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CHFA 2016!

  • October 4, 2016
  • 3 minute read
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As most of you probably know, I love scoping out new food! It’s also no secret to those that know me, or have been reading my blog that the Canadian Health Food Association Show (CHFA) is my favourite weekend of the year. This is my ninth year walking every aisle on the trade show floor, talking to the owners and reps of various brands that I know, and meeting new ones too. For a throwback, you can skim my 2012 post, the first year I officially designated myself as “media” at the show – I can’t even believe how much I’ve changed!

The weekend at the CHFA is like my version of Halloween – over two full days. I look forward to trying out new products, meeting new people and seeing the same people I speak with year after year, and doing shots of raw avocado oil along the way, of course.

Like at any health food store, you still need to always ask lots of questions and read labels fully, since some companies define “healthy” very differently than what I think healthy means. Thankfully, in the aisles there were copious amounts of truly healthy and delicious products, plus some that are less healthy, but still really good organic treats. Unfortunately, as every year, there are some unhealthy products that should not be at this show, but we all have to make our own rules and create our own standards!

I took a lot of pictures, as below, but many don’t show a close-up of the product, so I apologize! I have inserted the website address for each product along with each picture and I hope you take the time to explore the brand, and try the product when you see them on shelf in Canada. There are MANY other great brands at the show and in our health food stores, but the ones I have pictures of, were the ones I liked best this year at the show, and are ones that I want to have at home to enjoy myself!

I also want to extend my sincere gratitude to all of the people over the course of the weekend who spent the time to talk and encourage me, and help me explore more foods and more ideas. You will notice that I took pictures with many of the people at the booths – sometimes the owners, sometimes marketing people, and sometimes people who work for the distributor and it’s because they took their time to explain and promote the virtues of their products with me. It’s not often that you have the opportunity to ask questions about the product and get answers directly from people who made it or know all about it, and that’s really a big part of what makes this weekend so great!

I hope you try many of the products and brands below, and hope you’ll let me know if you agree with me on how good they are! Some may not be out on store shelves yet in Canada, but they will be soon!

Most exciting NEW products (see details, photos and links to the product lines below with pictures):

