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Expo East 2018: A Dietitian’s Perspective

Yum

September 28, 2018 By Laura Ligos, MBA, RD, CSSD 2 Comments

Expo East 2018

Another Friday, another Friday Favorites coming right at you. This week I’m going to talk a little more about Expo East, my experience, and some trends I found. I promise I will be doing a post soon with all of my favorite products. My kitchen table is still a disaster right now with food samples everywhere. I plan on organizing it this weekend, taking some photos, and then distributing the food to some friends (you’re welcome in advance). Thank goodness Bode doesn’t jump up on the table otherwise I’d have to clean this stuff up…wait, maybe that would be better motivation.

I digress, the cool thing about Expo is that everyone there has a role in the food & health business and is down to talk about all things food. I mean, it’s pretty much my ideal situation. Eat food, talk about food, drink some cold brew, talk about more food, rinse, repeat.

The reason I decided to go this year was that I wanted to find out what new trends were happening in the food world.

Influencer Summit

I was lucky this year to be apart of the Influencer Summit. I rarely feel like I’m an influencer especially because my social following is nothing to write home about, and I’ve yet to utilise a service like upleap.com. What I do have is education, experience, and a (sassy) voice. I want to make a difference and hope that by putting myself out there I will.

expo east

That’s what the influencer summit was all about. There were multiple speakers, some good, some not-so-good. However, it was nice to be a part of a group of individuals who want to make a difference. The day was short, however, and hard to meet anyone outside our table. The good news is I met some amazing ladies, check them out here:

Kendall from The Flexible Foodie
Dana from Real Food with Dana
Caroline from Olive You Whole
Hayley from Health Starts in the Kitchen

While I’m super glad I met these sassy af ladies, I wish we had more time to get to know others in our field. I would’ve especially liked a dietitian/nutritionist specific chat where we could’ve shared with each other how to navigate the world of working with brands while also being a health care provider. I guess there’s always next year.

Food Trends

Ok, so you’re probably wondering what I did besides talk to people and eat food all day long. While I definitely did that, I also scoped out some new trends in the food industry. It’s nice knowing what’s out there as well as what’s coming soon. Unfortunately, Albany seems to be late to the game as far as new food items go, but hey, it’s good to know, maybe I can have some influence on the community to get the food here sooner, fingers crossed.

Amazing #sassyapproved trends:

Not all trends were necessary ones I loved or agreed with, but these were ones that had me far more excited than a normal person would be at a food expo. Here are some of my favorit food trends:

  • Cold brew everything. While cold brew has been growing in popularity the past year or so, it is now in EVERYTHING. I love cold brew because it isn’t as bitter as coffee, but it’s strong in caffeine and taste.
    Early favorite(s): Chameleon Cold Brew & Rise Brewing
  • Kombucha in cans. I mean kombucha itself was a huge trend but now kombucha is being put in cans and I love it because it’s far more convenient AND at a more reasonable serving size for most.
    Early favorite: Brew Dr. Kombucha,
  • Unsweetened beverage options. I love this because so many people want something other than water to hydrate with, and companies are realizing their higher sugar beverages are suffering.
    Early favorite: Sound Tea
  • Nut/seed butter with minimal added sugars. I mean, I’m a sucker for any nut/seed butter
    Early favorite(s): 88 Acres, Barney Butter & HomePlate PB
  • Grass-Fed & Regenerative Farming. Aka the people who are leading the charge in dealing with sustainability and quality of food.
    Early favorite(s): Old World Naturals Deli Meat & Maple Hill Creamery
  • Oat milk. I don’t know why but oat milk is so smooth and tasty and blends so nicely in a latte.
    Early favorite: Oatly
  • Even healthier convenient performance foods. I work with athletes who work full-time jobs and are also training. While I try my best to give them real food that’s also convenient, I sometimes fall short and we rely on not-so-real-food foods. I saw a trend of healthier convenience foods and I’m hopeful for them.
    Early favorite: Swapples

Trends I’m still unsure about and/or have no interest in:

Look, I can’t love everything, you know?! Here are some trends I’m semi-over and or not-so-sure about:

