Do you enjoy eating healthy foods and want to see what the newest products on the market are? Then you need to go to either Expo East or Expo West. I cannot easily describe how huge the exhibits are, or how much fun it is to meet the people behind the brands. This year was even better than last year. Last year we went for one day and we only saw about 20 % of the booths. This year we knew what to expect and we stayed at the Days Inn, which was literally across the street from the Baltimore Convention center. Also this year, I was named one of the official Expo Bloggers, thank you for this honor! We hit the expo floor all three days and we met so many incredible people, tasted so many delicious products, and overall had an incredibly fun and exhausting time! This year my husband and daughter came along with me. We call my daughter the “mini-blogger” and she showed us that she could really work the expo floor. She approached each booth thoughtfully and listened to the story, tasted the products, and then gave an honest opinion. She posted here, what her 8 top items were that she discovered. Today I am sharing some of my favorite finds from Expo East. If you do not have time to read about all my favorite finds, just skip through to the end and enter my giveaway for some great products sent right to your door!
Now some of our favorite finds!
This year we saw lots of great trends including:
Kombucha was everywhere
Gluten Free is very popular. Tons of awesome options for celiacs and others who cannot eat gluten.
Non dairy milks made out of new ingredients
Waters of every kind, infused, flavored, sparkling, and more
Probiotics added to many products including yogurt, vitamins, water and chocolate!
I cannot list all of the awesome vendors we met in this one post. These are just a few of the hundreds of companies we spoke to. We will share more throughout the year as well.
Our favorite new finds from Expo East 2016
Ripple Milk is a new dairy free milk made out of yellow peas. I have seen the bottles at Target before but I just thought it was a fancy new package of regular milk. Nope, this dairy free milk looks cute and tastes delicious. The vanilla flavor was our favorite, it tasted similar to a glass of melted vanilla ice cream. The unsweetened would be great in a bowl of cereal. It is awesome to have some new options for us non-dairy milk drinkers. Ripple comes in four flavors and is high in protein, more calcium than milk, Omega 3s VitD & Iron, low in sugar, and quite delicious.
ProYos protein powered frozen yogurt tubes are amazing! Each tube has 20 grams of protein. For kids who are quite picky eaters and need to eat more protein, these are a great find. ProYo comes in 4 delicious flavors and the mini blogger tasted them all with a thumbs up.
My New England born husband fell in love with the Maple Guild. Their bottles of maple syrup are not only gorgeous, the contents is amazing too. They have branched out and also have created a maple water, a maple cream, infused syrups, maple sweetened iced teas and even a maple vinegar. The Maple Guild is innovating new products with fresh maple syrup all the time. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
The Sunshine Nut Company has great nuts as well as a great story. Each time you buy a bag of nuts you are supporting the workers in Mozambique, many who are orphans, who are harvesting the nuts. It was so wonderful hearing from the owner, his story of the Sunshine Nut Company and how it was founded. Through the success of this company he is helping to support this poor farming community in Africa. The nuts tasted fresh and delicious and we are proud to support them!
As long time vegans we have been big fans of the Field Roast company for many years. We are big fans of the burgers and sausages that they have created. At Expo East we were able to taste the Mac n’ Chao, a new vegan mac and cheese and it was so good. It has not come out yet, but it will be found in the frozen section and you will want to try both the creamy and the chili flavors. Keep an eye on this company, they are constantly coming up with new and delicious vegan products!
Karma wellness water was one of the mini bloggers favorite beverages from Expo East. This innovative bottle has vitamins and probiotics in the cap. After you open the cap, you push a button and watch the powder mix into the water. It tasted delicious and was very good for you! There are 9 different products, with and without probiotics. Each bottle is under 20 calories and 2 grams of sugar or less. We fell in love with this wellness water and we were so excited to see it for sale at Wegmans when we got home.
