The Best of Expo West 2015 – GIVEAWAY!
Do you count browsing grocery store isles as a hobby?
Does the prospect of discovering healthy new products made with exotic ingredients simply titillate you?
Then you need to check out the Natural Foods Expo West (or East for that matter).
Expo West — as the veterans call it —is basically like Disneyland for adults.
1. It’s actually right by Disneyland in Anaheim
2. It’s full of magic and wonderment.
Pasta made of almonds. Chocolate bars full of probiotics. Beans that look like Orca Whales.
It’s a Healthy Living Blogger/Nutritionist/Non-GMO, Organic-Eating Enthusiast’s dream come true.
This 3-day menagerie of food is the world’s largest natural, organic and healthy product event. Every year they hold one on the east coast and one on the west coast.
This year, the spectacle brought out over 2,700 companies and over 71,000 industry members.
I’m telling you, this thing is colossal.
This year was my second time at the Expo, and I headed down with my friend and fellow food blogger/Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Caroline Kaufman.
Needless to say, we had a blast.
The best part about the Expo is that you not only get to check out all these cool products, but you get to test them and often take them home.
This year they limited the trick-or-treating style free-for-all to one bag per person, but last year I left with two enormous totes full of goodies.
Regardless, we left more than satisfied with our loot and excited to share our new treasures with our readers.
Today, both Caroline and I are rounding up our favorite products from the Expo and — get this — giving away all of them to five lucky readers.
That’s right — 5 readers have the chance to win everything on both myself and Caroline’s “Best of Expo West” list.
Read on for my picks, then head over to Caroline’s blog to check out her picks, then enter the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of either of our posts.
Whit’s “Best of Expo West” Picks
1. Follow Your Heart – Vegan, Soy-Free Cheese
This stuff is amazing. It tastes, smells, feels, and melts just like cheese — but it’s completely vegan. It’s also made from Non-GMO ingredients, is gluten-free and most importantly soy-free.
My favorite is the Garden Herb flavor.
2. Attune Dark Chocolate Probiotic Bar
Probiotics just got a whole lot more appealing.
Why would you want to be sipping a sour Kombucha when you could be luxuriating in a delicious dark chocolate bar? You wouldn’t. This awesome new product makes getting your friendly, tummy-loving bacteria in easy. These bars promote healthy digestion and considering they contain 72% cacao, they have a much less sugar than most chocolate bars.
Just don’t go too overboard on the serving size — it is still a treat!
P.S. – This product doesn’t officially launch until May, so you’ll be one of the first people to try it!
The morning of the Expo, Caroline scored us an invite to a breakfast held by KAMUT® What I thought would be a quick, fun precursor to the show turned out to be so much more.
Did you know that KAMUT ® is actually a brand, and not the name of a grain? It turns out, it’s actually the brand name for a species of wheat called Khorasan, an “ancient grain.” I’d read a lot of recent press about the benefits of ancient grains over modern wheat, and heard the name Kamut before, but never realized that it’s a trademarked name. I’m going to save the full details of how it came to be for another post, but I will tell you, it’s a fascinating story involving a Montana farmer turned Biochemist, and an Egyptian Pharoh’s tomb – if you can’t wait to learn more you can read the story here.
Anyway, these grains are 100% Organic, Non-GMO, and they cook up into the tastiest, chewiest wheat berries you’ve ever had. Some studies also suggest that they may be more tolerable for people with wheat sensitivities.
Sorry to blab on and on about them but I’m so fascinated that I’m actually going to be doing a presentation for my Food Science course on them!
4. Sweet Earth Natural Foods – Tuscan Savory Grounds
I gotta say. If you told me this stuff was beef, I would totally believe you.
These faux-meat flavorful grounds are so good, you could fool a carnivore. They’re made from tofu’s lesser known relative, seitan.
Seitan is essentially just another name for wheat gluten, the protein portion of wheat. Yep, it’s the same “gluten” some people are trying to avoid. I personally am not trying to avoid gluten and I think seitan tends to be a superior plant protein to tofu because it usually has less additives. Also, with research on soy’s safety still up in the air, I prefer to minimize my intake of soy.
This product comes in three flavors: Tuscan, Chipotle and Barbecue. The Tuscan variety has 21 grams of protein per serving, is low in fat and high in fiber!
