Every year I attend the CHFA (Canadian Health Food Association) Health Show in Vancouver. It’s for natural health food and supplement retailers, wholesalers, and practitioners to attend, and I usually find at least a few interesting items that are new to me. This is an image of the collection of items I picked up to try out!
My Top Picks for Interesting Natural Health Foods
Just because items are labelled as “natural health foods” doesn’t necessarily make them healthy. Chips, chocolate, frozen treats, cakes, and cookies are always abundant at this show. It’s just that they are often healthier alternatives to the junkier versions. Or, they meet specific nutritional needs, like gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, or other. But a gluten-free brownie is still a brownie, and should be treated as such.
But, one snack food that I feel pretty good about enjoying are seaweed snacks. I grew up eating seaweed, as my mom used to feed us that when we were kids. Surprisingly, my husband (no Asian roots) also loves seaweed. So, luckily we have a few samples to pick away at. I prefer the basic flavours–sea salt, olive oil, or sesame seed oil–but some might prefer other options like the teriyaki flavour. Do you have a fave seaweed snack? One thing to note is that dried seaweed is notorious for sticking in your teeth, so sadly, I rarely bring these to work because I don’t want to smile a toothy green-flaked grin when treating patients. Also, make sure to read the ingredients list because some cheaper versions use MSG or other artificial flavours. And, like most things, it’s wise not to go overboard on them because they are high in sodium.
Speaking of snacks, the Cauliflower Puffs barely made it in the door before my husband dove into them. If you look carefully at my picture, the bag is open. I had to grab it back from him so I could take a picture. This company also makes Jackfruit (a new superfood?!) Puffs, Beet Puffs, and something I never thought I’d see or try–Brussels Sprouts Puffs. All of the above, surprisingly delicious, and I have always said I hate Brussels sprouts (though I no longer hate them, I still hold a grudge because of an early childhood episode). I thought I’d like the Spinach & Matcha Chips, but I can easily stop at just one or two. Not not tasty. But not yum. I’m holding back from trying the Asparagus Chips because I hate the smell of asparagus pee. Worth it if I get to enjoy the nutrition of true asparagus, the whole vegetable. Not sure about it in chip form. Let me know what you think if you do try it.
The Laiki rice crackers I chose because they also hearken back to hints of Asian foods I grew up with. These are red rice crackers and black rice crackers. They don’t taste like the sembei (rice cracker) snacks you find in Asian grocery stores, but these ones are much healthier, as they are made with only rice, oil, and salt–no added corn starch, sugar, or flavour enhancers.
The next item to review made me smile huge when I was handed it, though it might sound odd to some. Mushroom chocolate. Ok, chocolate, a clear favourite. But this one has a blend of 10 medicinal mushrooms in it too! I already love reishi mushroom, and I write for a great reishi company, Mikei Japanese Red Reishi. But if I get to combine chocolate in with bonus health properties, sure, I’m game. I’ll take my reishi capsules and eat my mushroom chocolate too.
The next snack is probably the most controversial one, though I had no problems with it! Cricket crackers. I also tried the cricket protein bars and found them delicious! I’ve eaten whole (dead, not live) crickets before, both in Thailand and in Japan, so it wasn’t a first for me. But, while I could see the crickets and taste the crickets in those cases, in these snack foods, you wouldn’t even know it was there. The cricket olive crackers taste like olive crackers. Plus, you get the benefit of a much more sustainable than meat protein and, unlike nuts and seeds and other “non-meat” (though some might call bugs meat, I guess?) protein sources, these also contain vitamin B12. I brought this bag to work with me and only about half of my colleagues would try it–vegetarian or not wasn’t the distinguishing factor. Would you eat cricket protein?
On to more unique natural health food items, these are the ones I found most intriguing. I’ve yet to cook up the edamame spaghetti, but I’m looking forward to trying it out. I love the option of a high protein noodle. So, what are the ingredients in these noodles? Simple. Just edamame.
Sorry to say it Chickapea, as I really did like the organic Chickapea penne you were sampling, but this Mac & Cheese box I brought home was not a hit. My husband said it tasted like “barn.” I didn’t think it was that bad! The simple pasta options, however, I would definitely buy and try again. I love another protein pasta option. Have you tried any of these and found you agree with my husband or do you love them, like I loved the penne choice?
Another food I tried at the show and am excited to try out at home is the juackfruit green curry. For you foodies, vegans, and trendsetters out there, jackfruit is a natural health food worth it’s weight (it’s heavy and big!) in gold. If you are trying to eat less meat, but miss the texture of meat, this is one to try. Personally, I’d be too lazy to buy the whole fruit and effort through peeling/cutting/whatever you need to do with it. This is how I feel about artichokes too. Tried doing the whole artichoke prep thing once, and never again. This package of jackfruit green curry is easy to make, as you just have to heat it. And, if the green curry idea scares you because you are hot-spice-phobic, fear not. If I can eat it, anyone can. My husband jokes that I think that ketchup is spicy.
I’m not a fan of all the plastic bottled drinks out there. But this bottle was unique and worth a mention. One of the challenges with getting pre-prepped matcha tea drinks is that it oxidizes once mixed in liquid, so it’s better to mix it shortly before you plan on drinking it. I love matcha. Not matcha lattes or some other perversion mixed with sugar, and especially not mixed with a milk drink. I buy high quality organic matcha powder and drink it hot as tea. But, this bottle is interesting as the cap holds the matcha powder in it until you twist it to release the powder into the water, shake it, and drink it.
Matcha does deservingly receive a lot of kudos for its health benefits, but if you’re looking for a low caffeine green tea option with a softer flavour, hojicha is one of my favourites. The tea leaves are roasted, giving it a slightly toasted, caramel-like flavour. It won’t give you the same health benefits as a regulargreen tea, but it’s a nice drink to have later in the day, and DoMatcha makes a great selection of green teas.
I’m glad that I noticed this small booth with no flash, plain packaging, and with a quiet guy sitting at the back of his booth. He’s trying to get into the market, representing the Alberta Rhodiola Rosea Grower’s Organization to sell rhodiola tea. I’ll let their website explain why rhodiola tea grown in Canada is a great idea!
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy/pungent are all flavours you can probably identify. Bland, is another flavour category in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)–for example, plain cooked rice (though it can also be mildly sweet). But, Japanese coined the term umami to identify a pleasant savoury taste that can be found in gravy, soy sauce, mushrooms, cheese, and cured meats. Apparently, this item isn’t yet found in local stores here, but here’s my call out for them to get it! Note that it does contain wheat, so not appropriate for those on gluten-free, and also soy, so not for those soy-free. But, both I and my Japanese-Canadian mom agree, this is oishii (Japanese for delicious).
And, lastly, I can’t really review this natural health food item, but my dogs can, and as you can see, he loves them.
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