Woah, you guys! September has flown by, and been totally crazy. Crazy, but definitely awesome too! I went on a family vacation to Portland and Bend, Oregon, where I hiked and ate my face off, experiencing probably the BEST cocktail and BEST cinnamon roll I’ve ever had in my whole life. Not kidding. Full recap of that trip and all the places I went coming to you guys soon, so you can visit those too!
Everything started up for me again in a whirlwind this month (you know, within the same week), between swim coaching, taking on more coaching clients, the fall semester of grad school (which of course, will be the hardest one yet), travel, and working on a bunch of new projects for you guys! Which, not gonna lie,
has been super stressful. But it’s all stuff I freaking LOVE, so I can’t complain…just need to manage my time better. Ha!
I also went to Natural Products Expo East last week with some great blogging friends of mine, Stephanie, Courtney, and Anya (and met a few new friends too!), which was amazing! But again, totally overwhelming. If you’ve never been before both Expo East and West are where thousands of companies (both established and newbies) come to showcase their products, debut new products, and meet with people in the industry, whether that be retailers, consumers, or social media influencers (like me)! Let me tell you, I definitely got my steps and lifting in for the day. Seriously, you walk out of there with at least 3 grocery bags FULL of natural products goodies per day. I could only handle one day of it this time, even though I did two days at Expo West in the spring!
Don’t mind me, just my usual shenanigans over there in that picture…
So, what were my favorite products this year, you ask??
4th & Heart Ghee. Holy WOW you guys, 4th and Heart. This was my first time trying out and meeting this company, and their ghees are no. freaking. joke. Silky smooth, creamy, and four different flavors that impart a rollercoaster of deliciousness on your tastebuds. Can I put this on anything and everything please? Kthanks. And you can get them on Thrive Market!
Vital Proteins travel-sized collagen peptides. Yaaas Vital Proteins, yaaaas. I’ve been using their Collagen Peptides and gelatin for a while in recipes to help with gut health, and recommend them all the time if you’re dealing with leaky gut. I wrote a whole post on it here! But NOW, they’ve got travel-sized, collagen peptides TO GO. How freaking cool, and just in time for some trips I’ve got coming up on October! Check them out on amazon, travel size coming soon!
TeaOnic herbal detoxifying teas. I’ve heard about TeaOnic for a while from some other friends, but never got a chance to try them out until Expo East! The teas are herbal supplements, infused with specific blends for each tea to help in liver detoxification, adrenal and digestion support, and stress relief. How cool, right? And they’re super refreshing too.
EPIC pork cracklings with maple bacon seasoning. Holy F*** you guys. No words. These seriously taste like candy…but are made of pork. Sweet and salty is my JAM. I would be lying if I didn’t tell you I had to stop myself from eating the whole bag in one sitting. They’re coming to Whole Foods soon! Also can’t get enough of their jerky bites!
Primal Kitchen Foods new collagen bars. As you probably know, I use Primal Kitchen products all the time (um, helloooo Chipotle Lime Mayo!) and I was super excited to meet with their insanely nice crew again at Expo East! Totally loved the new Coconut Cashew Bar (made with grass-fed collagen) and a Macadamia Nut bar. I freaking love these people. If you couldn’t tell already. Get them on Thrive Market!
Bob’s Red Mill debuted a new Paleo Baking Flour Mix and Paleo Museli! For those of us who are idiots at paleo baking and fail to grasp the concept of combining flours to actually make things work, this is going to be a total game changer!
Chosen Foods Black Garlic Avocado Oil Mayonnaise. There are only a few companies I know of out there that are doing mayo right (hint* I’ve already mentioned them!), and Chosen Foods is definitely one of them. Game CHANGER with this Black Garlic Mayo! Holy woah you guys, I can’t get enough. They also introduced a Harissa and Wasabi mayo, if you like to get your spice on! Check them out on Amazon, new products coming soon!
Farmhouse Culture probiotic chips. Making this roundup once again, Farmhouse Culture has new branding of my favorite sauerkrauts and gutshots, but also developed a new line of probiotic CHIPS, people. Made with 50% sauerkraut and doused in different seasonings…um HELLO lemme get some of thooooose. Also, not sure why…but I’ve been craving sauerkraut like crazy lately. Freaking weird, right??! Somebody tell me what’s going on!
