Food for Kids: At the Fancy Food Show

More than 80,000 specialty foods and beverages were exhibited at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco this week. I traipsed through aisle after aisle of drinks, sauces, spreads, meal kits, snacks, oils, vinegars, nuts, candy, cheeses, desserts, and more. My goal: hunting for interesting food for kids.

As you might expect, specialty food products tend to be more upscale than the traditional grocer’s, with handsome packaging and premium prices. Here are some of the items that caught my eye this year. Some are established products and not new to this year’s show.

Food for Kids: Snacks

There were so many types of tasty crackers and chips made with ancient grains, cauliflower, chickpeas, seeds, and other nutrient-rich ingredients to assuage the guilt from snacking.

Eat Makhana, popped water lily seeds, are hand-picked, popped, seasoned, and roasted in California. The seeds are naturally gluten-free and low-glycemic. There are four flavors: Himalayan Pink Salt, Cajun, Vegan Cheddar and Tangy Chili Lime. Estimated retail is $20 for four 10-ounce bags.

Dave’s Naturals Overnight Oats are a healthy blend of oats, chia, almonds and fruit. Add milk and soak four hours or overnight. No cooking is required. Estimated retail is $2.99 to $3.49 a cup. There are four flavors.

This really is muesli and you can make your own. However, how convenient to have the ingredients pre-sourced, portioned, and packaged, for grab-and-go ease.

Pickles, along with fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut, are more popular than ever. Rick’s Picks Snacking Pickles come in a 2.2-ounce single-serving size. Satisfying and crunchy, they’re low in sugar and fat-free. Estimated retail for a package is $2.49.

Other snacks:

• Dehydrated exotic fruits, rich in nutrients like dragon fruit chips.
• Japanese-style yogurt that’s lighter in texture and studded with aloe vera gel pieces in fruit flavors.
• Jerky, from wagyu beef to ahi tuna, to mushroom and other plant-based types.

Food for Kids: School Lunches

Great for schools with nut-free zones, The Amazing Chickpea has the taste and texture of peanut butter, but is made with roasted chickpeas. There are four flavors: Creamy, Crunchy, Original and Chocolate. I found it sticks to the roof of the mouth more than regular peanut butter, so be sure to add jelly to your sandwiches. Estimated retail is $7.99 for a 10-ounce jar.

This one’s genius. To make onigiri (rice balls) for a bento lunch, you have to cook the rice, season it, and shape it. With Onisi’s Onigiri/Musubi, just pour hot water into a pouch. In 15 minutes, the contents rehydrate and forms itself into the characteristic triangle shape. The product has a five-year shelf life. There are four flavors: Salmon, Wakame Seaweed, Mixed Vegetables, and Konbu Seaweed. Estimated retail is $3.99 a package.

Presty! Kids, a microwaveable meal in a pouch, can be your go-to school lunch choice on busy days. It heats up in just 1 minute. There are three choices: Tex Mex Quinoa with Vegetables, Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce, and Fusilli with Marinara Sauce. Estimated retail is $1.99 per package. As with most processed food, sodium is on the high side–29 percent of daily value for the Fusilli, to a high of 34 percent for the ravioli, so just balance the rest of the child’s daily intake.

Food for Grandmas and Grandpas: Easy Dinners

Make the popular Vietnamese noodle soup, pho, with Beef Pho Broth Concentrate by Mama La’s Kitchen. Sold frozen in 40-fluid-ounce tubs, simply dilute, heat, add noodles, meat, and your favorite pho toppings. Here’s more information about the chef-owner’s extraordinary escape from Vietnam and her successful restaurant business in Houston.

San Francisco’s popular Burma Superstar Restaurants created a spin-off food brand, Burma Love Foods in 2016. Tea leaf salad is considered a national dish in Burma, so the brand created a Vegan Fermented Tea Leaf Salad Kit. It contains the tea leaf dressing and crunchy mix topping. Just add romaine lettuce, tomatoes,  jalapeño and lemon juice to make a salad for four. The kit is refrigerated and has a 30-day shelf life. Estimated retail: $7.99.

From the oldest crepe company founded in the U.S., Michel de France, comes soy wraps and pea wraps, gluten-free alternatives to bread or flour tortillas. Soy protein wrap flavors are: Sesame Seeds, Chili, and Poppy Seeds. Pea protein wrap flavors are: Sesame Seeds and Chia Seeds. They are shelf-stable for a year. Estimated retail is $4.99 to $5.99 for a package of six wraps.

Other dinner ideas:

• Pizzas on cauliflower crust by Cali’Flour Foods are low-carb, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, and keto friendly. Available in eight flavors. The company also makes pizza crusts.
• Authentic Oaxacan Mole paste from Mimole is produced in small batches following age-old culinary practices. There are two types: Black Mole and Red Mole. Each package is 12 ounces, and makes 6 to 10 servings. The products are vegan, soy- and dairy-free. Retail: $12.50.

Some General Food Trends

• Health focus–incorporating superfood ingredients to give products the extra edge.
• Sustainability–utilizing foods that would be discarded, such as okara, the dregs from making tofu and soy milk; or using ugly vegetables. Also, non-GMO is a popular buzzword.
• Global foods–exotic ingredients from countries around the world–to flavor snacks, for meal kits, or to introduce new condiments to the mainstream. Having exhausted the cachet of Western Europe, some fresher flavors include Singaporean, Cambodian, and Persian.
• Vegetables–incorporating avocado, cauliflower, and other plant-based foods in applications from meal kits to meatless mixes.
• Supporting popular diets–like keto, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian. No one on a special diet will be going hungry.