March 16, 2016

Natural Products Expo: Where the Elite Eats Meet!

The determined FoodTrients team took on legendary Southern California traffic, parking lots filled to capacity by 8:00 a.m., and the threat of a monsoon-like storm to visit and evaluate a million square feet of exhibit space at this year’s Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center, in the shadow of Disneyland. This is the largest natural products trade show in the world and this year’s event broke records—again! There were more than 3,000 exhibitors and over 77,000 registered attendees—up 6.9% over last year. This included 600 first-time exhibitors. Besides its enormous size, the most notable characteristic of this […]
March 8, 2016

Homemade Sardines Get a Crockpot Makeover

Sardines made easy in a crockpot! My readers have let me know how much they enjoy crockpot cooking. They allow working families the chance to come home to long-simmered soups, sauces, stews and other comforting meals that warm the soul. The trick to developing or converting recipes for slow cookers is to correctly estimate the liquid needed. Figure that about 2 cups of liquid will be evaporated during the cooking process over six to eight hours, so plan accordingly. For instance, if you want to make chicken soup or minestrone soup in the slow cooker, just add 2 extra cups […]
October 12, 2015

Good Food on a Tight Budget

The Environmental Working Group continues to be a leader in providing quality information to the consumer regarding health issues and environmental resources. They have recently released a list of healthy foods that you can eat on a shoestring budget. EWG assessed nearly 1,200 foods and hand-picked the best 100 or so that pack in nutrients at a good price, with the fewest pesticides, contaminants and artificial ingredients. Broken down into seven categories, EWG lists the best foods in each. Fruits: These fruits pack the most nutrition for the lowest cost, are low in sugar and toxic pesticides and have plenty of […]
January 27, 2015

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

  Try buying enchilada sauce in a can or jar and you’ll be hard-pressed to find one without sugar somewhere on the ingredient label. Why alter the wonderful anti-cancer effects of a tomato-based product with an inflammatory food like sugar? The reason sugar is almost always added is because tomato-based sauces can be acidic and sugar adjusts this flavor well. Try the recipe without any sweetener, but if you find it a tad acidic, you can try a small amount of neutral sweetener such as agave syrup if needed. The health properties of tomatoes, particularly lycopene, are enhanced by cooking […]