Get chippy with it (I’m really dating myself)

I wrote a Super Bowl (or super snack post) for Fitbit. If you’re curious about creative crudité, the world’s best guac or the secret to game day weight control (nobody, right?) check it out.

Today, I wanted to be a little more snack centric and talk chips.

Here are Foodtrainers' top 5 ways to “get chippy”

Popcorn gives you so much more snacking leeway than chips (3 cups versus 10-15 chips). Two favorites here are Kettle Brand Sriracha or Quinn’s new ”farm to bag” popcorn in coconut oil (kale and sea salt a runner up)

Carolyn and I were swooning over Seasnax Chompers when we tasted them at a fall trade show. Crunchy, salty and of course with that nutritious nori.

Foodtrainees love these ParsnipChips, we cannot wait for our Ranch “Dipperz” with broccoli and cauliflower to arrive. And don’t forget their Brussels Bytes.

And finally, I love a lime chip. Something about the flavor- does it for me every time. I bought these “for the kids” and this big kid really likes them. In New York, they’re on Fresh Direct. They’re organic and gluten free as well.

How do you like to get chippy? What about Will Smith, a fan? Loved him back in the Fresh Prince days, now?...

Top 5 Healthy Movie Theater snacks (if it were up to me)

As I sat through the worst half hour of movie previews yesterday, my mind wandered. My mind has a few favorite places it wanders to but this time it went to food. I thought about movie theatre food. While my kids will get something from time to time, either when I’m not there or when I choose to ignore everything I know, I don’t really think about it. For my book, I tackled sports arenas and airports and many places that trip people up with food choices. I contemplated the movies and ran the idea by a friend who said, “I think if people want to lose weight part of that means saying no from time to time.” I’m pretty sure her wording was a little meaner but it was a good point.  Just for kicks though (interrupted by my son saying, “who is that guy, I have never seen him before?” Sean Penn) I contemplated my dream movie concession stand.

I know some theatres have real food now but I’m not a fan. First, I am against anything in a theatre that smells. And let’s face it, it’s total darkness and the ultimate in mindless eating, you don’t need a full meal. I’m sticking with snacks and beverages.

• Popcorn- movies and popcorn seem to make sense and Quinnpopcorn is amazing. The Foodtrainers’ theatre would have their popcorn popped in coconut oil even though my heart belongs to smoky cheddar. I just worry about the scent issue (I have a thing about smells).  Ignore the blue bowl, there would be tubs (recycled) but in normal sizes.

• If you’re not a popcorn person but like some crunch, I’d try these Snip Chips. I’ve always loved parsnips and these come in fun flavors. 
  
• Chocolate- of course there has to be a chocolate component. There are a ton of healthy chocolates but I don’t like the idea of a chocolate bar here. My movie chocolate needs to be more snacky. I’d have Sweet RiotChocolate covered cacao nibs. It’s ok to eat the whole tin.

• Beverages- I’m sure it’s no surprise that there’s no soda happening if I’m making decisions. There are also no plastic water bottles either (something I’m almost as against as soda…almost). If you want those monster-sized cups I suppose we can have filtered water in them (and Strawesome straws). I’m really thinking kombucha. As much as I like a cocktail, I think I’d be asleep before the movie starts.

• Since we’re talking sleep, we may as well have a coffee bar. Almond milk cappuccino or some bulletproof action?
  

And I can’t be the only one who contemplates the “cleaning” of the theatre. If you’re like me I’d spritz a little Clean Well (available for purchase before you take your seats).

In case you’re wondering we saw American Sniper. My son had a crepe and I had a Sin-o-bun from Juice press before we went to the theatre.

What’s your favorite movie snack if life had no rules? What would be served at your dream concession stand? Have you seen American Sniper? Did you watch the Golden Globes?

Expo East: 5 of our Favorite Finds

I haven’t been down to Natural Products Expo East in a couple of years. My general rule with food expos is to talk but not taste. I learned early on as an RD if you take a taste, bite or sample size of many, many different items digestive distress ensues. So what did I do when confronted with hundreds of booths to sort through and see? I tasted everything in sight. I could blame this on the brevity of my trip (I only had a few hours in Baltimore) or the enthusiasm of our Snack Queen Joanna Li, at her first expo, who decided it was her “dream day” before we entered the convention hall or but I will fess up- I was in the mood to taste test.

From jerky to juice, smoothies to soup we sipped (and here and there spit out), crunched and

conversed with company reps. Here are some favorites.

Kimchi chips- I’ve written about Food Should Taste Good before. In fact, when we stopped by their booth I wasn’t paying that much attention thinking been there, snacked on that until I saw these Kimchi chips. These aren’t any wallflower, run of the mill snacks; they’re one of the most memorable spicy, vinegary bites I had all day.

