Towards the end of the year, I look forward to the "Best Foods of the Year Lists" published by many food magazines & sites. FoodProcessing.com has already published theirs, and quite a few of the products chosen are healthy. They, like myself, seem to be in love with innovations in food technology and their choices reflect that. FoodProcessing.com List of Best Food Products of 2008 includes:

* Kraft Bagel-fuls. Love the technology - but does this really belong on a list of best foods?!

* My M&M's Faces. "One can upload photos on one side of M&M's chocolate candies and a message on the other side of the candy shell"

* TrueNorth snacks. They say, "Raising the profile of nuts." I say, have you seen Emerald Nuts with flavors like Cocoa Roast Almonds and Sea Salt & Pepper Cashews, and Blue Diamond Bold Flavored Almonds?! That's raising the profile of nuts (although maybe they were introduced last year).

* Peas of Mind Nanna's Banana Puffets. "A puffet is a word made up by Peas of Mind owner Jill Litwin, who says the word 'casserole' just sounded hideous when applied to children's food ... made of the four food groups and organic ingredients."

* Bertolli Premium Pasta Sauce. Emphasis on the word Premium. Need I say more?!

* Campbell's V8 Soups. The pureed soups, made from farm-fresh ingredients, offer a full serving of vegetables in every bowl. Warm goodness in a bowl is how I would describe this.

* Hormel Compleats. This isn't so much a new product as a relaunch of an old one.. I had the old version - and it wasn't good. Hormel Compleats is a line of shelf-stable meals (as opposed to frozen dinners like Lean Cuisine). There are 2 versions: the original (red on the front of the packaging) which I noticed has 40% or more sodium in every meal - and the "healthier" version (green on the packaging) where the sodium is much reduced.

* Trident Xtra Care with Recaldent. This gum is clinically proven to actively protect, strengthen and rebuild tooth enamel while you chew. Recaldent is a unique form of calcium derived from milk, and Trident is the only gum brand that contains this ingredient.

* Greek Gods Yogurt. "In addition to Plain, Non-Fat Plain and Vanilla there's Fig, Honey and Pomegranate. The flavors are there to complement, not hide, the yogurt. The texture is, well, godly: dense and creamy, without being, slippery, cloying or gummy - and, most especially, without being chalky."

* Town House Flipsides. Flipsides are a combination of pretzels and crackers. There is a pretzel on one side and a Ritz cracker on the other.

Check out some of our lists:
Favorite Healthy Diet Food Finds of 2007 and 2006 foods & beverages.