  • Keto. I understand that Keto works for some. But marketing it as a fad diet with fad food items for people to consume. I don’t know, just not convinced yet.
  • Vegan/Plant-Based. I’m mostly hating on the items that are obviously vegan/plant-based that are now promoting that they are so. It’s like promoting water is gluten-free…duh.
  • CBD Oil. Such a new trend that I have not had time to read the research on (if there is any?) so I’m more just not comfortable with recommending yet. TBD on this trend. The cbd trends & popularity seem to be increasing almost exponentially, so I can assume that many people are definitely getting good use out of such products and are noticing the purported benefits that come with taking it. However, due to the ever-increasing popularity for the various CBD products on the market, I believe I’ll have to eventually give these oils a try. In some of my little amount of research I’ve found CBD users can find their products for discounted prices when looking at a website like https://thecbdinsider.com/cbd-coupons/elixinol-coupon/ or similar. Considering I’ve found this CBD coupon site, I believe it’s time to see I can benefit from CBD compared to others that swear by CBD oils and more.
  • Cashews. Well, okay I’m okay with this trend for everyone but I have stomach issues related to cashews so let me tell you, it made me sad to turn down a few treats because they had cashews or cashew-milk in them.

How To Navigate Expo East

If you ever head to Expo East, be prepared to be overwhelmed. I’d recommend going at least 2 days as you will spend the first day lost, dazed, and confused.

  • Dress nice but comfortable. You don’t want to look like a slob but you will do a lot of walking and will go inside and out and probably sweat. I wore jeans & a nice shirt/tank each day with comfy shoes.
  • Bring business cards. While it’s 2018, it’s still nice to hand out your card so people know you’re legit 😉
  • Don’t eat a big breakfast BUT don’t go hungry. It’s a delicate balance. You will get sick of eating protein-rich everything but you don’t want to go in full or starving, choose wisely.
  • Come prepared to carry heavy bags. Many brands can ship you stuff (if you have a need) but otherwise, bring your biceps and get ready to schlep some free samples around.
  • Don’t take all the water offered to you. I mean, stay hydrated, but water is heavy, bring a reusable water bottle and decline all the water bottles offered to you, you have other food items to carry.
  • Bring/Find a friend. It helps when you are taking all the free samples (you know to not feel ridiculous) and to have someone to take pictures with of course.

Alright, I need to go clean off my kitchen table. Stay tuned for more posts here and on Instagram to show off some Expo items! What trends are you most excited about?

Happy Friday!

xoxo,

Sassy

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  1. How To Throw a Wine Party - The Sassy Dietitian says:
    November 4, 2018 at 8:05 pm

    […] sipped on some of the Welcome Punch (recipe coming soon). I made sure to bring some of my food from Expo & FNCE as prizes for those partaking in trivia as well. The poo pourri was a hot comodity, […]

    Reply
  2. Friday Food Favorites December 2018 - The Sassy Dietitian says:
    December 7, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    […] and the tides are changing. I have had the opportunity to try a lot of new products this year at Expo East & FNCE and let me tell you convenience can be healthy and if it makes your life easier and […]

    Reply

@thesassydietitian

We’ve made it over a week together and it feels We’ve made it over a week together and it feels like it’s always been this way.

Motherhood is a wild ride & it’s only getting started. I have never been so tired & simultaneously so fulfilled in my life. That’s not to say it’s not filled with tears, worries and doubts but what fun would it be if it were all sunshine and roses anyway?

Going into this all I have felt so supported by friends going through this with me BUT I felt so unsupported by the general public. It seems like we want to fear and shame moms because misery loves company, right?!

The focus quickly shifts from mom to baby (still shocked that I only have an appointment at 6 weeks even though my body went through the biggest event of its life) and there also seems to be this shift from joy to shame & guilt.

Here’s some of what I heard from people:

😕Sleep when baby sleeps. You’ll never sleep again.
😕Don’t let baby sleep in a car seat, or a bouncer, or anywhere but their crib EVER. 
😕You’ll never have time to shower again, enjoy it now. 
😕Cry it out is cruel and harmful to the baby. 
😕Get baby on a schedule/never put baby on a schedule.

These are all things I heard and that truly led me to believe I was going to lose all sense of who I was and my life as I knew it.

