Best Bites From the 2014 Fancy Food Show

I'm just back from my annual pilgrimage to the Specialty Food Association's Fancy Food Show, a veritable labyrinth of temptation from all over the globe. I spent six hours nibbling my way through a dizzying array of kale and bean chips, savory sweet condiments, flavored nut and seed butters, fancy cheeses, gourmet popcorns, chocolaty indulgences, and gluten-free everything. And while the siren calls of artisanal ice creams and gluten-free brownies tried to stray me from my course, I kept my mission in mind: to find the newest, best-tasting, truly healthy foods to share with my comrades in whole foods-based eating.

So after sampling hundreds of candidates, I'm eager to share my picks for the best -- and most unique -- healthy bites of the day, organized into three themes:

Best New Meals for Your Meatless Monday:

-- Made by Lukas Fresh Veggie Burger mix: Frozen veggie burgers are a treacherous category to navigate for health-minded folks, particularly those who avoid soy or gluten for reasons of digestive tolerance. Most products on the market are highly processed foods that pay more homage in taste and texture to the "burger" than the "veggie." This is why I found the brightly colored, fresh (not frozen!) veggie burger mixes from Made by Lukas so appealing. The refrigerated mixtures -- which are gluten-free, soy-free, vegan and comprised of 80 percent vegetables -- can be fashioned into burgers or sliders and placed right onto the skillet. Featuring beets, carrots, kale and a variety of other vegetables, these healthy, flavorful mixes produce veggie burgers truly worthy of the designation.

-- neat: If you feel it's not a meal unless there's a meat-like protein at the center of your dish, then neat may be what you need to make a plant-based meal more satisfying. neat is like a nut-based "hamburger helper" made from whole-food ingredients rather than processed meat analogues, developed by a mom whose kids one day declared themselves to be vegetarian. Specifically, it's a coarse blend of nuts, beans, gluten-free grains and seasonings that -- when combined with water and eggs and shaped to one's liking -- results in a tasty protein that can flex to fill a taco, occupy a bun, top a heap of spaghetti, populate a lasagna layer or add substance to a breakfast plate.

-- Wondergrain (sorghum): As an avid gluten-free baker, I've long been familiar with sorghum flour as a star ingredient in my pancake, cookie and muffin recipes. But until I met the women behind Wondergrain, who were tending their aromatic cauldrons of cooked sorghum and lentil sorghum soup with such love, I had never actually encountered whole-grain sorghum in its unrefined form. And boy, have I been missing out! Whole-grain sorghum is a naturally gluten-free, high-protein grain that's a staple in Africa and parts of Central America and South Asia. It resembles Israeli couscous in its pearl-like form and barley in its slightly chewy texture. Similar to barley, whole-grain sorghum must simmer for 55 minutes, but the pearled version takes just 35. Its hearty texture freezes well, making it a nutritious addition to batch-cooked soups, stews and slow-cooker meals. Whip up a batch of Patricia's Lentil Soup with Wondergrain Sorghum over the weekend, and you'll have satisfying vegetarian leftovers all week long.

-- Lotus Foods Rice Ramen: Ever since an artisanal ramen joint set up shop three blocks away, ramen is having a moment in our household. My husband and I can't seem to get enough of the unbelievably flavorful dashis, the razor-thin sliced vegetables, the piles of silky noodles (gluten-free rice ones for me!). But our ramen habit is becoming quite costly, and there's been talk about finding a supermarket version to help economize. Thus far, I've vetoed all candidates my husband has put forth as being either too fried, too high in sodium or too loaded with unseemly preservatives. So imagine my delight to stumble across Lotus Foods' new gluten-free Rice Ramen and miso soup packets, made with gorgeous heirloom varieties of rice, such as black forbidden or jade pearl. As you boil the water, toss in piles of chopped kale, carrots and/or any veggies of your choice -- or throw in already-cooked leftover veggies or proteins once the noodles are cooked -- and you'll have a steaming bowl of veggie-heavy deliciousness within minutes.

[Read: 7 Reasons to Choose a Plant-Based Diet .]

Most Exciting Spreads:

-- Eat Well Embrace Life's Hummus for Kids: While I normally run screaming from any product targeted at kids (they're usually terribly high in sugar) -- this innovative hummus is a winner. Made from milder-flavored cannellini beans instead of chickpeas, this cinnamon and honey-kissed spread explores the sweeter side of hummus with a very modest 3 grams of sugar per serving. (Compare that to your typical Nutella or Speculoos spread!) Super creamy and topped with a dried fruit garnish, Hummus for Kids channels a cinnamon raisin bagel -- without the bagel. I'd use it as a nutritionally superior stand-in to cream cheese on breakfast toast, or a delish topping for apples at snack time.

-- Better Off Spread's Gourmet Nut Butters: The competition was stiff among nut and seed butters at this year's show, but Brooklyn-based Better Off Spread won my vote for best of the bunch. They got my attention with their innovative flavor combos, but sealed the deal with their nutrition credentials. As in: organic ingredients with no added oil. I'd use their sweeter seasonal cashew butter flavors as an insanely delicious topping for bananas and apples, and suggest pairing the fiery "Ace of Spice" peanut butter with baked tofu as a satay-like dip.

[Read: Are All Nut Butters Created Equal? ]

Most Righteous Snacks:

-- Gator Eggs Single Serving Avocados: If you're a patient of mine in search of healthy snack ideas, chances are I'll tell you to carry an avocado around with you so you can slice it in half and scoop the creamy fruit right from the shell. But what to do with the leftovers? The folks at California-based Shanley Farms, who are marketing their smaller-sized avocados in six-packs, have solved this snacking dilemma. Each Gator Egg clocks in at 100 calories or fewer, making it an ideal portable, portion-controlled, waste-free snack.

-- Chosen Foods' Cactus Chews: I'm more than a little bit excited about the dried cactus fruit snack in the works by the folks at Chosen Foods, which is made from dehydrated nopal cactus pads and seasoned lightly with chili and lime. They're super high in fiber -- 9 huge grams per serving -- and have just a small fraction of the sugar of an equivalent portion of dried fruit while delivering the same texture and portability. I'm told this product officially launches at the Natural Products Expo East show this September, so be on the lookout for it then, and remember ... you heard it here first!

-- Vosges Super Dark chocolate bars: The term "superfood" generally makes me cringe, and I tend to regard any product that markets itself as such with great skepticism. But skepticism aside, I'm a big believer in the health benefits of regular dark chocolate intake, and always keep an assortment of bars in my house to make sure I get in an ounce every other day. And so when a high quality dark chocolate (72 percent cacao) is paired with other antioxidant-rich ingredients, I'm intrigued. And when such combinations delight the palate to satisfy without cloying sweetness, I'm willing to put up with a little bit of marketing hyperbole. I especially loved the matcha green tea flavo, and found the reishi mushroom and walnut variety strangely alluring!

[Read: How Grazing Affects Your Digestive Function .]

The author has no material affiliation with any of the companies whose products are mentioned in this article.

Tamara Duker Freuman, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian whose NYC-based clinical practice specializes in digestive disorders, celiac Disease, and food intolerances. Her personal blog, www.tamaraduker.com, focuses on healthy eating and gluten-free living.