New Discoveries at NYC Vegetarian Food Festival

Last Updated on May 20, 2015 by Chef Mireille

A few weeks ago I attended the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival. Although I always enjoy attending these types of events, more than the event itself it was an opportunity to get together with two of my blogger friends, Usha and Pavani. We ended up turning it into a foodie day. After going through the bottom floor of displays and attending a few of the cooking demos, we headed over to Chelsea Market and a the NYC Cake & Bake Shop. Since Pavani lives in New Jersey and doesn’t come to the city often, she wanted to check out these places I am always talking about. We ended the day with dinner at Hummus & Pita Company.

We tasted lots of samples and here are a few of my favorites. Vegetarian or not, there was a lot of delicious goodies to be had by all.

I am a meat eater, so I rarely go for fake meat like seitan unless it is for a client. For me, I prefer to just eat meat itself. Many of these have a lot of grain in them so if I eat it with rice, I feel like I am eating rice with rice. There is a gluten free version made by Gardein and I absolutely loved it. As a meat eater, I can tell you unless someone told me, I would not have known the difference. This is a great product for Vegetarian converts who miss the flavor of meat. Obviously with less fat than meat, this is a great substitute even if you aren’t Vegetarian.

Next was the Jyoti line of products. In addition to fresh products like rice and beans for cooking, they also produce canned products. Even if you don’t trust my opinion, my two Indian blogger friends really enjoyed the canned food samples and thought they tasted as good as home made. The sambar was especially delicious!

My favorite snack food were these Keenwah Puffs – a healthier alternative to Potato Chips. My favorite was the Sweet Chili.

Coming in at a close second was Palm Frites. These flavored chips made from dried coconut is another healthier snack food alternative. With the different flavors, there is one to please everyone. My fave was the BBQ.

…and finally, I have saved the best for last. Try this coconut peanut butter and you will never go back to regular peanut butter again. I was the only weird child eating peanut butter and coconut sandwiches as a child because my Mom loved them so that is what she made for us. With her Caribbean background, coconut seemed a more natural pairing to her than jam. Earth Balance figured out how well this pairing works and this product was the first one I have been able to find since attending the Food Festival. I used it in a banana bread recipe and OMG – the best banana bread I have ever made!!!

If you’re looking for some great Vegetarian products on the market, these are a few I recommend!

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Chef Mireille