Last month we headed to Expo East in Baltimore — the second largest natural food and product show in the US — to search out the latest and greatest nutrition products and trends for you guys. As you all know, we don’t believe in trendy diets, but we wanted to give you guys a quick look into what you’ll be reading about on the wellness circuit this year. After tasting rows and rows of goodies and samples (don’t worry, we paced ourselves! Our rule — don’t taste anything you’ve already had and don’t go back for seconds!) we have compiled our top 5 favorite products. Here is our list of items to keep an eye out for:
- Egg Life Wraps – We aren’t anti-carb over here at Real Nutrition, but we are all for clean, low-carb items that taste good and serve a purpose. Keep your eyes peeled for Egg Life — egg white “wraps” that easily and tastefully stand in for tortillas to satisfy your taco craving or your lunch wrap needs without additives or carbs, and with added protein to boot!
- No Bull Veggie Burgers – We are very transparent when it comes to the ingredients we stand behind, and when it comes to veggie burgers, we are quite particular. Too many processed, refined, chemical-laden products limit our recommendations, but when we tasted this burger, we were in love! No processed soy here — just veggies, seeds, beans and grains, all with that fresh grilled flavor from small-batch grilling. Savory Mushroom was our favorite, but there are many other flavors to choose from!
- Lebby Snacks – Who doesn’t love some chocolate at 3 or 4 PM in the afternoon? Well, pair that with some fiber and protein, and you’ve got a Registered Dietitian-approved snack that will meet your cravings and nutrition goals. These chocolate, mocha or sesame covered roasted chickpeas are delicious, crunchy, savory and sweet all at the same time — and yes, they come in portion-controlled packages. Bye, bye chocolate covered almonds; we are switching it up over here and feeling great!
- Perfectly Free Frozen Bites – These gems were so delicious, we were tempted to go back for seconds! Knowing how much our clients love frozen treats, these vegan goodies checked every box. Portion controlled, sweet, low in calories (30 per bite!), clean ingredients, with such amazing taste and texture we had to ask twice if the creamy filling was made with dairy (spoiler: it wasn’t!) Perfectly Free is totally dessert approved, and we recommend the Salted Caramel Vanilla. But don’t limit yourself — there are additional delicious flavors to go for!
- Pure Batch – We are suckers for a good back story, but only if the product stands up to the hype; and these baked goodies actually do! From a mom and daughter team, these whole foods, unprocessed baked goods are delicious and decadent, but good for you on so many levels. Filled with nutrition to help fight off illness, limited in sugar to promote weight loss, and preservative-free (yes, they need to be kept in the fridge), these are energizing snacks you can feel great about indulging in. As an added bonus, they come in single-size servings to help you stop indulging after just one!
Trends:
We didn’t see anything really new this year since sugar is still out and fat is still in. However, we did see A TON of cauliflower everything! And just so you know, we don’t support cauliflower crusted chicken nuggets :/. Read those labels people — just because it says cauliflower, doesn’t mean there isn’t other stuff in there too. Collagen everything is still big (we heart Further Food and Vital Proteins), as are mushrooms (have you tried Pan’s Mushroom Jerky or Four Sigmatic mushroom coffees?), and CBD everything is everywhere. And even though this year we didn’t see anything new, there is a huge focus on plant-based eating and we are all about it as long as the ingredients are honest, clean and actually good for you! Save the planet and your health, one plate at a time!
Discount codes with some of my faves:
Further Foods – 15% off when you use code: AMY
Lebby Snacks – 15% off when you use code: REALNUTRITION15
Pure Batch – 10% off when you use code: PBxRealNutritionNYC10