Coffee, Crickets, Kombucha and other trends from Expo West

So sad this is among best photos with both of us from the trip

I’m sitting on the plane. My magazine binge is complete (Food & Wine’s “The New Healthy” issue good but Bon Appetit’s Culture even better), inbox has been cleaned out, the book I’m reading at a lull and it’s not yet time for a snack…so I thought I’d tell you a little about Expo West. Expo West is this massive Natural Foods Show; all the big players have booths and events and rookie players or new food companies come to get a jump-start. People spend days at this show. Carolyn and I were determined to see it all in one day and 23, 000+ steps later we did.

If I were to pick out a few trends or things we saw a lot of I’d say jerky is a big deal. These new offerings are a world away from Slim Jim. If you don’t think you’re the jerky type I’d do some taste testing. Carolyn said she felt many more products geared toward men and I’d agree. “Mancakes” is an example of this  (get it man + pancakes?). We saw some tea but coffee, particularly jazzed up coffee, was everywhere. There was coffee mixed with other ingredients (maca and guarana) and also coffee blended with nut milks. And our favorite of course….lattes on tap.

There was a whole lotta kombucha happening but many of the newer brands had more sugar than the Heathade and Synergy we covet. In terms of other beverages, a few of our favorite companies have come out with unsweetened versions. We’re saving our winner for May and our Pre-Summer Squeeze  program (so good, sorry to tease). In terms of sweeteners, monk fruit is making a name for itself. It’s zero calories and has no aftertaste. To be honest, I haven’t monkfruited a lot and initially dismissed it so I have to do some tasting.

 

And for anyone who said gluten free was a fad, read this study and take our word for it, it’s bigger than ever. And I’m not talking gluten free treats or gluten free crap but gluten free meal items like our beloved Banza. See their new packaging?

Carolyn and I were determined not to over sample. We tried to divide and conquer- Carolyn would taste sweet and I’d cover savory. We ended up both tasting both. I refuse to really ponder what I ingested but there was gluten free pizza (sample size but it was 9:30 am), Banza’s new mac and cheese, every coffee product offered, apple cider vinegar and more.  Did I mention we walked 10 miles? I said to Carolyn we’d need to do it again to make up for our excessive testing.

Oh and the nastiest item of the day was definitely a nutrition bar made from crickets  (not Exo…those are fine) and flavored with matcha. It had the worst aftertaste and we felt ill but as we rounded the corner Hu Kitchen to the rescue, a chocolate chaser makes every better.

Which of these trends or categories would you like to hear more about? Would you eat products made from crickets (you will likely see more…protein)? What’s your favorite magazine or podcast these days?

On Track

Monday I focused on The Real Housewives. To prove I have varied tastes today’s post was inspired by a New York Times article. Before you give me credit, know this piece was clipped from Sunday Styles. Despite my RHONY embarrassment I know, via Google Analytics tracking, that many of you read the Ramona post. And I know from the “United States ofMetrics” that sixty-nine percent of Americans track their weight, diet or exercise. So there’s lots of tracking going on.

In addition to Google Analytics, at any given point I know my Fitbit steps (only 44 but it’s 5:30AM), water intake (8oz going up to 80, fingers crossed) and Instagram followers (2120, Snack Queen is to blame for this obsession). I used to care about Twitter but I’m newer to Instagram and yes even for me it seems there are only so many things one can track. Feiler writes, “we are awash in numbers. Data is everywhere. Old-fashioned things like words are in retreat; numbers are on the rise.”

I find numbers fun and motivating but you have to be careful. I take a spin classes at a place called Flywheel. While the other popular NYC studio focuses on “Soul”, Flywheel has metrics. You are guided through class with suggestions for torq and rpm (revolutions per minute). There’s even an optional torq board showing how you stack up versus others and you get a total number at the end of the session. If that’s not enough if you hit 3,000 for the month you “powered up” and receive a congratulatory email and a tank top. I don’t always love the tank but the e-patontheback? Fantastic.

