Food for Thought
Though the vast majority of us don’t get all of our dietary advice from what we learn at trade shows, the recent Eat Well Expo and Living Green did have a lot to offer when it came to what’s hip and new in the land of nutrition.
From delightful new delicacies right about to hit store shelves to top-of-the-line supplements for man and his best friend to a couple of vegetarian cults (literally), the 2009 event had much to savour.
Running from March 13-15 at Montreal’s Palais des congrès, this year’s food expo took on a different tone from previous years where vegetarianism was at the forefront and meat alternatives abounded. Not surprisingly the show was smaller this year but its paired-down version still served up a great deal when it came to both all things wonderful and wacky.
Strolling down the aisles, the first product that sparked our (editor-in-chief Will Nicholls and me) interest was Suriny Rice Bran Oil.
“Basically it’s very light oil that will not adhere to food at all. It has a very high smoke point and so when you are cooking something on a very high heat, the oil itself will not degrade,” said Daniel Lithuin from the Suriny Company. Extolling the virtues of the light liquid gold, Lithuin said that the product contained an antioxidant that is only found in rice called Oryzanol which can reduce bad cholesterol and minimize the symptoms of menopause in women.
For as much as the rice oil tasted poorly paired with the dry bread it was being offered as samples on, its high smoke point and low absorption would make it ideal and nutritious to fry with. Available in health-food stores across Quebec, we agreed that this rice oil might be ideal for some recipes.
A few booths over we encountered Guy Proulx and were drawn to his table due to the nature of the peculiar apparatuses he was displaying. Presenting a series of devices meant as add-ons to regular faucets, Proulx was hawking Bio-Mar water filtration and restructuring units.
“What we do is restructured water; we are trying to enhance the quality of the water all over the place. We do standard filtration with carbon filtration and we do restructuring with the Hexahedron 999,” said Proulx.
Though the carbon filtration system functioned similar to that of a Brita with a carbon filter, the Hexahedron 999 is intended to improve the quality of water used for plant growth in gardening.
However, Proulx could not say if either product could be used to safely improve the quality of water in cases where there are boil water advisories due to contamination. For more info, go to www.bio-mar.com
Moving along, we were both delighted to discover SunButter, a sunflower peanut-butter alternative.
“It is made out of sunflower seeds, and completely peanut-free and gluten-free, so people with allergies can eat this,” said Julie Tubby, a company rep for SunButter.
Smooth, creamy, salty and sweet, SunButter was actually a surprise, very similar to peanut butter but with an earthier sunflower taste. SunButter is also lower in saturated fats than regular peanut butter. It has no Trans fats, is higher in fibre and high in vitamin E.
What is also nice about it is that it is sure to be a hit with kids, many of whom can no longer bring the old standard PB & J sandwiches to school due to allergy advisories. Available in grocery stores and online at http://sunbutter.nwcdev.com/default.asp
Though this type of event attracts many vendors selling miracle cures and life-enhancing vitamins, we found ourselves particularly drawn in by one stall that offered supplements to combat arthritis in humans, dogs and horses. Granted they had separate pills for each species.
“Our premier product right now is Recovery. It is the #1 rated anti-inflammatory product in the world,” said Rob Saint, a product representative from Purica who makes Recovery.
According to Saint, Recovery is an all-organic plant-based product that contains Hyaluronic Acid, a naturally occurring acid found in knees and joints which serves to replenish a body’s natural supply. He also said that the product is currently being used by some members of Canada’s Olympic teams to relieve joint swelling particularly as it can be used in conjunction with other medication.
Though Purica makes various different supplement products, Saint said that arthritis sufferers could feel a noticeable difference after three weeks of use. More info can be found on this product at www.purica.com
With words like “antioxidants,” and “colourful foods,” abounding throughout the nutrition community these days, natural juices, nectars and smoothies were at nearly every corner of this exposition. What struck our fancy were little sample cups containing Van Dyk’s 100% pure Wild Blueberry Juice.
Though Aboriginals have known for centuries about the natural healing properties of blueberries, finding 100% pure juice that tastes as good as fresh blueberries is another challenge.