The Edward and Sons booth had so many awesome products and these delicious vegan 5 layer bars. I won’t tell you how many bars the mini blogger ate, but they were one of her favorite treats she tried. The organic sweetened condensed coconut milk is the perfect vegan substitute for any recipe that uses regular condensed milk. All of the products at this booth were awesome. Tons of vegan options and most of them organic too! If you need a vegan ingredient, I am pretty sure Edward and Sons carries it!
Vegan Rob’s is a snack company with unique and addictive snacks. These wild mushroom kettle potato chips were so good! They have tons of other interesting flavors including Cauliflower puffs, Spinach Strips, Asparagus Chips, and Jackfruit Puffs. They also have crazy awesome flavors of popcorn and crunchy chickpeas. All the ones we tried were amazing.
What can you win in this giveaway?
Tolerant Foods makes healthier pasta for your family. You will win one case of Energy Legume Blend Red Lentil Rotini. This pasta is 100% made from red lentils. It is kosher, gluten free, organic, nonGMO, and vegan. Each 3 oz serving has 19 grams of protein! I love to use this pasta in a casserole and the kids have no idea what it is made out of.
The Best of Expo East 2016 Full story at www.cookwith5kids.com
Banza pasta is made from my favorite ingredient, the chickpea! This protein packed pasta is now packaged in a mac and cheese box and it is so good. 18 grams of protein per serving and naturally gluten free. One winner will receive a case of mac and cheese from Banza!
Mini blogger fell in love with Smashmallows on her first day at Expo East. She visited their booth every few hours to have a marshmallow and chit chat with her new best friends. One winner will receive a case of each flavor of marshmallows. Their flavors are so cute, cinnamon churro, root beer float and mint chocolate chip to name a few!
One winner will receive a gift box of various products in the Bitsy’s BrainFood line. These treats are so tasty, while also being quite good for you. We got to speak with one of the founders for a long time and we loved the story behind this company. They could not find fun, healthy foods to buy for their kids so they decided to create some! These cookies, cereals, and crackers are so good that your family will switch to these products quite easily.
One winner will receive two coupons for Arctic Zero frozen desserts. These “ice cream” treats are gluten free, lactose free, GMO free and low calorie! Some flavors are only 150 calories for the entire pint! It is so nice to be able to eat a frozen treat without worrying about all the fat and calories that are usually included.
One winner will receive a sampler of these delicious Pure Genius Blondies and Brownies. Chickpeas are the main ingredients in this bar, but they taste so good, you will not even realize they are good for you! Mini blogger does not enjoy chickpeas, but she was in love with these bars. We loved chatting with the company owner and they even won a Nexty award, as pictured above!
Pure Growth Organics is a new line of organic snacks your family will love. They even have some of your favorite characters on the packages! The entire line includes sweet snacks like breakfast bars and animal crackers, salty snacks like pretzels, popcorn and super chips, and also oatmeal. Mini blogger tasted many of the products in this brand and she gave it two thumbs up.
MyMo Mochi Ice Cream was the mini bloggers favorite snack. This interesting dessert is a sweet ice cream covered in mochi. Mochi is a popular dessert in Japan made out of rice. This creative dessert is now found in many stores including Costco! Mini blogger showed how awesome it was by eating it for breakfast at Expo East daily.
Your last item in the giveaway is a prize pack from Cameron’s Coffee. These single serve coffees taste so much better than the coffee we usually have, and they carry over 50 blends and flavors. Each Betterbrew ecopod is made with renewable plant based materials with a compostable lid and ring! Many of the blends are greener and sustainable. Cameron’s coffee only sources 100% Arabica specialty grade beans from all over the world, and they also care for the well being of their workers. Cameron’s Coffee also sells whole bean bags, as well as tea single serve pods and loose tea as well.
Here is what you can win in this giveaway:
The winner must reside in the US and will win:
1 mixed case of Banza mac and cheese
You should definitely try the Ripple milk if you cannot drink dairy! My Target carries it and I was so surprised that it was not regular milk in a prettier container!