Eating Evolved Cashew Milk Chocolate. Speaking of amazing people, I loved meeting Kim and the crew from Eating Evolved, and not just because they gave me samples of their new Cashew Milk Chocolate. Hello, creaminess! If you haven’t tried them already, their Dark Chocolate Coconut Butter cups are to DIE for. Check out Thrive Market for more Eating Evolved!
Cave Shake in vanilla, chocolate and coffee. Holy WOAH, you guys. These basically taste like a paleo milkshake in a grab-n-go bottle, with no sh*tty ingredients. Just organic coconut milk, organic stevia, salt, organic guar gum, and then either vanilla extract, espresso, or cocoa powder depending on what flavor you pick!
Let’s talk about coffee. You guys know I luuuurve my coffee. But for a number of reasons (I’ll write a post about this soon, it’s for my adrenals!) I’ve switched from my morning coffee, to either Dandy Blend, Matcha, or Macacchino!
Macaccino Organic Roasted Maca Blend Superfood Energy Drink. This is another coffee alternative I’ve been loving, made the Maca to support healthy hormones! This one tastes more like “vacation coffee” to me, with the addition of spices, and maybe some coconut milk creamer? Oh heeeck yess. I was so pumped to meet these guys at Expo! Definitely making me a little less sad about stopping my morning coffee routine.
Dandy Blend Instant Dandelion Herbal Beverage. Yeah, so I’m a little late to the party here. I heard about Dandy blend years ago, but never got around to trying it until recently. It tastes just like a light roast coffee!
Enjoy Life Foods ProBurst Bites and Chocolate Chip Mini Pouches. Loved these new ProBurst bites! They’re kind of like little fruit and nut granola bar bites, but a lot less sweet than any I’ve tried. These would be perfect for a snack, dessert, or a pre-workout snack! Oh, and they also have single-serve packs of chocolate chips. For travel, I’m assuming? And not portion control instead of having your hand stuck in the whole bag? haha.
Oh, and in case you were wondering? I was totally delirious by the end of the day. THIS picture is what really happens after a day of walking around at expo, carrying half your body weight in goodies to take home…
Posts you may have missed:
Whole30 Recipes Instagram Roundup
6 Lies the Media Told Me on How to Be “Healthy”
Mediterranean Zucchini Pasta & Healthy Back to School Recipes
Sautéed Shishito Peppers with Creamy Sriracha Dipping Sauce, 3 Ways
Zesty Ranch Smashed Potatoes: Is Your Salt Real?
Jamaican Chopped Chicken Salad
Other favorites:
Practical Paleo, 2nd (Updated and Expanded) Edition. You guys know my LOVE of Diane Sanfilippo’s first edition of Practical Paleo. It’s the first book I recommend to anyone who’s looking to get started on a real food lifestyle, and the recipes are kicka**! Diane totally knocked it out of the park with this one!
The Paleo Kids Cookbook. Finally, a cookbook I can recommend to all my swim kids’ parents! Jennifer has recreated all my childhood favorites, and kicked butt doing it. Can’t wait to try out the nostalgic treats like pop tarts, funnel cakes, and nilla wafers!
Recipes I’m loving:
Yeah, it’s fall, but I’m still on a smoothie kick! Perfect for post-workout snacks or right before I swim coach for a few hours at a super awkward time before dinner, ha! Oh, and all the squash. Obsessed.
Green chocolate orange smoothie | Smoothierecipes.us
Pumpkin Protein Smoothie | PaleOMG
Dairy-Free Protein Frappe | Anya’s Eats
Chai Spiced Chia Smoothie Bowls | Cotter Crunch
Cinnamon Roasted Delicata Squash
Pumpkin Magic Bars | PaleOMG
Pork Chops with Bacon Fig Sauce | Thriving on Paleo
Creamy Garlic Spaghetti Squash Casserole | Real Simple Good
Skincare & Beauty
Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer | My current beautycounter favorite. Even though it’s only a month out of summer I’m already getting pasty white, so this is helping me keep somewhat of a tan, ha!
