Cricket chips, dehydrated organs: ‘Healthy’ snack foods that may be hard to swallow
Chips made from powdered crickets. Milk derived from potatoes. And dehydrated grass-fed beef organs.
These are some of the new health foods coming your way that may be tough to swallow, no matter how seemingly good for you they might be.
Earlier this year, the annual Expo West held in Anaheim brought in a record 77,000 visitors to check out the 3,000 companies showcasing an early look at the newest in organic and natural products to seemingly fit every diet and lifestyle: Paleo, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, sugar-free, lactose-intolerant ...
Everywhere we looked, brands were boasting that they were eliminating wheat, rice, corn and oats, and nut milks are on track to become a new household staple. Certain trends were at the fore, and are likely to be showing up at your local health food store as soon as production allows. Here are five that caught our eye:
1. TUMERIC, TRENDING
Used in Indian and Chinese medicine and popular for, among other things, reported anti-inflammatory properties, tumeric is being used to enhance seemingly everything from coconut drinks to dark chocolate and popcorn.
2. YOUR BEVERAGE, AS DESSERT
Cold-pressed juices are moving from the fridge to the freezer. Popsicles are being made from beet, kale and even rooibos tea.
3. GIMME THAT, BABY!
Nutrient-rich snacks in handy pouches are going to be the new 100-calorie packets of pretzels — mark our words. But here’s the twist: We’re talking about handy suckable foods that are no longer the domain of toddlers. Brands like Belicious make them with lentils and quinoa, Munk Pack is breakfast-on-the-run with an apple quinoa and cinnamon oatmeal squeeze, and the newly launched Shine Organics has a sophisticated pear-lime-green tea concoction.
4, REALLY? MEAT BARS?
Meat jerky tastes dry in comparison to the new range of meat bars. What, you’ve never heard of meat bars? They’re beloved by the primal/paleo set. The popular brand Epic has a new line of wild game bars, billed as succulent slender slabs of venison with sea salt and pepper, and wild boar with uncured bacon.
5. HELLO, JACKFRUIT!
The future of tofu and tempeh could be jeopardized by this high-fiber fruit, which boasts an uncanny chicken-like texture. The Jackfruit Co. has launched a line of low-calorie meals that are unexpectedly meatlike and in flavors like curry, Tex-Mex and teriyaki.
health@latimes.com