“It’s 100% pure and reduced from only grade A quality fruit from Nova Scotia,” said a very rosy cheeked Randy Macdonald from behind the counter. Drinking the juice on a daily basis most likely contributed to the man’s rosy glow.
What made this beverage stand out from the rest we tasted that day was how distinctly the wild blueberry flavour was pronounced and how naturally sweet it was. Often times pure blueberry juice will be costly only to have the beverage taste earthy and almost bitter, the quality was evident in this one. Available in health food and grocery retailers across Canada, more info on this juice can be found at www.vandykblueberries.ca.
As we meandered through the expo, passing kiosks with hollering sales reps flogging everything from cloth diapers to Tupperware to cookware, we were certainly taken aback when we encountered what appeared to be a vegetarian cult.
Representing “Supreme Master Ching Hai,” who the nameless flyer girl said was an artist, humanitarian and teacher who she and her group followed, it was unclear what the group was actually selling.
Their literature and signage on their booth was plastered with slogans about going vegetarian or vegan as consuming meat has a heavy duty impact on the environment and global warming. At the same time, upon further inspection, many of the group’s statements were misleading such as “nearly ALL THE ICE COULD BE GONE from the Arctic Ocean by THE END OF THE SUMMER MELT SEASON IN 2012.”
Meeting this group and examining their literature was like watching Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth meets People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal’s website while on hallucinogenic drugs. Sure the message was there but twisted and contorted into a mess of manipulative, senseless and ungrammatical mumbo jumbo. Though we at the Nation cannot say for sure that they or any of the other idea-selling groups we met at the expo were in fact actual cults, what we can say is that they and their literature were strange and entertaining. For more info: www.suprememastertv.com/?langdir=1
Ultimately our favourite find of the day were the Chez Emile organic olive products. Featuring a green-olive spread, a black-olive spread and an organic Arbequina olive oil all imported from Argentina, we could not stop raving about these exquisite flavours.
Anne-Marie Flynn said that she had originally started importing these products when she ran a restaurant but has since gone on to exclusively importing the products for distribution. Both the green and black olive pastes were scrumptious on crusty bread and were bursting with intense and pure olive flavour. Flynn said that she used to use them as an alternative to butter with the bread basket at her restaurant. The olive oil too was high quality, robust and fragrant and a delight to taste just on its own.
“Usually when you see this kind of a paste it is mixed with something else but here it is 100% olives, nothing else,” said Flynn with a smile. Available at 32 stores in Montreal, to find a retailer go to http://chezemile.net/
Many of the companies that flock to flog their products at this event do so because they are just about to hit store shelves, having had their product recently picked up by a major grocery store chain. Such was the case for IODÉA, a seaweed-based caviar alternative which will soon be available in over 150 IGA stores.
Being a fan of caviar I was sorely disappointed by this product. Though it is healthful, its texture and flavour simply could not compare to the real deal. The product is somewhat slimy and not as salty as regular caviar but where it really lacks is in terms of texture, being softer than the usual burst-in-your-mouth tiny fish eggs. Its literature also suggested that the product was fat-free, calorie-free and cholesterol-free which was also confusing in that shouldn’t all nourishment nourish a body? Available in truffle, salmon, sturgeon and wasabi flavours, for more info go to http://caviarsiodea.com
Events like these can be particularly handy to those who suffer from food allergies which have been on the rise in recent years. Though many booths had products designed for those with food allergies, obtaining many of them is not always as easy as they are not as readily available as some staples. This was exactly why Mélanie Simard decided to come to the show to promote her www.menuallergie.net website.
Featuring a plethora of child-friendly treats and snacks that are safe for those with food allergies, this website is a great one-stop virtual shop for parents seeking snacks, candies, spreads, cereals and all sorts of other related products. Products can be purchased off the site and shipped anywhere just about.
Whereas this year’s Eat Well Expo certainly did not disappoint us or the thousands of others who graced its aisles, no two of these shows are ever the same. The 2009 show featured more food-related products and there seemed to be less of a focus on the environment, with a handful of presenters showing off recycled products and items related to composting. Regardless, it was well worth the trip!
For more info on the Eat Well Expo go to www.expomangersante.com