Expo East this year was no less than totally epic. I actually managed to go for 2 days this year (usually I can only go for one!) and I STILL don’t feel like I got to see and talk to all the new amazing brands that were on the expo floor.
But holy WOW you guys, I am so excited to share with you some of the amazing things I got to see, try, and learn about – food, supplements, beauty and skincare stuff GALORE, and amazing brands I got to meet! If you missed last year’s Expo East roundup, or aren’t familiar with Natural Products Expo, it’s a twice-yearly trade show where thousands of natural products brands (shocker, right?) go to showcase and debut their goodies, complete with all the new and emerging trends in the natural products space. A lot of brands will debut NEW products at Expo that have yet to be seen on store shelves, so it’s always fun to experience that. And did I mention the samples? It’s like Costco on steroids.
I was also PUMPED to be featured as one of the top 75 Influencers of Expo East with some awesome people like Michelle from the Whole Smiths, Kristen from Living Loving Paleo, Beth from Tasty Yummies, and George from Civilized Caveman. Had so much fun hanging out with them and meeting a bunch of influencers from different parts of the world and waaay different backgrounds than mine – from minimalism, to veganism, to sustainability and environmental advocacy, to family bloggers, and (MY PEOPLE) “fit foodies”, as we were called, and the “healing with food group.”
But I know, I know. on to the goodies and my favorite finds from Expo East 2017! {Keep in mind, a few of these things might NOT be in stores by you yet – but they will be rolling out soon!}
Let’s start with the food!
I stopped by Anita’s Coconut Yogurt three or four times in the TWO days I was at expo. I’m low-key obsessed, it’s fine. It’s a Coconut yogurt that comes in unsweetened, mango, and I think blueberry? And has no added sugars or preservatives, but it does have probiotics! Win!
Yai’s Thai was another booth I stopped by more than a few times because their stuff is SO freaking tasty.
I’d worked with them before when they were first starting out (and now they’re a Whole30-approved brand!!) on their line of Thai hot sauces, but YOU GUYS. This new stuff? Holy WOAH.
The Thai Almond Sauce is just like a peanut satay sauce, but peanut-free (obviously) and DELICIOUS. It even won one of Expo’s NEXTY awards for best new natural foods product at Expo!!!
And those Yai’s Thai curry sauces? DYING. My favorite was the yellow curry (medium heat), but if you like it hot, go for the red. SO GOOD. I can’t.
Four Sigmatic is one of my all-time favorite Expo finds from last year. They make mushroom coffees, superfood blends and elixrs (no, not kidding, and not the kind of mushrooms you trip on, MOM) that have immunogenic benefits, from functional mushrooms like reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, and Cordyceps. Yes, the coffee tastes like REAL COFFEE, and don’t even get me started on their hot chocolate with chili. Soooo good.
New kombucha obsession: Holy Kombucha. They had freaking awesome flavors like Prickly Pear, Blood Orange, and Hibiscus Sangria. Just waiting on them to come to the East Coast…
4th and Heart always puts out really good products at Expo (freaking LOVE their different ghee options, like Madagascar Vanilla and TRUFFLE ghee!), and this year they started making these Chocolate Ghee spreads…can you imagine how GOOD these would be in baked goods??
Of course, Simple Mills kills it again – they didn’t have any new products at Expo this year, but I’ll always be in love with their crackers and baking mixes: making paleo baking dummies like me seem like real bakers again, ha!
Hands down new favorite Coconut Aminos (soy sauce substitute) goes to Big Tree Farms. They even have different FLAVORS of the aminos coming out like Ginger Lime and Chipotle BBQ. Ummm YES. Whole30-approved too? Even better.
I always love tasting all the new nut and seed butters at Expo. One of my favorites was 88 Acres, which does entirely nut-free, seed butters, which is fantastic for people with nut or peanut allergies, but also just freaking DELICIOUS. Two favorites were the (green!) Pumpkin Seed Butter and the Vanilla Spice Sunflower Seed Butter.
Speaking of butters, on the nuttier side of things (pun totally intended. It was bad, I know) I always love hanging out with the girls from Wild Friends and seeing what they put out. Absolutely loved Wild Friends’ new super butters (Peanut + Cashew and Almond + Cashew), which are made with honey, chia and flax! Also got introduced to a new company, Abby’s Better Nut Butter, which was started by a 15-year old and my girl Abby is killing it! She also has a bunch of Whole30-friendly nut butters, like the Strawberry Cashew pictured here. And boy were they deeelish!!
{Behind the scenes shot…what Expo is really like for bloggers, ha!} You guys know I LOVE Kite Hill’s products. Specifically their Herbed Cream Cheese (made with cultured almond milk) and nut cheeses. SO on point. They just came out with a Jalapeno Cream Cheese (to die for) AND greek yogurt style almond milk yogurts. My favorite was the unsweetened greek style. It’s a perfect substitute if you love greek yogurt but don’t tolerate it well like me!