I’m an admitted smoothiehaulic and coffee addict and it seems I’m not alone in my dual dependencies. Enter AmazingMeal Café Mocha. I know, I know coffee, greens and hemp protein don’t sound like anything you’d seek out but this was really good. We sampled it mixed with rice milk, I can’t wait to introduce it to the Vitamix, some ice, maybe even a little more cacao. Each packet or serving has 10 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber delicious.

Iced tea is usually either laced with sugar (or nastier substitutes) or bland and boring. These iced teas from Ayalas are unsweetened and delicious. And as with their herbal waters the flavors are interesting too. I went for nutmeg, cacao, cardamom while Joanna enjoyed the cinnamon rose rooibos (rooibos tea is fantastic for your skin).

Popcorn and coconut oil figured prominently at the expo this year. Joanna beelined it for BoomChickaPop, I fell in love with Ziggy Marley’s flavored coconut oils.  Seems the Marley family had some hemp seeds lying around. I’ve seen their seeds sold (great packaging) for some time but curry and orange, almond infused oils? Cinnamon Orange Almond Popcorn? Coco’mon it is.

As we rounded the corner of the last row of booths, my stomach was rumbling. I think it was a tiny spoon of ghee that didn’t sit well. I was done. And then we saw an adorable booth with a bubbly girl telling us about her juice company that launched that day. I have green juices everywhere and only tasted it because I thought perhaps it would settle my stomach?  So I took a sample sip of her “Duke of Kale” juice, Joanna did too.  We looked at each other nodding, this wasn’t a dirty, too-green juice or a fruit fest. It was refreshing and interesting (I recall dandelion greens). The company is so new that I cannot even verify the other ingredients. Look for Love Sam juices at stores near you.  I will be can’t say the same about that ghee.

Have you tried any of these products? Which sound interesting? How do you do with situations where there are lots of different types of food?

Two of our Family Favorites and Giveaways

 I relax some of my food standards when we’re away from home. Despite my best efforts,  you cannot always control everything. Vegetables aren’t always organic, most restaurants don’t cook with coconut oil etc. Additionally, contrary to what my offspring think, my mission in life isn’t to embarrass them in any way possible. Even with the upcoming book, at one of our early meetings when we conceptualized it, my agent looked at me and said “the advice for each scenario cannot be to bring your own.” I agreed. But there are places when you should bring your own and one of those places is the movies.

My children eat candy and have treats but they don’t need sour patch kids the size of a clutch purse or popcorn popped in garbage. They used to give me a hard time over my need to smuggle in my own cinema offerings until I found a solution they adored. The solution’s name is Quinn and this popcorn is insanely good. Aside from the movies it’s now our football snack, road trip snack- we’re pretty into it.

As Quinn says it’s “microwave popcorn reinvented”.  I have many issues and phobias but the microwave isn’t one of them. If you don’t microwave, there are stovetop directions.  The bag is free of chemical coatings and such found in typical micro pop (and also compostable). All ingredients are non-GMO, popcorn is organic. You pop the popcorn, add oil and shake, add the flavor packet and shake again. Our only issue is that we live in a house divided. Two favor Vermont Maple and Sea Salt and two can’t think beyond Hickory Smoked Cheddar.

So there are times when I try to find a family friendly replacement for unhealthy options. Other times, I’m trying to pack the maximum amount of nutrition into our family meals.  One of my favorite ways to do this is with hemp (seeds, oil, powder). Hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds) have a mild flavor and contain a variety of fats making them great for skin, cognition and mood.  They’re also a good source of protein. These go in our school day smoothies and get sprinkled over salads and in yogurt.

From our family (and the Quinn and Manitoba Harvest family) to yours.

Quinn is giving away a 6-pack of all flavors of their popcorn.

Manitoba harvest is generously supplying a lucky reader a hemp starter pack (with hemp oil, hemp hearts and hemp protein).

To be eligible

1. Comment below (with an email address so we can reach you)
2. Tweet “@foodtrainers family favorites @quinnpocorn and @manitobaharvest #giveaway http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2013/09/two-of-our-family-favorites-and.html"
3. And like Manitoba Harvest and Quinn Popcorn on Facebook

You have until Thursday September 19^th to enter 

How do you maximize nutrition in your meals? Have you tried either of these foods? And where do you try to smuggle food?

Does Taste Matter?

