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Top 5 Organic Food Products from Natural Products Expo West 2013

I recently got back from Natural Products Expo West 2013 and had an absolutely amazing time.

Even though Whole Foods’ announcement – that it would be labeling GMOs sold in its stores by 2018 – was the big news of the show, there were still plenty of great products that captured my attention.

Here are my Top 5 Organic Products from Expo West 2013.

RED LENTIL ROTINI BY TOLERANT FOODS

This red lentil rotini by Tolerant Foods got a huge reception at the show. And for good reason.

Not only was the taste outstanding, but the ingredients and nutritional profile were equally as impressive.

Made from nothing more than red lentil flour, this organic pasta offers 21 grams of protein per serving and provides 54% of the recommended daily fiber intake. This product is gluten-free, vegan, kosher, and non-GMO verified.

It will be available nationwide at the end of April, and I can’t wait to start making organic red lentil rotini for dinner.

HUMMUS BY LOVE & HUMMUS

When have you ever had organic hummus that comes in a glass jar?

For me, the answer is never – until now. All of the hummus that I have purchased up until this point has been in plastic containers, and it always has had a very processed taste to it.

So, when I came across Love & Hummus in its glass jar, I knew immediately that this was going to be something special.

Not only did the glass jar from Love & Hummus provide a distinct freshness, but the product offered a different – lighter, less whipped, and more homemade – texture. It was excellent.

My days of eating hummus out of a plastic container might be over, now that I know that a better alternative is out there.

Love & Hummus is available for purchase at stores in the San Francisco area and online.

ARONIA AND WHEATGRASS POWDER BY SAWMILL HOLLOW FAMILY FARM

For a second year in a row, Sawmill Hollow Family Farm has made this list.

Last year, they made it with their aronia powder – 2x the amount of antioxidants as acai, 3x the amount of antioxidants as blueberries, and 600% more resveratrol than red grapes.

This year, their new product of freeze-dried aronia and wheatgrass really wowed me.

Not only are you getting aronia, a superfood with an incredibly high ORAC score (antioxidant measurement), but you’re also getting wheatgrass powder.

As you may know, I am a massive fan of wheatgrass, which very well could be the single best food on the planet.

The other thing that I loved about this product is that it will be coming in glass bottles, something very important for green powders to help prevent oxidation and maintain freshness.

This organic aronia and wheatgrass powder will be available for sale later this year on the company’s website.

RAW GREEK SALAD DRESSING BY RAW FOODZ

Ask me what is the one category within the organic food sector where there is a lot of room for improvement, and I will tell you salad dressings.

I am sorry but I am just not impressed with most of the current offerings of organic salad dressings. They are either too oily, too processed, too “unfresh”, or lack a good taste.

That is why I totally flipped out over the salad dressings by Canadian-based Raw Foodz, and my favorite of the bunch was the Greek one. The taste completely mimicked that of a traditional Greek dressing, and it was incredibly light and refreshing.

The product is 100% raw, vegan, and non-GMO. Its ingredients include extra-virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, oregano, filtered water, coconut sugar, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, onion powder, celery seed, and sea salt.

The organic, raw salad dressings by Raw Foodz are currently available throughout Canada, and U.S. distribution is expected later this year.

GLUTEN-FREE, SPROUTED PROTEIN PANCAKE MIX BY WHOLESOME CHOW

There are plenty of organic pancake mixes on the market, but this was the very first one that I have come across that is vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, and contains sprouted protein powder.

Yes, sprouted brown rice protein powder in a pancake mix. How brilliant is that????

Let’s give Wholesome Chow, a veteran of organic and gluten-free baking mixes, an “A” for innovation.

The full ingredient list includes white rice flour, brown rice flour, sprouted brown rice protein powder, potato starch, tapioca starch, baking soda, evaporated sea salt, and xantham gum.

No longer will pancakes be just a guilty pleasure but you can now get some serious protein out of them. This organic pancake mix will be available on the company’s website next week and at retailers nationwide sometime this year.

A message from Tradin Organic

Why Tradin Organic is Prioritizing Regenerative Organic Farming

At Tradin Organic, we believe that regenerative organic farming is key to growing healthy and nutritious food ingredients — for now and for future generations.

And in Sierra Leone, we have grown the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified cacao.

Learn more.

livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink