I started my Expo West Day 2 with another great Nuun 5K. [In case you missed it, here’s a link to my post from Day 1 with links to prior years, too.]
Nuun 5K
Becca and I started Day 2 with the Nuun 5K. Like last year, Nuun and Honey Stinger put on an awesome 5K run. This year, it was also sponsored by RxBar , Kashi and Vital Farms . How cool is that? It was a timed run where the top 3 women and men got prizes. They also had awards for the “most middlest” and some other fun categories like most spirited and Nuuniest.
The course moved to a golf course, so we got to run cross country! The course was loopy so I could cheer for Becca, Kylie and pro triathlete and Picky Bars’ CEO, Jesse Thomas.
Becca was first female this year and she won Brooks shoes. I had fun and came in in the top 10 women like last year. I felt like a winner because I snagged a photo with and some Picky Bars from Jesse. It was a great morning!
Day 2
We got cleaned up and headed over to the Expo. We decided to tackle the rest of Hot Products and the Hilton because those halls are not open on Saturday. We were also meeting up with our friend, Jenny, who we met last year.
I started at the Hilton. I tried the new green mango coconut balls from Zuma Valley. They’re amazing. Despite the early hour, I also tried Blueberry Hill Berries’ new Sorbatto. It’s made with over a pint of blueberries in each pint. It was delicious. Next I met the folks from Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha. They has an awesome design and I really like their ‘buch! I was excited to be able to thank Lavva for their donation to my charity class. Their new pili nut based yogurt was one of the best things I tried this year. Definitely a winner!
I checked out what was new from Hello Oral Care and grabbed some toothpaste. I chatted with the guys from Kize and grabbed some of their new vegan bars for Becca. They’re a fave from Expo East last year. I saw my friends from Westlab and admired their new look. I can’t wait to try all of the scents. More to come from Westlab soon! I tried some delicious veggie burgers from Wholly Veggie! That was another delicious, convenient plant based find.
As I was heading out, I saw my friends from Deliciousness.com. I tried some more flavors of Hope & Sesame sesame milk. I thanked them for supporting my charity class with a ton of Mozaics Potato and Veggie Chips and grabbed some Handfulls and Hope & Sesame to share.
I went over to the main halls to meet with Kite Hill and Chosen Foods. Kite Hill sent me some tortellini and yogurt in advance of the show. They were both amazing. I tried Kite Hill’s new everything almond cream cheese, raspberry yogurt and new plain greek yogurt. All are made with no dairy and use almonds as their base. They’re all delicious. I can’t wait to get these when they’re out this summer. I also checked out their new look. It’s really sleek.
Chosen Foods has a new line of infused avocado oil cooking sprays, dressings and guacamole. The avocado oil sprays come in 3 savory and 3 sweet varieties. I’m so excited to try these. The new dressings are reinvented Green Goddess in 5 flavors. I tried the Golden Goddess with turmeric and ginger. Delicious!
Before heading back to tackle Hot Products, I went to a meeting in the main halls. On the way, I opportunistically visited Thunderbird Bar and Bada Bean Bada Boom. Thunderbird is launching a chocolate energy bar line with cacao. I tried Chocolate Almond Butter Sea Salt. It was SO GOOD. I can’t wait for these to come out. I thanked Bada Bean Snacks for supporting my recent event and professed my love for their snacks.
I met with Aimee and Stacey from Gaia Herbs. I thanked them for supporting my event and sending a ton of Calm ASAP for my swag bags. Stacey is in product strategy and she was so helpful in explaining the difference between Hemp and CBD. She answered many questions on those. Then, we took a look at some of the new products coming out including a new line of brain health supplements including a Nootropic, Bacona and Agile Mind. They also have a new line of mushroom and herb superfood powders. I’m going to try those when they come out! I felt so much more knowledgeable after spending time at Gaia!
I stopped by to see Oilogic. They have a line of essential oil based products for kids, babies and now adults. This line was started by a working mom who was trying to find better homeopathic remedies for her kids. She couldn’t find any, so she made her own! I snagged a few samples and a sleep one for myself!