5. Coco Libre’s Organic Protein Coconut Water
I haven’t always been the biggest fan of coconut water, but this stuff is the bomb.
It packs 20 grams of protein for the whole bottle and only 130 calories. In chocolate, vanilla and almond flavors, they’re the perfect thing to toss in your gym bag to quickly replace protein, carbs and electrolytes after a hard workout. That, and they taste fantastic.
The protein comes from organic, grass-fed cows and they’re sweetened with stevia — major pluses in my book.
I brought a couple on my recent trip to Nicaragua and they made a great on-the-go healthy snack.
6. Plant Rice – Quinoa + Sprouted Rice Power Blend
If you read my recent article about the dangers of arsenic in brown rice, you may be thinking, “WTF Whitney? You totally said brown rice was toxic and that you’re not eating it anymore.”
To that I say, “Good catch guys, but let me explain.”
Brown rice has many benefits that may or may not out weight the harmful affects of arsenic. We don’t know yet, so we shouldn’t be too hasty is cutting it out of our diets. I think you can still eat it, just in moderation. Mixing rice with quinoa, as in this case, reduces the amount you’re eating. Another way to make sure you’re getting rice that is as low in arsenic as possible is to choose California-grown rice, again, like this one.
I specifically like this product though because I’m obsessed with quinoa, especially the eye-catching tri-color variety. Quinoa is an awesome source of complete plant-based protein, and Planet Rice’s blend is Non-GMO and certified gluten-free. I can get on board with that!
So that’s my list! I tried lots of other yummy things at the Expo, but I certainly couldn’t include them all. A lot of the ones that I skipped on here made it on Caroline’s list though. Head over to Caroline Kaufman Nutrition to check out her picks! >>
And now, the GIVEAWAY!
Enter the Rafflecopter widget below for the chance to win ALL this goodness:
- Follow Your Heart Organic Soy-Free Cheese in Garden Herb
- A box of Attune Dark Chocolate Probiotic Bars
- A bag of KAMUT® Wheat Berries
- A bag of Sweet Earth Naturals Tuscan Savory Grounds
- A case of Coco Libre’s Coconut Protein Water
- A bag of Planet Rice’s Quinoa + Sprouted Rice Power Blend
- Alter Eco Dark Salted Burnt Caramel Chocolate Bars
- Coupons good for one free Wyman’s of Maine product
- A fishpeople Scrumptious Seafood Entree
- Navitas Naturals Superfood + Cacao Hemp Almonds
- Organico Bello Kale Tomato Basil Organic Pasta Sauce
- A coupon for Fage yogurt
- A box of Pure Ancient Grains Bars in Vanilla Almond
- jovial Einkorn Sourdough Crackers and Einkorn pasta
- One Variety Gift Pack of SeaSnax
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The widget on this page is the same as the one on Caroline Kaufman Nutrition, so you only need to enter one. We’ll pick 5 winners on Sunday.
Good luck!
Charlsie N says:
I’ve been actually wanting to start researching more items like these. Thanks for getting me started. I’m changing my eating habits to more clean eating.
Charlsie N says:
Also would love to try the rice blend.
Jonathan Galvez says:
I found the rice blend on planetricefoods.com if you were curious!
Whitney English says:
Good for you Charlsie! Cool, new products always make healthy eating more fun :)
kristal bennett says:
I’d really like to try the probiotic bars!
Whitney English says:
They’re so good :)
Taryn says:
Probiotic chocolate?! Sounds too good to be true… and I want to be involved with every part of it hahah :)
Whitney English says:
Haha that’s exactly what I thought when I heard about them! They have really tasty coconut and crispy varieties too :)
Rita B says:
I would love to try the flavored coconut waters and of course the “probiotic” chocolate bar. I would eat anything chocolate!
Whitney English says:
Exactly, how can you say no to chocolate?!
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says:
What a fun event! I love Coco Libre and have been enjoying that lately, but I’d most like to try the new Pure Bars!
Whitney English says:
The Pure Bars are amazing!! Highly recommend :)
Jacqui says:
the probiotic chocolate bar!
Whitney English says:
Good choice :)
C j says:
Attune Foods chocolate bar! Love Attune, and missed 5hem this year at the shiw. :(
Whitney English says:
Yeah, they have so many awesome products! I also like their whole grain Raisin Bran cereal.
