Seven Super-Duper Food Finds

One of the things I enjoy most about being a Chef is discovering delicious restaurants and finding tasty products, so, with that in mind, I figured it was time for me to share a few new favorite food finds.

Although some of these products may not be available in your local store, you can order them online.

So without further ado here are my seven super-duper food finds (and who would have guessed, most are healthy too!)

7. Crown Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup – Hands down the best maple syrup I have ever tasted. They have several other flavors which are also quite good, but this flavor is unbelievable. A little hard to find in stores, you will likely have to go online to get this gem, but it is well worth the google search.

6. Chimes Peanut Butter Ginger Chews – Now, I am not a huge ginger chew consumer, but I recently tried a Chimes Ginger Peanut Butter Chew, and, WOW. These chews are so good, they taste like you are eating some sweet and spicy Thai food. Definitely worth a try for sure, even if you are not normally a ginger chewer like me. (Available online and in places like Cost Plus, Home Goods etc.)

5. Kind Fruit Bar – These fruit bars are not sold in stores yet, I had the opportunity to try these at a food expo, and let me just say this, when they finally hit the shelves I will always have several of these bars within reach as a healthy snack option. The Apple-Cherry Bar was crazy good! They almost make me want to eat healthy every day!

4. PopChips with Ridges – Who knew ridges can add so much… well apparently PopChips knows. For all those potato chip lovers out there, and really who doesn't like a good chip every once in a while, but for those of us occasionally want a chip without the calories and fat, there are these. I have found PopChips to be a decent substitute, but honestly they do not always give me that “this is just like a potato chip” feeling. Well, PopChips with ridges makes you feel like you are eating a “normal” potato chip, flavor and all. These chips are amazing. These things are addictive, so be ready to eat the whole bag, but wait… they are healthier than regular chips, so now you won't feel the guilt when you find you have just finished the whole bag! (These are a NEW product so you may need to go to PopChips website to see where you can buy them).

3. Golden Island Korean BBQ Pork Jerky – Although not quite as tender as some of the jerky out there, the flavor far outweighs its normal jerky texture. A great protein snack! I have found this product at several Costco’s and it is also available online. Simply delicious jerky.

2. Chica’s Tortilla Chips – These crunchy tortilla chips have an unmistakably fresh taste and do not even need salsa. Their flavor is so hearty salsa almost takes away from the chips excellence. Sorry though, if you are not in the SoCal area you are going to have to make friends with someone who is, because these tasty chips are only available at select stores in SoCal, one such store is Vintage Grocers (yes that is a shameless plug!)

1.Bare Baked Banana Chips. Although Bare has several baked fruit chip offerings (of which I have tried several and those are delicious as well) this is head and shoulders above the rest. In my opinion this is the single best banana chip on the market and this is coming from someone who has tried many different kinds of banana chips and has never been swayed to buy them. These on the other hand, I currently buy by the truck load, ok that might be an exaggeration, but I do buy them by the shopping cart load! (These are widely available, so it should be easy to find)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy some of these super duper food finds!