I have not attended, but oh my gosh, it looks like a food-lovers playground! I’m so in love with the look and sound of those maple syrup and products…oh, and the cashews!
This show is totally a food lovers playground. The maple syrup bottles are so beautiful, almost too good to use! The cashews are amazing, look for them at your store.
Congrats on being named one of the Expo Bloggers. This sounds like a great event and I would love to go to one of these sometime. There are so many awesome food products here and it would be fun to test them all out. The Non-Dairy products is something I know my son would be very much interested in for sure. Thanks for sharing the giveaway and the awesome products.
Thank you, I loved being named an Expo Blogger! It was so much fun meeting all these new brands at the show. I would love to know how your son likes the Ripple milk.
Those kettle cooked chips look really good! I haven’t heard of this expo before, but I love healthy brands that are family friendly. I need to research more of these!
These all look so yummy! I can remember going to food expos with my father when he had his own grocery store/ restaurant. The free samples were always pretty tasty!
This looks a whole lot of fun plus a lot of healthy goodies to add to there as well. Perfect for those in the watch for a healthy yumminess goodness treats!
I have never heard of expo east or expo west, but it seems like a really cool experience and I like that you can try out different types of foods and learn about different companies.
Coconut milk is one of my all-time favourite ingredients to cook with! I would also be interested in trying the Karma water and the Arctic Zero ice cream. A good dairy-free, gmo-free (etc.) ice cream is hard to come by!
I would have loved to go to this – it sounds amazing! I am a college student majoring in Nutrition and I am really interested in exploring new, healthy products. Everything you posted looks absolutely delicious but I have been dying to try Pure Genius blondies. Also, the Ripple milk is something I have never heard of but would love to try. Thanks for sharing!
How awesome that you are studying to be a nutritionist! You would have learned so much at Expo East! Try the Ripple milk, you will be so surprised at how delicious it is!
Wow! Now this would be right up my alley! We make our Kombucha – it is sold at our local stores, but it is fun to make – and those vegan 5 layer bars are making me hungry, even tho I’m really full from dinner! lol – along with the Pure Genius Blondies and Brownies, I am checking out the link you’ve supplied – thanks for sharing this 🙂
I’m so jealous! I would love to go to an expo like this. Just saw there’s one coming up near my area at Expo West. I’m definitely going to check it out.
Chickpeas are so good in desserts, you cannot taste them at all. They just add creaminess and protein to a dessert. I hope you will get to try them, good luck.
I have seen the Bitsy’s brainfood cookies at Target but haven’t tried them yet. I like the looks of their nutrition facts though! Cookies with fiber, that’s a good thing.
It was so wonderful to hear about all the amazing things that the Sunshine Nuts company is doing. Thank YOU for caring about people and making the world a better place.
Wow looks like a lot of fun. I love the milk. That looks like something I need to look into as it could help with my current dairy issues!
You should definitely try the Ripple milk if you cannot drink dairy! My Target carries it and I was so surprised that it was not regular milk in a prettier container!
I have not attended, but oh my gosh, it looks like a food-lovers playground! I’m so in love with the look and sound of those maple syrup and products…oh, and the cashews!
This show is totally a food lovers playground. The maple syrup bottles are so beautiful, almost too good to use! The cashews are amazing, look for them at your store.
Congrats on being named one of the Expo Bloggers. This sounds like a great event and I would love to go to one of these sometime. There are so many awesome food products here and it would be fun to test them all out. The Non-Dairy products is something I know my son would be very much interested in for sure. Thanks for sharing the giveaway and the awesome products.
Thank you, I loved being named an Expo Blogger! It was so much fun meeting all these new brands at the show. I would love to know how your son likes the Ripple milk.
I’ve heard mixed reviews about the Arctic Zero so I would like to try that!
The brownie flavor of Arctic Zero is my favorite. It tastes so good and you don’t need to feel guilty for eating the whole pint!