Andrea Hammer says:
I’m dying to try the probiotic dark chocolate!
Whitney English says:
It’s as amazing as you would imagine :)
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner says:
The expo looks like so much fun! I’d be all over many of those products yum!
Whitney English says:
You should come next year!!
Wendi says:
What a great giveaway, the Alter Eco Dark Salted Burnt Caramel Chocolate Bars are screaming my name!!
Whitney English says:
They are heaven. Almost too good ;)
Jamie D says:
I would love to try the Coco Libre Protein coconut water! Already love coconut water so this sounds amazing!
Whitney English says:
Yes! I love it because the protein really helps balance out the natural sugars of the coconut water and avoid a blood sugar spike.
jen says:
coconut protein water! i’ve tried another brand that was okay, but i love coconut water, so i’d love to try some other brands.
Whitney English says:
This tastes more like a yummy smoothie than a watery beverage. Pretty sure you’ll love it :)
Cynthia says:
I would love to try the purebars or the flavored coconut waters. I love trying new on-the-go items that aren’t full of junk!
Whitney English says:
Totally – they’re not always easy to find! These are both wonderful options for when you need a snack on the run.
Kaila @healthyhelperblog! says:
I would LOVE to try the Tuscan Savory Ground from Sweet Naturals! Looks great!
Whitney English says:
Definitely a winner! I’m obsessed with seitan lately :)
Annie B says:
What an awesome giveaway!!! I would most love to try the Follow Your Heart Organic Soy-Free Cheese in Garden Herb!!!
Whitney English says:
Good choice! It’s delish :)
Madeline says:
I’d like to try the flavored coconut waters!!
Hayley says:
A box of Attune Foods Dark Chocolate Probiotic Bars!!
Jennifer Sinquefield King says:
I have never been! So many exciting new things!! I would love to try the Coco Libres protien coconut water!!!!! My fav trend right now is the non-GMO and gulton free.
Whitney English says:
I agree, so glad so many brands are jumping on board with the non-GMO labeling!
Jody - Fit at 57 says:
The show is sooooooooooo big that we all came up with our own fave products! :)
Whitney English says:
Seriously!!! There’s no way you can see everything – at least not in one day!
ganeeban says:
I worked that show for three years and loved going. It never failed, my stomach hurt after working all day – cause I would snack an all the random stuff, even though it’s all “natural”! Have you been to the Expo East? I’ve heard our West Coast one is by far better! And who wouldn’t want to come, with Disneyland right there?!? xoxo, ganeeban
Whitney English says:
I haven’t been to Expo East – glad to hear ours is better :) I totally know what you mean about the tummy aches though. Even “healthy food” can make you feel bad when you go overboard – and I always inevitably do at events like this!
Courtney S says:
I would love to try the chocolate!!
Devin Self says:
to choose just ONE product would be so difficult! i have never seen any of those products in the stores near me so I would love to try any/all of them! they look amazing
Whitney English says:
Haha I know, they’re all amazing! Some are at Whole Foods but some I’ve never seen before either. The probiotic bars aren’t even out yet though!
emily says:
Would def be stoked to try the almonds or probiotic bar!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says:
Soy-free cheese!!!!!
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says:
The food is one of the best parts about going to health-minded conferences! Would love to try all these goodies.
jen says:
so jealous – looks amazing! i am dying to go to expo west one day!
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says:
I’ve never been to the expo, but I think I would love it!
Holly E says:
I’d love to try the Organico Bello Kale Tomato Basil Organic Pasta Sauce.
Charmaine @ Not Another Model Blog says:
Oh my goodness! So many goodies that I need in Toronto! Lol.
Dana L. King says:
Everything looks exciting! I wanna try it all for my family!!
Alejandra Corbella says:
everything looks so delicious but I would love to try the chocolate and the almonds
Mary says:
This Expo looks like a blast! I would LOVE to go next year!
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says:
I seriously can’t believe I won!!! Thanks so much :)
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says:
I still can’t thank you both enough for this giveaway!! I am STILL getting goodies in the mail :)
Jonathan Galvez says:
I would love to try the quinoa rice blend! That sounds amazing. Thanks.