Normally, consumers don't see new food and flavor trends available to restaurateurs at the NRA Show until they're on the menu.
But we invited a few special restaurant guests to join us Sunday on the NRA Show floor: Bernie Salazar and Maggie King.
You probably remember Bernie and Maggie from the fifth season of The Biggest Loser, which concluded in April. Bernie, a Chicagoan who owns a production company, took home $100,000 for losing the most weight at home after being voted off the show. As of today, he's lost 130 pounds. Maggie, a server at Chili's in New Jersey, has lost 70 pounds to date.
Like so many other restaurant guests, they're interested in what the restaurant industry is doing to add healthful options to menus. So we showed them what healthful options are available from restaurant suppliers at the NRA Show.
Our first stop was at NORPAC, where Alice Root Montero shared nutrition facts about the company's low-fat soup line and vegetables. While Montero, a product manager, was talking, Biggest Loser fans repeatedly stopped to congratulate Bernie and Maggie.
We also visited Tribe Mediterranean Foods because Bernie is self-described "hummus junkie." The Taunton, Mass., company offers several hummus flavors (including the new Mediterranean spice) in various sizes. In addition to the snack-packs Bernie loved, Tribe supplies large buckets of hummus so restaurants can sell their own "grab-and-go" packs, owner Bruce Rubin says.
In addition to suppliers of fresh and frozen produce, veggie burgers and low-calorie tart yogurt, we also introduced Bernie and Maggie to exhibitors who offer tilapia, bison and soymilk.
Our final stop on the tour was a special request from Bernie and Maggie: Honest Tea of Bethesda, Md. Other than water, Honest Tea was the only beverage Biggest Loser contestants could drink on the ranch.
"It keeps you honest," Maggie says.
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