressive line of cocktail mixes at This Link!
It was nice to see a selection fresh fruit and produce sharing the stage with packaged and prepared foods, and the California Giant Berry Farms booth did not disappoint! Their brightly-colored, attention-grabbing display of fresh strawberries and blueberries were showcased as the featured ingredient in two very original recipes. What you see up front is fresh Strawberry Salsa (perfectly accompanied by crisp, salty tortilla strips) which is made using Strawberries, Red Onion, Jalapeno and Cilantro and spices, with no tomatoes at all! This was probably the most delicious fresh salsa I have ever tasted – get the recipe at the link below!
They also offered plates of fresh baked, insanely moist Blueberry Brownies that take this popular dessert to an entirely different level. Find out more about California Giant Berry Farms and get a ton of creative recipes by clicking over to Cal Giant Dot Com.
Unless you live a cave, you have to be familiar with the classic Walkers Shortbread cookies — which are phenomenal. I wouldn’t have thought there was a way to improve on this popular treat, but Walkers has manged to maintain their shortbread’s outrageously buttery taste in a new gluten-free recipe that substitutes wheat flour for a blend of rice flour, maize flour and potato starch! The new, certified gluten-free line includes three new flavors: Shortbread Rounds, Ginger & Lemon Shortbread and Chocolate Chip Shortbread — which I think are the best tasting and highest quality packaged Chocolate Chip cookies you can buy in a store.
Walkers was founded in 1898 and is still a family owned and managed company. Visit them on the web at US Dot Walkers Shortbread Dot Com.
Sunset Produce featured a variety of their fresh packaged tomatoes for sampling and also had one of the most naturally colorful booths at the show!
Founded sixty years ago by a pioneer in the commercial greenhouse industry, Sunset is still family owned, and operated with great passion for growing and selling world-class tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. With over a dozen varieties on offer, you are not going to get bored of tasting and cooking with these fantastic fruits. We came home with some free samples as well! Find out more about Sunset Produce at Sunset Grown Dot Com.
Do you like Olives? I sure do. But just when you think that all Olives are created equal, Lindsay Olives come along and blow your mind with their unequaled deliciousness. Holy cow, they are so excellent! These little bread rounds are topped with an insane Olive Tapanade made with Lemon Zest that was just out of control. Explore the world of Lindsay Olives, and snag that Tapanade recipe, at This Link!
Winning my personal award for possessing the Best Brand Name Ever, Food Should Taste Good brand makes non-GMO, gluten-free snacks and chips that, well, taste terrific! Founder Pete Lescoe created Food Should Taste Good, Inc in 2006 with the goal of making a unique new snack with great taste, real ingredients, and sophisticated flavor – the qualities he is most passionate about in food. FSTG’s MultiGrain Tortilla Chips — which we sampled at Food Fete — are absolutely habit forming and practically guilt-free at zero grams of fat!
They’ve also introduced a brand new product, Pinto Bean and Black Bean MultiGrain Chips! These bean-based chips are also made with Flax, Sesame and Sunflower Seeds plus Quinoa for a true MutiGrain experience in a tasty snack chip. See a full list of FSTG Chips at This Link!
Inspired by an authentic Australian recipe, Yulu Yogurt is double smoothed – and I do not know that means, exactly, but what I can tell you is that it tastes fantastic. Yulu has a texture and consistency that more closely resembles pudding than yogurt, which I think makes for a more highly desirable mouth feel.
At Food Fete, Yulu offered a “Make Your Own” Toppings Bar and I created this delicious little snack for myself with a couple of fresh raspberries and a sprinkle of sweet chocolate shavings on top of their Vanilla flavor yogurt. It was the most delicious thing. Yulu also has 9 grams of protein per serving, so it is a good snack for between meals. Click over to Yulu Yogurt Dot Com to find out more, get coupons and store information, plus be eligible for giveaways! Yay for Yulu!
Horizon Dairy is a company we already love for its family of delicious organic products. Horizon’s new Fruit Crunchers snack is a great on-the-go treat and can even be used to top sundaes or fruit salads.
I threw these Toasted Coconut Crunchers on top of my Yulu Yogurt and they made it taste extra special! Fruit Crunchers also come in Apple and are made with 100% real fruit with no artificial ingredients. Visit Horizon Dairy on the web at This Link!