When I started Flywheel, my total number wasn’t even on par with the lowest number on the board. I persevered and eventually felt confident to opt into the board. I continued to take classes and improve my scores and then something happened. One day, from the start of class it was clear something was off, my score seemed higher. This improvement wasn’t attributed to my fitness but to an “easy” bike. My total was tremendous and even knowing it was an error didn’t detract from my euphoria.

A couple of classes later spin karma struck and I was suddenly on the hardest bike in the world. I was working twice as hard and couldn’t even achieve my usual scores. I was frustrated and complained to management. Depressed and lacking confidence, I took myself off of the board.

But technology can be fun, for some more fun than others. I learned in the Times article that the Spreadsheet app calculates the length of sexual encounters…um no thanks. Tracking has its limits. I have been burned by a malfunctioning GPS watch malfunctioning during a marathon and on a bumpy boat ride my Fitbit mistook bumps for steps.

And all the nutrition apps in the world cannot assess what made you eat the 400 additional calories after dinner or why you tend to blow it on the weekends. I seriously hope we don’t have to choose one or the other because I still like words and conversation. I’m even trying to take Richard Branson’s advice to use the phone more (and email less). Wait, is there an app for that?

Are you a tracker or not so much? Which apps or devices do you use? Do you know anyone who uses Spreadsheet, c’mon tell me.

You Really Need One of These

This isn't my Fitbit (mine is black) or my total today

I am lazy. I spin, I run, I do barre classes where teachers yell “abs in” but then I sit. I sit in taxis, I sit at my desk, I sit when I’m editing and I sit when I’m in sessions with clients. I sit too much. How do I know this? Well my Fitbit told me so.

I’m not generally a numbers person. I think calorie counting is a waste of time and both Marc and my accountant know I will make every excuse to avoid a meeting that involves budgets, spreadsheets or anything in that realm. So it’s a little surprising that my latest fixation involves numbers and I can’t get enough of it. I should warn you ahead of time, I've turned into a Fitbit evangelist.

What was that? You haven’t heard of a Fitbit? Fitbit is part of the new generation of pedometers. It tracks the number of steps you take in a day, the distance you cover and your calories burned. It then wirelessly syncs to your computer. You’re emailed reports, graphs and most importantly encouragement. 

All of a sudden, I find myself thrilled when I forget an item at the store and have to make a return trip. I’m now the first one to pop up and answer the doorbell and I’ll clean the kitchen or do loads of laundry if it’s nighttime and my numbers are pathetic. One evening, I contemplated taking the kids out for ice cream and it wasn’t because the weather was nice, nope. I was going to take my kids to get a sugary scoop so that I could get some steps…sounds like an addict’s behavior if you ask me.

I quickly learned that I have two types of days. On some days I have 7,000 or more of my 10,000 “goal” daily steps before midday. I’ll fly past 10,000 those days. But when I’m writing or the weather is lousy or when have to spend a lot of time in a car hitting 5,000 can be a challenge. My average daily total may be above 10,000 but it wouldn’t be if I weren’t conscious of this. 

I should mention that the placement of the Fitbit zip gets a little tricky for ladies. It’s made to go on your waistband which works nicely if you’re in pants, workout pants or pajamas (yep, put it on my pajamas and walking to brush my teeth gets me 40-ish steps). However, with the temperature rising there are maxi dresses and mini dresses. You can clip it on your bra but there are times that doesn’t work (ok there are times where a bra doesn’t work) and then I have no choice but to clip it on the side of my dress, it looks like a blackberry under my arm but what other choice do I have?

No, there’s no shot I’ll forego the fitbit for fashion. One day I found myself at a workout class and all of a sudden I realized Fitbit was at home. I was devastated. A Facebook friend said it well when posting on this topic “Lost my fitbit. I feel so… unquantified". However, another friend with a Fitbit told me she didn’t feel it changed her behavior. Whaaaatt? Sure changed mine.

There are other “fish” in the tracking sea. My children received Nike’s Fuelband as presents and we all compete with our step totals (totally unfair they have PE and recess). I just hope they can handle spreadsheets and budgets better than I can.

Do you have a Fitbit or other tracking device? Are you as crazy with it as I am (please say yes)? 
How active would you say you are in the course of your day? Could you be more active?