What I wish people had said instead were:

🥰Your heart will grow bigger than you could imagine.
🥰You’ll cry the happiest tears you’ve ever cried.
🥰You’ll feel like a giant hole was filled that you didn’t even know was there.
🥰You won’t feel guilty about cleaning your house, it just won’t matter anymore.
🥰Babies pooping will make you laugh so hard you will feel like a kid again.
🥰You will have time to eat and shower and you don’t have to neglect yourself.

We need to do a better job of building each other up, supporting one another and our decisions while refraining from offering unsolicited advice and opinions. 

So for all you future mamas and new mamas out there, I see you, I’m proud of you and I cannot wait to share our stories with one another and the world.

Let’s stop fear mongering (just like the diet world) and start building one another up.

Xoxo,
Sassy & lil sassy man
🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s b 🌈Some things truly are worth the wait. It’s been a long year of loss, unknowns and worry but it’s all been worth it to get to meet my lil man🥰
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Now time to introduce this sassy human who is already so well loved to the world...
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Introducing 

💙 Connor James Ligos 💙
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After an almost 24 hour labor, Connor joined us over a week past his due date on 2/12/21 at a whopping 9lb2oz & 22.5 inches long with a full head of hair and lungs to scream hello to us with.
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We are so in love already and cannot wait to share him with the world. Thank you for all the love and support from friends and family and to all those that helped us in the hospital. Holy cow labor & delivery teams are truly magical and I cannot imagine doing it without all of their support.
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Now back to snuggling this human of mine and trying not to cry at every last thing he does 🥰 
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Mom, Dad & Bode are all doing well!
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#babyboy #pregnancyafterloss #rainbowbaby #birthdayboy #birthannouncement
I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk t I get it, we all eat so we all then want to talk to others about what worked for us. That's great!
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What's not great is when we push our nutrition and eating behaviors onto others ESPECIALLY when we are not qualified to do so.
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So often when people meet me for the first time they are worried to eat around me and/or buy groceries around me. My friends can attest I am not judgemental around food and will gladly eat that cake, queso dip or sip on that glass of wine right alongside of you. I am not the food police and do not offer unsolicited nutrition advice unless it's a client who is paying for my help OR on Instagram and other social media platforms where my goal is to educate.
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Why do I share this? 
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Because I see far too many people diving down diet rabbit holes, finding success & then claiming to be nutrition experts purely because something worked for them. 
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I've also seen this alot being pregnant, everyone wants to tell you what worked for them. IF you use that stipulation of "this worked for me" then fine, share away but if you start doleing out advice please pause, take a breath and think about NOT doing it.
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People are OVERWHELMED by diet culture and some so badly want to change but YOUR way is not the only way and it most likely is not what will work for your friend/coworker/cousin/neighbor so please, stop trying to be an expert in something you aren't.
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Got it!?! 
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Ok, carry on.
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xoxo,
Sassy
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#nutrition #nutritiontips #nutritionist #dietitianapproved #rdapproved #rdchat #dietitiansofinstagram #dietitian #dietitiansofig #albanyny #albanynutrition #albanynutrition
Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. Your nutrition does NOT need to be all or nothing. I'm not saying you have to find perfect balance (does that even exist?) but I am saying that we shouldn't feel like either we have to eat perfectly or that we might as well give up.
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Instead we should look to the grey area in between for our nutrition guidance. 
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What do I mean?
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I mean that we need to realize that we can still eat cookies but we probably should throw some veggies in there. 
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We can have a glass or 2 of wine but we should probably also drink some water. 
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We can take rest days but we should also find ways to move our bodies regularly.
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And the list goes on.
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It's not about all or nothing it's about doing something daily to help your health and nutrition without it feeling like a set of rules or a free for all.
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How do we find that grey area in between?
👉🏻 stop hopping on and off fad diets
👉🏻listen and trust your self, not your coworkers and cousins 
👉🏻focus on the simple things (ie drinking water instead of worrying about supplements)
👉🏻work to remove guilt and shame around food & body
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Where do you currently fall Right now?!
🤪 all
👍🏻in between 
🙅🏻‍♀️ nothing 
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Xoxo,
Sassy
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#dietitian #dietitiansofig #dietitiansofinstagram #nutrition #nutritionist #nutritiontips #thesassydietitian #rdchat #realtalk

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