  1. Luna and Larry’s new flavours coming to Canada!
  2. Turmeric Paste from Nalida Foods. Trust me!
  3. Organic Chickpea and Lentil pasta from Chickapea!
  4. GimMe Roasted Seaweed Snacks’ new flavour – Sriracha!
  5. Cocomels! Organic, vegan, nut-free, soft and chewy caramels!
  6.  Organico Bello tomato sauce. Awesmazing! Toss with a legume pasta (like #3) and it’s a complete, delicious meal!
  7. Beekeeper’s Natural newest: Royal Jelly, raw honey and propolis all in ONE!
  8. Heavenly Organics mint chocolate patties (and all of their patties)!
  9. Seaweeed Chips and Seaweed Tapenade (seriously!) from Marinoe!
  10. Activated Popcorns from Living Intentions!
  11. Mustache Munchies “adult goldfish”, vegan and gluten-free!
  12. Prana’s new chocolate bark. Just get a bag as soon as you see it!
  13. Drink syrups (to make your own pop!) from Harmonic Arts
  14. Olitalia certified organic Avocado Oil (and their ginger drinking vinegar!)
  15. Earth’s Choice creamed coconut (make coconut milk in an instant!)
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Their kale chips aren’t my favourite, but Rhythm Superfoods‘ Roasted Kale Leaves are amazing!
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Tolerant Foods‘ new Energy Legume Blend is awesome, certified organic, and gluten-free pasta! Full of protein and fibre so throw on some sauce or pesto and it’s dinner, I can even make this meal!
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Deebee’s Tea Pops is coming out with a line of new Smoothie Pops! Frozen smoothie on a stick packed with tons of good ingredients – what could be bad?
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Saffron Road’s Crunchy Chickpeas are one of the few brands of crunchy chickpeas on the market that are certified organic – and they are now available in Canada!
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New organic oats from Splendor Garden Herb and Spice Co. Inc.! Grown in Canada, certified organic! I cannot wait to enjoy these every morning!
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Instant Ginger and Coconut Sugar Tea! It was SO GOOD!!
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Kevin from Frozen Coconut ice cream showed me their new flavours – Mixed Berry and Lemon Meringue (which I loved!). This is an AWESMAZING product!
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Zimt Chocolates are delicious – my favourite chocolate bar is the mint!
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Boned Broth has a new vegan soup – it’s hemp-based and comes frozen! The team was super-nice and really enthusiastic about their product! Good fast food for on the go.
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Katherine from Buddha Brands Co. showed me their new flavours of coconut chips and coconut water! Their sriracha coconut chips are outstanding!
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Hungry Buddha’s two new flavours – Pumpkin Spice and Heavenly Honey! Both are excellent, but sriracha is still my favourite.
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Chickapea Pasta is gluten-free and made out of only TWO ingredients – chickpeas and lentils! It’s certified organic and is a Collingwood, Ontario based company!
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Peter Neal from Neal Brothers – always so nice, so happy and so enthusiastic!
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A new snack from Three Farmers – Pea Pops! They come in three flavours – Vegan Wild Ranch, Dill Pickle Pop, and Sriracha Slap! All awesmazing!
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Giddy Yoyo has everything from Spirulina Powder to 100% Chocolate bars – nut-free, all organic and delicious – just look at all of their icons and what they mean!
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My brother and sister LOVE Giddy Yoyo’s Chocolate-Covered Golden Berries!
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Julie from Healthy Crunch Snacks shows off why her kale chips are one of the best school snacks out there! These are a family favourite – “Say Cheez” are the best in my opinion!
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Always great to see Richa from Good Food For Good! Did you know she makes a ketchup sweetened only with dates in a glass bottle? She does!
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Organic is the way to go! Always!
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My favourite tea is from Turmeric Teas – I love turmeric very much! The Winter blend (ginger and turmeric!) is my #1 choice of their 4 great combinations.
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GimMe Seaweed Snacks’ new flavour – Sriracha! One of my favourite flavour profiles!
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Always great to see Mitch from GimMe and hear what they are up to!
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Marc from Coconut Bliss is always a pleasure to see – he is so encouraging and you can tell he loves his work with this great company!
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BIG NEWS!!! Coconut Bliss has two new flavours launching in Canada in the spring – Chocolate Chip Cookie and Cinnamon Chocolate Fudge! I can’t wait to try these!
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Que Pasa has three new flavours of chips coming out soon – all organic and delicious! Great packaging too!
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Escuminac brings certified organic yellow birch syrup and maple syrup together in a sweet and delicious brand! The bottles are so cool looking, I can’t wait to see this product on shelves everywhere, and YES! It does matter that maple syrup is organic too!
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Eden Foods‘ new Instant Miso Soup is a great meal on the go! I take this to camp and on school trips.
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My mom LOVES Farmhouse Culture‘s Gut Shots (Kimchi Brine)! But she loves everything fermented and pickled!
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Cocomels are awesmazing caramels made from coconut milk! They are certified organic and come in four flavours – Sea Salt, Vanilla, Original, and Espresso!
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Hope Hummus‘ Spicy Avocado is one of my favourite hummuses (is that even a word? 🙂 on the market right now! Although we make our own, there’s always a time where you just need to buy!
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Hope’s new (and unfortunately, not available in Canada just yet) Chocolate hummus! I can’t wait to try this when I visit the USA!
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GT’s Kombucha now has large-sized bottles of their kombucha for any big parties you may be having!
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Always great to see Francis from Yoso! The organic, dairy-free cashew cream cheese that they make with Doug McNish is awesmazing! Try it!
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Dina from Mighty Fine Brine kept me going throughout the show with her horseradish brine shots – I definitely recommend drinking some yourself!
