I have so many posts flying around in my head after Boston and the major nutrition conference last week – American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo 2010. But these five things made it to my top list to share with you today:
Americans are going crackers
And they are a chip off the old block. Seriously they love their chips, dips and crackers in this country. I was amazed on my American Airlines flight that the only substantial food on offer was a sandwich and chip combo. That’s right. You couldn’t order just a sandwich. You had to get chips with that. So I suppose it’s not surprising to see major innovation in these categories. First up I meet Mike from Beanitos – with the newly launched low GI, bean based crackers. To quote the hype from their site:
Beanitos are loaded with natural vegetable fiber (20% of the daily value in just 10 chips, that’s 5 grams!), 4 grams of complete protein and are rich in Essential ALA Omega 3s (600mg in Black Bean and 1200mg in Pinto Bean and Flax) all which are packed into one great tasting serving!
Depite the over-use of exclamation marks, I can assure you they taste great.
Supermarkets are streets ahead
More to come soon about my foodie expeditions to Trader Joe’s and Wholefoods, but the big, pleasant surprise was to learn how active dietitians are in supermarkets in the USA. Not just at the corporate or spokesperson level, but right in the aisles advising customers. My new friend Leah McGrath is a supermarket RD and she has just written a summary post about the scope of her role. I’ve also enjoyed reading new grad dietitian Gina the Candid RD on her training with Giant Eagle Markets. The list of stores with dietitian teams goes on. Hanaford’s is strong and their offer includes:
– nutrition classes, store tours and food demos
– partnerships with physicians and hospitals, plus events like weight loss challenges
– community wellness fairs and school workshops
– assistance with special dietary needs
Wouldn’t you love to have a dietitian sampling food products and giving advice in your store?
Barramundi is the buzz
Just when I thought we had shaken off the Aussie Croc Dundee stereotypes (shame on you Mr Hogan), I turn a corner of the massive expo to see that Barramundi is all the buzz. In their words….
Australis Barramundi is the new sustainable seabass that’s an exciting tool for RDs to make healthy eating delcious and safe. This sweet, mild fish (think snapper crossed with halibut) is ‘the fish for non-fish lovers’…with ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. Finally a farmed fish you can feel good about.
It seems that Oprah’s Dr Oz has caught the “Barra Buzz” and celebrities from Lance Armstrong to Tiffani Thiessen are talking it up. Check out their site: The Better Fish
Everyone wants a piece of food labels
As the Australian government continues the struggle to come up with a new food labelling framework for health and related claims, it seems that the playing field is wide open in the USA for non-government signposting systems. There’s Giant supermarkets own Healthy Ideas symbol based on the FDA definition of healthy. Then there’s Guiding Stars based on a 3 star, good, better, best, rating system – further reading in their published research in the American Journal of Clincal Nutrition . And last but not least Nu-Val which ranks food on a scoring system from 1-100, with the higher scores signifying the more nutritious choices. But based on the “confused” responses from my RD friends, I really wonder if we are helping or hindering consumers further? If you shop at the one store and can learn the system ok, but are multiple systems really going to work?
Dietitians really rock
Despite differences in country and culture, at the end of the day dietitians around the world still speak the same language. I was overwhelmed by the great passion and positive energy for our profession. It was also amazing to meet the innovators forging new ground like Jill Jayne RD the Rockstar Nutritionist who has rock concerts for kids to rival The Wiggles. If anyone wants to help me in getting her to tour Oz (yes you big sponsors out there) please get in touch. So there you have my first, jetlagged brain dump. More to come…but love to hear your comments or questions below.