Looks like a blast! I love the packaging! I’ll have to check that milk as well. I have issues if I have dairy too late.
Isn’t the Ripple bottle awesome? It tastes really good too. I love all the nutrition content on it too. I hope you give it a try.
Those kettle cooked chips look really good! I haven’t heard of this expo before, but I love healthy brands that are family friendly. I need to research more of these!
The mushroom chips were amazing. A subtle flavor of mushroom mixed into a crunchy potato chip. Delicious!
I would have loved to have gone .I love finding new healthy products to feed my family. Great giveaway. That popcorn looks great.
Finding all of these new products each year is like a super fun and productive treasure hunt! I look forward to it every year.
These all look so yummy! I can remember going to food expos with my father when he had his own grocery store/ restaurant. The free samples were always pretty tasty!
There were tons of free samples, but the funny part is that the mini blogger was full after the first few hours. You really need to pace yourself!
I think the best one would be the milk -for the grandkids. Sounded like a great expo!
I hope you buy a Ripple milk for your grandkids to try!
Oh wow..this all looks amazing. I feel healthier just reading it. haha.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you got healthier from reading about healthy foods? That would be awesome!
I would like to try the Pure Genius Blondies and Brownies.
Pure Genius bars are so delicious. They are decadent and full of protein. We love them!
I love marshmallows, so I’m most excited about the Smashmallows.
The smashmallows comes in so many creative flavors, the mini blogger says, great choice!
This looks a whole lot of fun plus a lot of healthy goodies to add to there as well. Perfect for those in the watch for a healthy yumminess goodness treats!
Thanks for visiting. I hope you entered to win this awesome prize package.
What a really nice selection of products. I love whole food and natural products. I should have gone to this expo!
You should try to go to the Expo next year!
I love white Cheddar Popcorn, that would be the first thing I would try!
Mini blogger loves white cheddar popcorn too! It is her favorite salty snack.
Im definitely going to make this expo next year!! these foods look AWESOME. I have already tried some of them. Thanks for sharing.
Tabatha
I have never heard of expo east or expo west, but it seems like a really cool experience and I like that you can try out different types of foods and learn about different companies.
Coconut milk is one of my all-time favourite ingredients to cook with! I would also be interested in trying the Karma water and the Arctic Zero ice cream. A good dairy-free, gmo-free (etc.) ice cream is hard to come by!
So many goodies to win in this giveaway! I hope you entered and good luck!
I would have loved to go to this – it sounds amazing! I am a college student majoring in Nutrition and I am really interested in exploring new, healthy products. Everything you posted looks absolutely delicious but I have been dying to try Pure Genius blondies. Also, the Ripple milk is something I have never heard of but would love to try. Thanks for sharing!
How awesome that you are studying to be a nutritionist! You would have learned so much at Expo East! Try the Ripple milk, you will be so surprised at how delicious it is!
Wow! Now this would be right up my alley! We make our Kombucha – it is sold at our local stores, but it is fun to make – and those vegan 5 layer bars are making me hungry, even tho I’m really full from dinner! lol – along with the Pure Genius Blondies and Brownies, I am checking out the link you’ve supplied – thanks for sharing this 🙂
I am so glad to hear that you found some new goodies in my post. How cool that you make your own Kombucha, I love that!
Mac & cheese for me, please. :p
This Mac and Cheese is so creamy and delicious. My daughter did not believe that there was no real cheese in it!
Wow this expo looks amazing. As a vegetarian that recently became lactose intolerant it’s so awesome to find out about new vegan products!
You should definitely try some of the vegan products that are coming out. You can definitely still enjoy foods that taste like dairy but are vegan,
Totally excited for the Pure Genius goodies!
Pure Genius bars are SO GOOD! I am now craving some and I do not have any.
Nice Expo! I love those products, I am a big fan of Kombucha and other healthy foods!
You would have so much fun at Expo East! It is a healthy person’s heaven!