More behind the scenes: goofing off slash being totally delirious towards the end of Expo with my Nutritionist friends Aimee and Angela. Story of our lives. But for real, these Laughing Giraffe Organics snacks were the BOMB. I don’t normally go for sweet snacks like dried fruit (because sugar dragon), but these mango snacks with lime and jalapeno? WOAH. Flavor explosion.
Other products I LOVED but didn’t get to snap a picture of…
Revolution Foods Gelato
SUPPLEMENTS & FUNCTIONAL FOODS
Let’s talk REAL FOOD sports nutrition for a second. As far as supplements go, they don’t really exist. Most of the athletes I work with take your typical Gatorade Gu’s and Chews for quick energy before and during their races, or are sipping on Gatorade/Powerade/insert-conventional-sports-drink-here which have a ton of preservatives, artificial colors, tons of sugar, and less-than-optimal ingredients. So when I stumbled on Skratch Labs on the recommendation of a good friend who used to train for long bike races with the owner, I knew it was legit.
They’re making real food-based, no junk or excess sugars necessary, sports nutrition supplements to replace the sugar-filled drinks, bars, gu’s and chews. And they are LEGIT, I tried them all, and will be using them with my swim team kids this year!
Honest Tea also put out a new product in the real of real food sport nutrition called Honest Sport drinks, which are another great alternative to the conventional sports drinks, that only use a small amount of sugar and fruit juices for flavor and no added junk. Check them out here!
Vermont Village was a fun new find for me, with their new line of sipping vinegars. Apple cider vinegar is really therapeutic, and can be used to help aid in protein digestion by getting the stomach acid juices flowing, and is also used to help with mild illnesses (pesky common cold!) and general wellness. But taking apple cider vinegar shots? Sucks. So Vermont Village added a little raw honey + fruit juice to create these little ACV shots, which are genius!
Vital Proteins does it again – this time with Collagen Coffee Creamers with coconut milk and no junk added. Holy heck you guys, it tastes just like a latte when you add this to coffee. These are coming later in the fall, but for now…
Dark Chocolate & Blackberry Collagen. WUUUUUT. Can you imagine this in smoothies? In brownies? In coffee? Heck yes, Vital Proteins, heck yes.
Super excited about these new Beauty Elixrs with Greens & Adaptogens from Amazing Grass. I love using adaptogens in a therapeutic way both on myself and recommend them to my nutrition clients, and I’ve been trying to find a greens powder that didn’t actually taste like grass (no pun intended), and BOOM. Freaking finally. Because believe me, I’ve been around the block trying greens powders and I haven’t liked almost ANY of them until this one. It’s described as “a simple way to help reduce stress and provide antioxidant and cellular support”, and is full of biotin (skin health), ashwaganda (to help mediate stress), chaga (anti-inflammatory), and a bunch of other goodies!
Obla’s Herbal Tea and remedies – I can’t believe I’d never heard of these guys before. Will definitely be ordering some for upcoming flu season! Their tea is amazing, and they also have a little chapstick-sized aromatic inhaler (aka natural alternative to Afrin) which I was so down for!
NATURAL BEAUTY & HEALTH PRODUCTS
Hands down one of my favorite natural beauty products ever is this Wedderspoon Manuka Honey Night Cream. Your skin is dry AF? You NEED this in your life, especially in the winter.
I’ve featured Andalou Naturals on here before with their natural shampoos – but their face masks (I usually grab them at Whole Foods) are freaking amazing. My favorite is the Vitamin C Brightening mask, which is the perfect way to pamper yourself and wake your skin up!
I’ve recently talked about issues with Celiac and teeth degradation, so I was super excited to meet the people behind Oral Essentials, which are an all-natural, no chemical crap added, oral health company. They make all-natural whitening strips (which actually work and don’t make your sensitive teeth HURT like other brands…), mouthwash, and toothpaste, and they also have special formulas for sensitive teeth too!
I got to meet the owner of Cocokind skin care, whose products my friend Aimee has been OBSESSED with for probably a year now, and I finally got to try them out. It’s marketed as “minimalist skin care with superfood ingredients”, and they’re not kidding. The turmeric acne spot treatment stick is LEGIT, and their stuff is really affordable too. You can grab them online or at Urban Outfitters too!
Two new favorite natural makeup brands: Mineral Fusion (specifically their liquid foundation in Warm 1, which kept me looking fresh AF at expo all day!) and Noyah Natural Cosmetics lipstick and lip gloss (I got Desert Rose lipstick + Deeply in Mauve gloss blended and it was AWESOME) with coconut oil, shea butter and vitamin E. There aren’t any stores that sell it by me so I’ll grab it on Amazon.
I’m always on the lookout for good natural sunscreens, and I had a chat with the guys over at Bare Republic – they’re totally re-doing their line to ensure it has no questionable ingredients like parabens, sulfites, etc. Loving this mineral sunscreen, and if you have kids, they’re coming out with a sunscreen line that comes in different colors, which will be super fun for summer swim team next year!
I’ve worked with Alaffia before on behalf of Whole Foods and Fair Trade Month, so I was really excited to meet them at the show and try out their ethical body care skincare line, with antioxidant-rich day and night creams!
Until next time, Expo!
