Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Expo West 2009 Natural Foods Show

We're finally back from our trip to Sacramento and Los Angeles. It was a long drive but well worth it. We missed our family in Sacramento and had a nice time there with them and it was a good break from driving.
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Our stay in sunny Los Angeles was great. The Expo was held at the Anaheim Convention Center and is the largest one of it's kind on the West coast. Products ranged from every kind of bottled drinks and teas to natural foods to a dizzying array of nutraceuticals and more. Well, you know we're mainly interested in the food stuff and it was exciting to see so much out there for us veggie foodies who are on-the-go!
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We saw lots more hitting the market in the way of gluten-free foods. Sadly, most were not vegan but did usually include eggs or dairy of some sort. For those who are sensitive to the most common allergens, but not vegan, satisfy that sweet tooth and visit http://www.cinderellasweets.com/ Wow! They got some treats that are truly eye candy too. My absolute favorite vegan and gluten-free treat has got to be Glenny's Brown Rice Marshmallow Treats. Yes, I said MARSHMALLOW! Better than the real thing. Check them out at http://www.glennys.com/
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Everyone's favorite addiction...Sugar in one form or another was everywhere to be found. Our favorite vendor was there with Sweetleaf brand stevia. Many other brands of stevia are hitting the market and you could also find many, many products sweetened with stevia, most notoriously, packaged drinks. If you don't know much about stevia for use as a sweetener, please look up information about it. While you're at it, look up agave too. Both are excellent alternatives to traditional sugar with good health benefits.
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Some of our other favorite sweets that need to be mentioned...
Smooze Fruit Ice http://www.smoozeusa.com/ made with real fruit purees and juices and fresh pressed coconut milk!
Certified Organic Cotton Candy http://www.bernodspuncity.com/ no yucky stuff, especiall high fructose corn syrup!
Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss http://www.coconutbliss.com/ ...drool...need I say more?
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Okay, nevermind dessert before the meal. (We see that all the time at the trailer). After looking at product after product and package after package of soups, pizzas, wraps and burritos, soy this and soy that, etc. etc. etc. I have to conclude that cooking at home preparing fresh food for you and your families is the absolute best. Make the effort! I did see products that do help to make home cooking a little easier. And I'll be realistic because not everybody has the time to plan, organize, shop, and fix good, wholesome foods each day. So make use of what you can. Just don't eat out of the box or can or whatever as much as possible when you don't have to.
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Superfruits are big. Acai superfruit has not faded out of the picture when it made it's big intro in the past couple of years. Still big are the other superfruits: Mangosteen and Goji and you can find these or combinations of these as main ingredient in drinks, nutritional bars, and supplements. Taste good, and good for you.
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There is so much to mention but not enough time or energy to do it so I'll just mention a couple of other products that I think every self-sufficient person who takes their own health and their families health seriously and into their own hands where it should be. One new/old product is one that I have mentioned before is Chia Seed. Now that the word is really getting out about this ancient superfood, you'll see the applications for Chia explode. When I went to Mom's house, she made these dessert balls out of dates and nuts and rolled them in chia seed. It was delicious! At the Expo, I sampled a Salba Whole Food Bar. (Chia Seeds are black, the white Chia, or Salba, have that outer covering removed which make the nutrients more asimilable to the system when ingested). Yummy food on-the-go.
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Besides Activated Charcoal in your home first aid kit, don't forget to include Colloidal Silver. One company we met up with there clearly has the best product called ASAP. See their web site- http://www.silverbiotics.com/ with all the clinical studies to back up its claims. Our family has long been using it for little owees like cuts and bruises, cold sores, infections like colds, and for pretty much everything else. ASAP comes in gel form making it easy to apply topically. Of course we still use the spray or dropper in liquid form for taking internally. Heal and protect yourself and your family with good knowledge and the right products.
That's all for now, praying for renewed and continued life and vitality for all of you. God bless and in good health, your friends, Brian, Crystal, and Skye from The Maui Vegetarian.

1 comment:

gerald said...

My most memorable booth hands down was the Cherry Vanilla Organic Cotton Candy. I have been a fan of Bernod Spuncity's original Grape since they started but this new flavor is definately going to put this small Los Angeles company on the map.