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A Real Handful Kale Klusters – vegan, gluten-free, and organic trail mix! These are made by a Toronto small business! These Chipotle Lime Pistachio Klusters were very delicious – fruit and veggies, nuts and seeds all in one bag!
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Planet Hemp makes delectable snacks chock-full of good, healthy protein! I look forward to trying all of their products!
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Organico Bello tomato sauce comes in four flavours – Marinara, Spicy Marinara, Tomato Basil, and Kale Tomato Basil! This is BY FAR the BEST jarred tomato sauce I have ever had. My entire family loves it.
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Made Good‘s NEW Crispy Rice Treats – they come in Cocoa or Vanilla! Great news!!!
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Made Good is also releasing a cereal soon! Two flavours – chocolate and vanilla! This brand is allergen-free and their ingredients are impressive!
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Peter from Way Better Snacks showed me their new packaging and new flavour of chip – Nacho Cheese! I’m holding the Sweet Chili, still my favourite.
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Great to meet Alain from Green Beaver – My little brother LOVES their Orange Liquid Soap! A great Canadian brand!
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Daniel from Beekeeper’s Naturals told me about their new product – Bee propolis, honey, and royal jelly combined!
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Mary’s Organic Crackers has a new flavour – Seaweed and Black Sesame! They look cool and are delicious!
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NEW Chickpea Milk from YoFiit – the drinks are not actually this big! 🙂
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Heavenly Organics make the BEST honey chocolate patties – made with fair-trade honey! A great company, with a great message and purpose besides catering to our sweet tooth in the most natural way! #savethebees
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Kewaza Energy Balls has a new flavour – Dark Chocolate Almond!
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Naledo’s Truly Turmeric paste is SO GOOD – the whole turmeric root in a jar! Great for spreading on crackers and more! I could eat jars of this stuff! The company involves 3 generations!
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Mira Naturals‘ new flavour of avocado oil – with chia seeds and oregano!
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Marinoë is a new company with Seaweed Chips and Seaweed Spread! You cannot imagine how great the stuff this brand makes is! The tapenade is awesmazing!
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Part of Living Intentions‘ new product line – Activated Popcorn!
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Always great to see Julia from Nud Fud – check out their awesome new packaging! Bonus for being a local and nut-free brand!
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Always great to see Tamar from GoGo Quinoa!
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Screamin Brothers dairy-free ice cream now has 100mL containers – perfect for any birthday party or school group!
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RISE Kombucha is still my favourite kombucha!
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Pickles and chocolate? Yes! For Breakfast!
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My little brother LOVES Sapsucker maple water!
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Prana Bio‘s new chocolate bark – SO GOOD!! (I think I may have eaten a solid 15% of their samples 🙂
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Mustache Munchies’ Cheddar-ish snacks are an awesmazing treat!
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The Tale of Kale is an awesmazing book for any reluctant eater! Based on a real boy – my little brother Andy! My mother and sister wrote this book together and it was on display at the Soko Distribution booth, so cool!
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New tiger-nut crackers from Le Pain Des Fleurs – a great snack that’s full of good ingredients!
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Kevita is one of my absolute favourite drinks – refreshing and brimming with live cultures and probiotics!
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New drink syrups from Harmonic Arts – Chaga Kola, Elderberry Ginger, and more!
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Herbal Bitters – the perfect thing for when you have a stomachache! They are great for digestion! My sister uses these often, and I needed it at the show!
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Simply Natural’s green sriracha sauce is my favourite condiment right now – it is awesmazing on hummus!
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New from Manitoba Harvest – Hemp Heart Toppers! Comes in savoury or sweet flavours and are especially delicious on popcorn!
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One Degree Organics has a line of granolas that taste like crushed cookie – great as a snack!
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Beanfields has three new flavours of bean based chips – White Bean, Black Bean, and Jalapeno Nacho! Although I wish these were certified organic, they still make the cut because they seem to do things well as a company, and they are great.
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Olitalia is an awesmazing company straight from Italy that specializes in oils and vinegars! Pictured above is their ginger drinking vinegar featuring balsamic! It comes in tons of other fruity flavours too!
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No matter where I go, I always have to try the avocado oil! This one was the BEST.
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Earth’s Choice Organics has a wide range of products for all your meal ideas!
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A whole creamed coconut in three packages? Yes! Great for use in cooking and baking!
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Explore Cuisine Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine is awesmazing, and full of protein!
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A granola ball that is paleo, nut-free, soy-free, dairy-free, AND wheat-free??? Awesmazing!!
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One of my favourite instant foods for school trips, camping etc is this seaweed salad. Just add water!
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ABOUT ME!
I started reviewing food on my blog at 8 years old. Now I have applied my passion for real food to public speaking, product demos, and convincing people to eat more organic hummus!
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Part of Taste Is Feeling Good About What You Eat

I started reviewing food on my blog at 8 years old. Now I have applied my passion for real food to public speaking, product demos, and convincing people to eat more organic hummus!
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