Once again the trip to Natural Products Expo West this year wast an adventure, both thrilling and dangerous! Thrilling because of all of the new and wonderful sights and smells! Dangerous because, well, by the time I left I thought my stomach was going to explode! I’m usually very good at stopping when I’m full – expo is one of those rare times when I decide to ignore that little voice that says “Ahoy there! You’re done! Quit eating!” … but there’s no much to try!!!
Here are a few of the highlights!
Of course the first place I ran to (if you can remember last year’s Expo blog) was Barleans. I was particularly excited for the prospect of frozen Omega Swirl, as they had done the previous year. Thankfully when I arrived, mouth salivating and eagerly awaiting a frosty delight…
I was not disappointed!
Not only was my frozen treat waiting for me but it was also the icy debut of their new flavor for the Essential Women’s blend of Omega Swirl, formerlly chocolate raspberry, it has now been changed to chocolate-mint… which happens to be my favorite!
Wandering over to the MegaFood booth, I get a tip that momentarily Dr.Weil will be having an interview.
I popped into that for a minute. Click HERE for a little article on that conversation.
As I made my way through the supplements portion of the Expo I caught glimpse of Now Food’s Cranberry, mannose + probiotics concoction and I thought I might take a little taste. It was pretty darn good I tell you!
Host Defense Organic Mushrooms has a neat and informational booth displaying the actual wild mushrooms that they put into their supplements!
By this point green coffee bean extract has practically become a household name for it’s weight loss supporting properties. I got the chance to try Genesis Today’s Skinny Coffee, a creamy cappucino using green coffee bean extract. Yum!
I had to stop by Spring Dragon to check out their Wild Reishi extract. While there I was also able to try Ant Extract… something I never really thought I’d try…
Natural Vitality was sampling out their new product Plant Sourced Minerals liquid which is made from fossilized plants! Craazy!
Here’s a new one! 100% Organic Aronia Berry Flax Oil from Sawhill Hallow!
On to the foods…
Gotta stop by Angie’s…
For some Politely Sweet & Spicey popcorn! Nom nom nom!
Clif revealing their NEW protein bar which yields 30g of protein!
Pretty self explanatory… kale chips are probably one of my very favorite things to eat…
that is, of course, until CHOCOLATE comes into view…
Absolutely wonderful gluten-free chocolate brownies from Flax4Life!
With my sweet tooth singing, we come across Halo Top – DELICIOUS light ice cream!
While the vanilla was yummy…
my heart belonged to the lemon cake ice cream.
So Delicious was freshly baking fancy little cinnamon pecan scones!
Suja’s raw, cold pressed organic juices are currently in our locations but until this moment I had yet to try them. My favorite flavor, Glow: green apple, cucumber, celery, collard, spinach, kale & spearmint!
That WAS until I tried Spark:the delightful mix of lemon, tart cherry, strawberry, honey, stevia and then WHOOOOOOOO cayenne!
“SUUUUUJJJAAAA!!!” she cried into the night.
Until she spotted Daiya..
Well hello there!
I don’t feel captions are necessary for these.
Just take in these pictures.
Feel what you gotta feel.
I think I just feel hungry.
Some organic maple syrup to sooth the soul.
Mia’s kitchen set up a little vinegar and oil tasting station.
Here was a cool company with some awesomely fantastic all-natural dips..
including this caramelized onion yogurt dip which was knee weakening-ly good.
Another new one – bombay curry dried green peas!!! mmmMMMmmm!!
Suddenly I spotted the words EPIC. by first instinct was to laugh – my thoughts jumped to an image of two surfer dudes pumping fists. “That was an EPIC surf sesh Brah…”
Epic at Expo West meant grass-fed beef, bison and turkey protein bars mixed with fruit.
While this may sound strange, I assure you, it was truly epic in taste!
…and I’m pretty excited about them.
OH! Goodness me, this was great! Arugula pesto vegan alfredo sauce!
This was seriously cool: a great way to drink iced coffee.
Fair Trade cold brew coffee concentrate from Secret Squirrel!
Another tasty beverage that I got to try…
How good does pineapple, coconut nutmeg soda sound? Well guess what, it is!!!
And it’s coming soon to Lassens!
Probably one of my very favorite things that I ate whilst
browsing the long and lovely aisles at Expo was this bad boy…
Feta cheese, raw beet and spinach tossed in balsamic vinegar on lavash bread.
Make it – eat it – love it.
Time to get festive!!! Susty-party makes compostable plates, cups and straws for
entertaining friends and family! And they’re cute to boot!
Silk Road Teas, just beautiful.
and the winner for most adorable packaging at Expo West (unofficially and just according to this 25 year old female blogger … you may not agree. It’s cool!) goes to Worker B, honey and bee’s wax products.
Aside from the cute labels, this company also won my heart
for their honest and simple list of ingredients.
If it isn’t on the table there, you won’t find it in their products.
HERE HERE!
Hey! This is cool!
Nova Scotia Fisherman Sea Kelp soap!
Coming Soon to Lassens!!!!
To end our long awaited journey at Natural Products Expo West, I decided to check out the Hugo Natural’s booth where some fancy looking artist boys made some beautiful spring-time art out of Hugo’s beautiful soaps.
Look at him go!
The end result – Gorgeous!
Well, we all had a SUPER time… (har har har)…
But all good things must eventually end.
You won this time Expo West… but I guess I did too!
Until we meet next year.
If you saw something that you loved and that we’re not yet carrying at Lassens, tell us about it! Leave us a message here or on our Facebook page (the locations are listed on the right side bar on our lassensloves.com page. Is there something else that you were hoping we would find at the expo?
Let us know! We’re dedicated to bringing YOU what you want and need
…but we’ll never know unless you tell us 😉
Wishing you a happy healthy day!
Love,
Lassens
This looks great!
And I would looove if you guys started selling the new products from Daiya! Especially the cheeses. 😀
I'm really excited to try Beyond Meat, too. I've heard so much about it.
Hi Nicole! I'm glad you liked this post!
I just spoke with our Regional Grocery Buyer and he informed me that each of our locations in currently carrying the Daiya cheeses. There are a few new ones that are not in distribution yet, but as soon as they are available we'll have them at the stores!
As for Beyond Meat, we are currently not carrying this company, but we do have many other wonderful meat substitutions. Have you tried the Upton's Naturals? They are AWESOME! 😀
Thank you for the comment!
Thanks for sharing..!! I love your post . I am looking more post like this one on this blog . this post proves really helpful for me .
Please start carrying Halo Top… Lemon and birthday cake. The are low cal, high protein and low sugar… Thank You!
I’ll have our buyers look into Halo Top — sounds awesome!