I love Artic Zone. I have honestly never heard of any of the other companies, but they look like a ton of fun. I wanna try them all!
Arctic Zone is so much fun. It is so nice to be able to eat a big portion without worrying about all the fat and calories.
This looks like so much fun. This would be my kinda place. So many good foods to choose from.
Expo East is one event I look forward to all year long! It is a healthy person’s paradise.
I’m so jealous! I would love to go to an expo like this. Just saw there’s one coming up near my area at Expo West. I’m definitely going to check it out.
You must go to Expo West! It is even better than Expo East.
Wow! What amazing giveaway! All these kid friendly brands look delicious!
These brands are all tested and approved by us! I hope you entered the giveaway.
Arctic Zero, is definitely on my shopping list!
You will love the arctic zero!
I would like to try Maple Guild’s maple syrup.
The Maple Guild syrup is amazing, great choice!
It looks like you guys had a very delicious time! Thanks for sharing.
It was a delicious time, we actually even felt full a few hours into each day.
There’s many I’d love to try, including Arctic Zero’s frozen dessert in cake batter flavor – sounds yummy!
Arctic zero cake batter is one of my favorite flavors!
I would love to try the Pure Growth White Cheddar Super Chips!
Pure Growth Organics has so many great products. We got some at Walmart today!
I would love to try any of the Cameron’s coffee. I love trying new coffee’s and flavors.
Cameron’s Coffee is so good! We love started our day with this delicious coffee.
Arctic zero looks delicious! I have heard great things about it, but I haven’t been able to try it yet
You have to try Arctic Zero! It is so good, and you don’t feel badly when you eat the whole container.
I am really interested in trying the smashmallows and the pure genius blondies
Smashmallows and Pure genius are both excellent choices! Good luck in the contest.
I would like to try the Brownies.
The Pure Genius brownies are amazing! Good luck.
I am most looking forward to trying Bitsys BrainFood smart cookies, cereal and crackers (my brain needs all the help it can get!)
Haha! I hope the brain food will help your brain function!
Bitsy’s Brainfood tastes so good! Plus, it is full of healthy ingredients, totally a win-win situation!
I am most looking forward to trying the Red Lentil Pasta.
The red lentil pasta is so delicious, and quite nutritious for you!
Red lentil pasta is my favorite kind of pasta. It is so good for you and tastes amazing!
What a neat show to attend!
Thank you! It is one of my favorite shows!
Expo East is such a great show. We look forward to it every year.
I really want to try Arctic Zero
Arctic zero is such a delicious ice cream treat! Good luck in the giveaway.
arctic zero is such great ice cream. I just had the brownie blast for dessert tonight, so good!
The Mochie ice cream-cookies and cream.
My Mo Mochi cookies and cream is the mini bloggers favorite flavor! She can eat the whole box!
Fruity number crunch sounds so delicious I’m a cereal type of girl <3 and so our the kids and hubby .
I am excited about MyMo Mochi Ice Cream
Excited about the kettle potato chips.
The Mochi ice cream looks awesome. I want to try that so bad.
The mochi ice cream is amazing. My kids all love this dessert so much.
Wow this looks awesome, haven;t heard of it before.
Thanks for entering! Good luck in the giveaway.
I would like to try the Banza Chickpea pasta mac n’ cheese.
The chickpea pasta mac n cheese was so delicious. I was surprised that it tasted as good as it did! I preferred it to regular mac and cheese by far!
I’d love to try the pastas–the chickpea and the lentil. The Smash Mallows look like fun. too.
Pastas made out of other ingredients is so much fun! I love both of these other pasta flavors. Good luck in my giveaway.
The mini blogger says smashmallows are the best dessert ever! You need to try some.
I would like to try the Pure Genius brownies and blondies. Made of chick peas….sounds interesting. Really though, I would like to try everything here.
Chickpeas are so good in desserts, you cannot taste them at all. They just add creaminess and protein to a dessert. I hope you will get to try them, good luck.