While we do not at all considered Meat to be a four letter word, we are always open to vegetarian and vegan options when it comes to tasty proteins and meat substitutes. Because good food is good food! Sweet Earth Foods hosted an amazing booth where an abundance of their exciting new products were available to sample, including:
Tuscan Savory Grounds: Italian Spicy Sausage flavor in a meatless, ground meat-emulating product! Savory Grounds also come in Chipotle, and Barbecue flavors, so your meatless recipe options are nearly limitless!
Recipe Ready Seitan: The “Wheat Meat” comes in a variety of tasty, pre-seasoned flavors including Curry, Chipotle and also traditional flavor. Hail Seitan!
Sesame Squares: in Tart Cherry & Hemp Seed, and Chocolate varieties, these energy-packed bars are super high in fiber, rich in taste and natural snacking at its best. Visit Sweet Earth Foods Dot Com to explore a new world of deliciousness.
And now, let us raise a glass to Jeff Davis for bringing the fabulousness of Food Fete to hungry food bloggers four times annually! See you in the Spring!
All Photos By Gail (Click on Any Image to Enlarge for Detail)
Food Fête‘s fall showcase officially kicks off the Eating Season: with lots of holiday cooking and entertaining to look forward to, as well as gift giving and a general period of guilt-free pampering and self-indulgence during the colder months. Let’s eat!
Check Out That Stylish, Grape Cluster Wig on the Pumpkin!
When I was a kid growing up in California, I recall an animated TV commercial from the California Grape Growers featuring just a bunch of grapes on screen and two people talking off-screen about how Grapes were so “Sweet and Juicy” that somebody should “package them and sell them for snacks,” adding that “Grapes” was also “a catchy name”! It was hilarious, but also made a lot of sense in that Grapes are a delicious natural snack that don’t need a lot of tarting up to make them appealing to consumers.
At Food Fête, Grapes from California offered a delicious and easy to make Grapes treat called Tuxedo Bites, which are just fresh red or green grapes dipped in melted milk, dark or white chocolate, or melted caramel, and dipped in nuts or crushed candy. So easy to make for your holiday party! Get more great grape recipes at This Link!
Continuing along in a nostalgic vein, another item I remember from childhood is Aardvark Paper Straws, which are making big comeback, and it’s about time. Aardvark, the original paper drinking straw, reentered the market in 2007, primarily in response to the growing anti-plastic movement. Now manufactured by PPG, these colorful straws are more durable and more sustainable than any paper straw on the market.
Aardvark Paper Straws are 100% biodegradable, so their use can help reduce the plastic in our landfills and waterways – good for the planet and everyone who lives on it! They are also fun for parties and can be inspiring in the creation of all kinds of fun crafts for kids! Find out more about Aardvark Paper Straws by visiting them online at This Link!
Hey, do you like Coffee? Who doesn’t! New coffee products are always so exciting, and Kohana ready-to-drink, cold brew ice coffee is a delicious new drink that will attract your attention with a gentle “Aloha”! Organic, low in acid, and lightly sweetened with all natural monk fruit extract, Kohana cold brew ice coffee is available now in 8-ounce, shelf-stable cans that have a 9 month refrigerated shelf life! Flavors include class Black, White (with Milk), Salted Caramel, and Vanilla. Find out more about Kohana Cold Brew ice coffee in a can at Kohana Coffee Dot Com.
NatureBox Snacks is an idea you should put on your Holiday Gift Giving list for anyone who loves receiving delicious and wholesome snacks delivered directly to their door! NatureBox is a snacker’s dream come true, in that they offer highly customizable subscriptions to receive boxes of packaged healthy, natural and – most importantly – insanely delicious snacks each month! You can design your NatureBox subscription to receive as few as five or as many as twenty bags of tasty snacks shipped right to your home. Likewise, you can also select whether you’d prefer to choose the snacks you will receive or be surprised. Personally, I like surprises, because it is like Christmas. Christmas! Give a nature Box gift subscription – or start one for yourself – right now by visiting Nature Box Dot Com!
NatureBox Dark Cocoa Nom Noms. Yummy!
Favorite NatureBox Snack: Pistachio Power Clusters!
