Greetings from Southern California!

My latest interest in writing articles focused on lifestyle, health, organics, and sustainable products, led me to the natural products show, where nearly 3000 retailers, manufacturers and leaders in the natural, organic and healthy products industries converged at the Anaheim Convention Center in to unveil new products and trends. This year's show featured nearly 3,000 exhibits in the areas of natural and organic foods, healthy ethnic and specialty foods, supplements, health & beauty and natural living products. It's not surprising, when you consider that consumer interest in healthy products is at an all-time high. Natural products sales in the United States grew 9.1 percent across all retail and direct-to-consumer sales channels in 2005, topping more than $51 billion, according to The Natural Foods Merchandiser. Consumers are demanding organic and healthy products wherever they shop, and retailers are responding by offering an unprecedented array of new choices.

Eric Schlosser, bestselling author of Fast Food Nation, delivered the keynote address on Saturday to a rousing standing ovation.

The top trends I noticed were on these items: *Goji Berries*Acai*Yerba mate. Had you ever heard of these a year ago? If you don't have time to read about all the great antioxidants these have, just grab yourself a bag of chocolate covered goji berries and you'll be in de-stress heaven.
My top 5 picks for standout items from the conference:

1.Appletiser apple soda, for refreshing taste and great bubbles! The drink has been made in South Africa for over 40 years, and contains no artificial sweeteners or preservatives. Comes in a suave green bottle that reminds some of us of...dare I say...champagne?
2.Popchips rice and corn chips: 0 transfats, and "popped" as opposed to fried or baked. I found them crunchy and spicy, and very satisfying. In other words, I wasn't yearning for a bag of Lays afterwards. Cool flavors include: Wasabi, salsa corn, cheddar corn, and others I was too busy munching away on to absorb...Note: their web site is worth the visit just to click on the snacker's "credo," ie. snacking is good and should be encouraged...right on!
3. Himala salt I didn't taste it yet but the packaging was so cool I got a thrill just looking at it. All natural and unrefined, and 50% of the profits go to the environment. Plus, the color is a cool pink!
4.SloChai, fair trade organic tea. Very mellow and yet invigorating at the same time. This earthy San Luis Obispo based company also sells clothing and mugs, as well as 5 varieties of chai.
5.The Conscious Goods Alliance. This is group of companies that promote sustainable lifestyles. Member companies travel the country in a groovy Partridge family-style eco bus that runs on recycled vegetable oil. I would have gone anywhere on that bus. It had super comfy hemp seating, and floors made of coconut bark. What more do you need?

More Goat's Head with that Pigeon Pie?

How often do most of us think about the people we went to high school with? One day in February I got a blast from the past, (an e-mail blast, that is!) from my high school alumni at Dalton informing me that one of my classmates, Andrew Zimmern, was going to be on "The Tonight Show"! I tuned in and was thrilled as Andrew talked about his new show, "Bizarre Foods." It was great to catch up with Andrew for this interview and to get the inside scoop on the show. Andrew is an internationally renowned chef and food writer. He is food critic and restaurant columnist for Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, and has a featured blog, "Chow and Again,"on www.mspmag.com. He was also a restaurateur and chef at many fine restaurants in New York, and was executive chef at an award winning restaurant in Minneapolis.

Carrie: How did "Bizarre Foods" come about?

Andrew: I had met Colleen Steward at Tremendous Entertainment several years ago, and we knew we wanted to collaborate together. We came up with several pitches to the networks, which then led to several pilots and one-hour specials. The premise was always learning about culture through food. The show is not "Fear Factor" with food.

Carrie:In all your travels, what have been your best and worst food experiences so far?

Andrew:I tasted mangrove worms in the Phillipines, and they are really delicious. I also loved coconut grubs (larvae) in Ecuador and they were really great - they grill them so they are nice and crunchy. As far as foods I could do without, I didn't like "klia" in Morocco. This is fermented mystery meat they eat for breakfast.

Carrie: I see what you mean. What do you think is the biggest misconception westerners have about foods from other cultures?

Andrew: We're horribly ethnocentrist. We want everything to be clean and fast, but it's a crime what we've done to the food chain. It's American kids who don't know that milk comes from cows. Also, with upscale dining here, it's the latest thing to eat "snout to tail," so to speak, but the world has been eating this way for thousands of years.

Carrie: From everything you've seen, what foods would you like to see brought into this country that haven't been?

Andrew: Probably insects, like grasshoppers and crickets. They are an excellent protein source, and with the food supply being an issue in this country, this is really something we should look at.

Carrie: Having been in the food business both as a restaurateur and chef, has this influenced your work on the show in terms of your view of foods and their role in culture?

Andrew: Of course! As a chef and restaurateur you have to pick between education or order taking. Order taking bores me, but can be very exciting for people who want to open the best burger shop, or create a chain restaurant with a financial end game in mind. I like restaurants that offer food that suprises, that informs, that is unusual, that is honest and authentic. I think restaurants that educate their audience in some way are more interesting, and this same sensibility has informed all my work for the last 20 years. The show is a natural offspring of this idea, in a global and cultural sense.

In addition to the editing, proofreading, and editorial consulting services I have offered in the past, I am introducing a brand new service: newsletter and e-news production! Do you have a message you're dying to get out but don't have the time or resources? Let me help you by assisting in the writing, editing, organizing, and design of your newsletter and e-news. For more information, please e-mail me at carrie@carriefreelance.com.

New Adventures in Baby Shopping, Private Detective Hiring, Celebrity Obstetricians, and More

One wonders how such a self-absorbed heroine who seems more interested in designer maternity wear and having shiny hair, could grow on us even more, but she does, as she takes us through the plot twists and turns that Kinsella does so well, revealing that Becky has a pretty good soul underneath those Manolo Blahniks... For more, click here.

See you next time with my June/July issue, which will include more guest interviews, book reviews, food finds and favorite web sites, and more! And if you like this newsletter, please don't hesitate to forward to a friend and spread the word!