I want to try the green lentil and Kale pasta!
The tolerant pasta is so delicious! Good luck in my giveaway.
All of these items look wonderful but I think the Cameron’s Coffee would be what I would like to try first. Yum!
Cameron’s Coffee is such amazing coffee. You really feel like you are having an expensive cup of coffee at home! Good luck in my giveaway.
I would love to try the mochi ice cream
Mochi ice cream is delicious. I hope you get a chance to try it.
I want to try the ice cream!
I am giving away 2 kinds of ice cream and they are both amazing! Good luck.
Everything looks so good! I think the Mochi ice cream looks the most exciting, and I’d love to try it.
Everyone is intrigued by the Mochi ice cream. It is just so much fun and different. A great dessert to enjoy with your family.
I want to try the Banza pasta! Mmm!
Banza pasta is delicious. It is such a great lunch that is full of protein.
Wow! That mac and cheese looks delish!
This mac and cheese is awesome. Good luck in my giveaway.
Oh, Wow, I would love to have gone to an expo like this! All of these foods look incredible! I want to try the Arctic Zero..and everything else too!!
This expo is so much fun. I can’t wait to go back next year.
This assortment looks fabulous. There isn’t one thing that I wouldn’t love to try but ice cream always calls me.
Ice cream is my downfall too!
I am most interested in the Bitsys brainfood and arctic zero!
Those are two amazing choices. I wish you good luck!
I am so intrigued by the mushroom chips. I would love to try them.
The mushroom chips were so awesome. They had a very subtle flavor, but the mushroom taste was definitely there!
Fruity numb3r crunch
Great choice, fruity number crunch is awesome! Good luck.
I have seen the Bitsy’s brainfood cookies at Target but haven’t tried them yet. I like the looks of their nutrition facts though! Cookies with fiber, that’s a good thing.
The Bitsy’s brainfood is amazing for your nutrition values while still tasting delicious! Good luck.
I’ll admit that I would most like to try the Pure Genius brownies. I love them probably a bit too much. It all sounds really good though.
It is easy to fall in love with the Pure Genius brownies, I am right there with you!
I would love to try the Smashmallows but everything else looks good too. It looks like you had so much fun at the expo.!
Expo East was so amazing! The Smashmallows are a great pick. Good luck!
I want to try the Smashmallows!
Good luck in the giveaway! The smashmallows are a great choice!
The kettle chips looks good.
The kettle chips are a great choice. Good luck in the giveaway!
I would love to try the artic zero. My friend swears by it.
The arctic zero ice cream is so delicious. I love a treat without the guilt.
That mochi ice cream!!!
Mochi ice cream is so delicious. Good luck in my giveaway!
The mochi ice cream is so delicious and so unique. I have never tasted anything similar to it. Good luck!
I am most looking forward to trying the maple syrup.
The maple syrup is amazing, we had a small bottle we brought home and it is long gone! Thanks for entering!
The mac and cheese.
The vegan mac and cheese is so creamy, you can barely believe it is made without dairy. Thanks for entering!
I am excited a out the bitzy brain food crackers.
The bitsy brainfood line is so awesome. My kids loved everything that they tried. Good luck in my contest!
I really want to try My Mo Mochi ice cream
I would love to try the Cameron’s Coffee!
Cameron’s Coffee is our favorite way to start each day! Good luck.
I would like the Mac n’ Chao.
The MAc n CHao is so amazing, creamy and rich, you barely notice there is no dairy!
French vanilla almond coffee. Yum.
The Cameron’s Coffee is a great choice! Good luck in my giveaway!
I am excited to try the Cameron’s Coffee! It sounds like it would be great!
This coffee is so awesome, great choice!
Thanks for featuring us, Sarah! We’re so glad we met you at the Expo and hope you’re still enjoying your cashews. – Alice
It was so wonderful to hear about all the amazing things that the Sunshine Nuts company is doing. Thank YOU for caring about people and making the world a better place.