Ginnybakes is a line of outrageously delicious and nutritious organic, gluten free and non-GMO Cookies, Bars and Baking Mixes that is family owned since 2010. At Food Fête we had the chance to sample a variety of their cookies and Ginnyminis — 6-count bags of Ginny’s best-selling cookie flavors that are perfect for snacking or to toss into a lunch box. We also love their slogan: “Indulge Mindfully!” Find or more about Ginnybakes’ line of tempting baked goods that are good for you at This Link.
Chocolate Chip Ginnyminis
Weight Watchers Dark Chocolate Raspberry Frozen Bars
One indulgent dessert that is going to be convenient, delicious and guilt-free are selections from Weight Watchers line of frozen bars. Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream Bars feature a rich, dark chocolate coating on the outside and cool, low fat raspberry ice cream on the inside. It’s all the sweetness you crave with just 90 calories and 0 grams trans fat per bar.
Also brand new are Weight Watchers Salted Caramel Ice Cream Candy Bars — perfectly cravable for lovers of the continually trending sweet and salty taste of low fat caramel ice cream topped with salted caramel covered and in a milk chocolaty coating. You would never believe these decadent bars are only 120 calories, 6 grams of fat and 0 grams trans fat each! Find out where you can buy these bars and other fine Weight Watchers products at This Link!
One stand out new product we were introduced to at Foot Fête is Little Miracles, a UK-based Tea and Super-Juice Blend that tastes fantastic! Organic and sweetened only with natural agave, these healthy beverages come in four unique tea/juice blend varieties but our favorite was the White Tea & Cherry (with ginseng and acai berry) which, seriously tasted like Christmas. And that does not mean it tasted like a pine tree but, rather, that its delicious and honestly refreshing flavors were experienced as pure joy in the mouth. Find out more about Little Miracles by heading over to Drink Little Miracles Dot Com.
And while we’re on the subject of Flavored Tea Drinks let’s give shout out to one of our favorite brands, Honest Tea, who introduced two new flavors at the show. Orange Mango flavored Herbal Tea is made with organic grape, orange, lemon and mango with notes of lemon balm. Pomegranate Blue flavored Herbal Tea contains the flavors of organic pomegranate, grape and blueberry, infused with organic hibiscus. Both varieties are just 100 calories per bottle! These new flavors will be in stores starting January 2015!
For Keurig users, Honest Tea also introduces both Green and Black Tea K-Cups so that you can brew fresh, unsweetened iced tea one cup at a time! Just brew hot tea over a cup of ice! Honest Tea K-Cup packs are available now. Get more information about Honest Tea at Honest Tea Dot Com.
If you watch the fantastic TV show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, then you probably recall a recent rant that John went on where he described Cranberries as being like “Cherries that hate you.” Despite the great belly laugh inspired by that line, we do not agree! Dove brand — famous for their fine chocolate and chocolate-dipped ice cream bars — are now bringing their way with chocolate to the popular venue that is whole fruit dipped in dark chocolate – sweet, delicious Cranberries included!
Dove Whole Fruit Dipped In Dark Chocolate combines real whole berries dipped in smooth Dove dark chocolate in cranberry, cherry and blueberry varieties — which are the top selling fruits in the market. , Six-ounce standup bags of the Cranberry and Blueberry varieties were introduced in September, with a SRP range of $3.59 to $4.79. The six-ounce Cherry variety will debut in January, 2015 along with 2.83-ounce standup bags of Cranberry and Blueberry with a SRP range of $1.99 to $2.59, so get ready to stock up for the holidays! Find out more about the Dove brand at This Link!
Last time we saw 34 Degrees Crisps at a Food Fête they were showcasing their sweet Chocolate Crisps — which are simply divine! New for fall are two savory flavors, Poppy Seed and Tasted Onion, both of which will be available for limited time only. Versatile Poppy Seed goes sweet or savory; from creamy cheeses and fresh fruit to cured meats and veggies. Bold Toasted Onion plays well with big flavors. Think tapenade, smoked meat or aged cheese. The lightness and highly appealing crispness of these crackers is unequaled and simply must be tasted to be believed.
Look how gorgeous they are! Check out 34 Degrees products online at 34 Degrees Dot Com.