Then, I went down to meet Kelly from Wedderspoon. I tried their new line of apple cider vinegar drinks with Manuka Honey and bee pollen. I also tried their straight ACV with Manuka Honey. As always, I loved the products. I grabbed some of their functional nut butter and honey spreads to share. These were a fave from Expo East, too. I noticed that I was by Epic so I grabbed my friend Eric for our annual buffalo photo! This may be my favorite one yet!
I headed back over to Hot Products to try to tackle the rest. I tried GloryBee’s creamed honey and their new Brown Butter Honey Ghee. Both were good. The ghee was pretty mind blowing! Then, I treated myself to a non-dairy salted caramel mochi from my friends at My/Mo. I chatted with my friend, Johnny, from Eat Your Coffee. As a two time Kickstarter supporter, they treat me like family! It’s so fun to see their success. I tried some spicy pickles from Bubbies. I finally got to see what Peckish was all about. It’s hard boiled eggs cut in half with dipping cups of spices. Very cool and I love their look.
I stopped to tell the folks from Empact that I liked the name “Guiltless Quickies.” These are superfood bites with collagen and prebiotics. All three trends in one – bonus they’re tasty! I tried new Cactus and Cassava Topopos from Tia Lupita Foods. These “better for you,” grain free, plant based chips were one of my fave finds of the show. I had my mind blown by my friends from Justin’s. They’re coming out with a cashew butter covered cashew. It’s like a candy coated nut. These are so good! Be on the look out for them. I said “hey” to my friends from Creation Nation (met at East) and took a fun photo.
I saw my friends from Rule Breaker and learned about their upcoming Kickstarter. They’re jumping on the bites trend, too. I grabbed some blondies for my niece (and one for me!) They were next to Cherryvale Farms. They started with baking mixed and now make Love It! baked muffin bars that are plant based, whole grain and are made with real fruit. I grabbed some of those to check out, too.
I tried some Black is White gum with Activated Charcoal from Curaprox. They assured me that my teeth would not turn black. (They didn’t.) I got some to try to see if my teeth seem cleaner between brushing when I use it. I stopped by to give props to Biena Snacks on their awesome new look. I finally tried new Sweet Potatoasts from Caulipower and asked when I could get them by me. I was excited to see my friend, Jessica, from Jessica’s Natural Foods. We took some photos and she loaded me up with samples! I stopped by to say hi to Milkadamia and I tried their amazing Macadamia Buttery Spread. So good!
I quickly tried to tackle the rest of Hot Products before a chair massage appointment. I failed but I did get to try new Fuego spicy grain free tortilla chips from Siete. I also got to reconnect with Sap! and talked to them about doing a review of their flavored sparkling birch water. Stay tuned for that. I stopped by to see Nexty winner FemiClear and all natural first aid ointment from Curoxen. Clumsy me needs this product in my life! I was excited to run into Diana from Undercover Quinoa and to grab all the samples. They’re one of my faves so I was happy I didn’t miss them!
I headed over to the Marriott for a Happy Hour that I was invited to. It included a 15 minute chair massage. It was amazing. I really needed it after traveling and then lugging swag bags everywhere! I loved taking a break and learning about some great brands. We got samples, coupons and IOUs for some great products from Kodiak Cakes (new graham crackers!), Maple Hill Organic, Coolhaus Ice Cream, Coolhaus Ice Cream, Vital Farms and more!
Finally, I went to meet Jenny and her friend Bopha. We checked out the press room and then went to meet Becca and Ashley at the RE: Botanicals Happy Hour. They had CBD mojitos. I stuck with seltzer as I don’t do well with CBD. It does not calm me down or help me sleep. That said, the happy hour was very lively and fun!
It was quite a day!
Day 2 Haul
What product/brand are you most interested in from Day 2?
You can find many of these great products on my Amazon List! (Affiliate link)
Please note: I was provided samples but I was not compensated to mention any of these brands. All opinions are my own.