When a client comes in reporting that they veered from their nutrition plan, my first question is generally “was it worth it?” You see, to me there’s a difference between a treat and a cheat. Treats are worth it. The best pizza Chicago has to offer, your grandmother’s famous holiday dessert, the Bi-rite ice cream I had on my birthday are all treats. Treats are savored and special. I wish I could take credit for this concept but it’s not mine. While I have no recollection of my mother dieting when I was growing up (ironic maybe when you think of my profession) she certainly had a rule system. When she tasted something ordinary she would often remark “that’s not worth it” and she’d immediately put her fork down. This was a woman who loved wine and cheese and bread so none of this was restrictive.  I’ve always liked this mentality as it shifts the focus of food from calories and food groups back to taste.

Sadly, much of our eating is governed by factors other than taste and sometimes taste doesn’t even come into play. The LA Times reported on a recent study conducted on moviegoers. Participants were given either fresh or week-old stale popcorn. Results showed people consumed the same amount of popcorn they usually do at movies regardless of freshness (or taste). Those who weren’t regular popcorn eaters were somewhat less likely to consume the stale stuff.  In a meeting room, people did eat less of the stale popcorn than they did in the dark theatre.

While I’d like to think most of us don’t regularly eat stale food, habits can be very powerful. How many times have you gone to lunch at 12:30 simply because you always do? I’ve talked about dessert and it’s very common to have a sweet after dinner purely out of habit. Habits also come into play with portions. Oftentimes we finish what’s on our plate or what we cook without regard for when we’re sated or if it really tastes good.

I’m asking you to jettison those old tendencies and take a page out of Elli’s playbook (funny I feel no need to respect my mother’s privacy). Embrace your inner food snob and to pay attention to how your food tastes. Ask yourself if its worth it and if not stop. You can use #TIDEI (tweet it don’t eat it) @Foodtrainers and we’ll give you a virtual gold star. Another thing we should glean from the study is that only things that are “worth it” should be done in the dark. When it comes to eating, the brighter the lights the better.

When do you find yourself eating sub par food? When you commit a cooking flop do you eat it anyway? Any treats you want to report?

*If you’re now craving freshly popped popcorn, tune in Friday for some Pop Secrets.

Salty Tooth

All this Halloween talk has made me realize something I’ve probably known for a while. There are sweets I like. I mentioned Wednesday that I liked Mounds’ bars. I also like caramels, lemon meringue pie, crystallized ginger and dates. My mother used to give me Teuschers’ champagne truffles while I sat when she had her hair done and I still like those. If forced to choose between any of these treats and say delicious cheese or a French fry, the sweets will lose. I googled “salty tooth” and found a lot of information on various dental procedures and salt water rinsing. While that expression may not be legit, I know I’m not alone. At Foodtrainers, all of us are more salty than sweet. And so I offer some of our favorite “salty tooth” foods.
(photo above is from India, these are salt gatherers and photo take my the mother who bribed her child with champagne truffles)

Popcorn
My friend, chef Julie Negrin had a great blog post about popping popcorn in a pot and it changed my life. You put a little oil in a pot, add your kernels and cover the pot leaving a little room for air to escape. When the popping stops a little Kosher salt or a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Salty and crunchy.

Cerignola olives
Olives have to be one of the great salty foods and these are the king of olives. These large green olives have a firm flesh and amazing flavor. They are 3-4 times the size of a typical olive and fantastic for parties or snacks. In NYC, I get them at Citarella market.

Applegate Sunday bacon What’s salt without bacon? My kids love bacon but the nitrites and nastiness of bacon worried me a bit. I was happy to discover this Applegate product. Two slices are 60 calories and 290 mg of sodium (a serving of canned soup has 500). It’s gluten free and really good.

Marcona almonds
I referred to the Cerignolas as the king of olives and just read these almonds described as the “Queen of almonds.” What a great couple they would be. This “queen” hails from Spain. The almonds derive their saltiness from sea salt and there’s olive oil involved too. Add these to a salad or simply pop them in your mouth.

Nori snacks
I love nori (the black seaweed used for sushi) and often use it as a sandwich wrapper. A client brought me these snacks and they’re delicately salty and very low in calories. I could see these used in soups or one their own.

Pickles
I wrote about McClures  before and have jars of their pickles, bloody mary mix and relish in my pantry at all times. They would go in my salty hall of fame but they might have another pickle with them. I love NY Deli Pickles Horseradish Kosher Pickles . Ricks picks are pretty darn good too.

As far as my fellow Foodtrainers, Melissa loves salted edamame and crumbled feta cheese and Lisa likes avocados with kosher salt. None of us are advocating salt up the wazoo. The funny thing is many of these foods are far lower in sodium than processed foods. One still needs to exercise caution. Too much salt isn’t good but a little sure is.
Do you have a sweet tooth or a salty tooth? What are your favorite salty foods?