Hot snacks from the oven are a perennial favorite for all home entertaining, and Farm Rich brand frozen snacks were on hand to debut their newest offering, Pepperoni Bites! These hearty snacks have a yummy pizza taste and are made with real mozzarella cheese that maintains an authentic “pull” when hot and melty. Find out more about the Farm Rich brand of convenience foods and get money-saving coupons at Farm Rich Dot Com.
Farm Rich Favorite Mozzarella Sticks and New Pepperoni Bites Snacks!
Cheese in every form is also a holiday favorite and Jarlsberg is global brand we’ve known and trusted all our lives, it seems. Get Jarlsberg product information and recipes at This Link.
Que Pasa Tortilla Chips are an organic, Non-GMO and Gluten free snack that are as versatile as they are delicious!
Find out how to make the above pictured Cilantro Pesto and Sundried Tomato Crostini (substituting Que Pasa Tortilla Chips for the tiny Crostini rounds) plus tons of other amazing dishes featuring with Que Pasa Chips and Salsas at at This Link!
Alouette spreadable soft cheeses are a must-have on hand product for the holiday season and all year round. They are so versatile!
New Flavors due in stores in February 2015 are Toasted Everything (perfect for your morning bagel!) and New York Cheddar.
Get a printable coupon for $1.00 Off any Alouette Cheese Product by visiting This Link.
Here’s another new product that we went completely insane for: Addie’s Fine Foods miniature pies and cheesecakes! Made from the decades old, original recipes of Addie Simon, Addie’s sweet potato desserts (both pies and cheesecakes) are made with two varieties of sweet potatoes. The orange sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene, while purple sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants, and both have proven healthful effects. Sweet potatoes are a substantial source of dietary fiber, which helps lower blood sugar by slowing the rate at which food is converted into glucose and absorbed into the bloodstream. You will be amazed that something so good for you can taste so decadently delicious.
Addie has also created luscious Lemon Ice Box Pie and classic Butternut Squash Cheesecakes to the line of healthy pleasures. All of Addie’s desserts are made with less sugar and have fewer calories without sacrificing taste. Trust me, I sampled each of these deserts at Food Fête and simply could not shut up about how astoundingly delicious they were. Find out more about Addie’s Fine Foods — our Number One find at this season’s Food Fête — at Addies Fine Foods Dot Com.
Olives From Spain were there to represent for a tiny fruit that not only tastes delicious on its own, but enhances the recipes of many different kinds of regional dishes. After sampling several luscious and flavorful Spanish Olive varieties (we still love Black Ripe Olives the best) we came back home with two cans of Olives and a gorgeous, full color mini Cook Book, which will give us a lots of ideas on creative ways to use them. Explore the world of Olives from Spain at Olives From Spain Dot US.
Recently, we watched an episode of excellent the PBS series, Food Forward, on how many Ranchers are returning to traditional, grass-fed styles of raising cattle — which made a significant and permanent, thought-changing impact regarding the most sustainable and humane way to raise cattle for food. This is why we love Niman Ranch, a company that offers a complete line of fresh Beef, Pork, Lamb and Cage-free Eggs as well as a variety of smoked and prepared items. All Niman Ranch livestock are raised on hormone and antibiotic free, 100% vegetarian diets and are 100% traceable from farm to plate. It follows then that their products are All-natural, Gluten Free, Nitrite and Nitrate free and MSG Free. Most importantly, their meat products all taste delicious!
At Food Fête, attendees sampled three new prepared Pulled Pork vairietes in different BBQ sauces — Regular Sweet Sauce (not to spicy), Smokey Chipotle, and Hoisin Soy BBQ Sauce.
The pieces of pork were large, the meat was tender, and the flavor was delicious. All you have to do is heat and serve for easy pulled pork sandwiches! Find out more about Niman Ranch meats, get recipes and shop online at Niman Ranch Dot Com.
And that’s it for this edition of Food Fête! Thanks as always to Jeff Davis for producing another great show! See you in the Winter!
All Photos By Gail (Click on Any Image to Enlarge for Detail)
Four times each year we get very excited in anticipation of our favorite food trade show, Food Fete, because it is so awesome. Winter Food Fete took place last week on February 25th and while it was on the small side, we discovered plenty of cool new products to tell you about.