All about my trip to Nashville for the 2015 Food and Nutrition Conference & Expo
Disclosure: My registration fee was waived because I attended FNCE as a media spokesperson. I was not compensated to write this post, and all opinions are my own. No brand or company compensated me to write about them in this post.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might already know that I spent the past few days in Nashville for FNCE.
But you might not know what FNCE is... FNCE is the Food and Nutrition Conference & Expo. It was full of nutrition knowledge, visiting old friends & making new ones, and lots & lots of networking. Here's a recap of my FNCE adventure!
Friday
I got to Nashville Friday night and met some of my Blog Brûlée/Almond Board Trip friends at The Local Taco in East Nashville. So fun to see everyone and a great way to start off the conference!
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Saturday
Saturday morning started out early! I attended the National Dairy Council FNCE to Farm Tour at Hatcher Family Dairy. We hopped on a bus early Saturday morning and visited the farm, seeing multiple stations including the room where they milk the cows and where they process the milk. We also ate a tasty breakfast. I really enjoyed getting a deep look into what happens on a dairy farm, and it is always nice to meet the people who produce our food. Their passion is contagious!
After the farm tour, I met Min and Rachael (my two roomies) at the Nashville Farmers' Market for some lunch and pumpkin admiring time.
Saturday night we attended the Weber Shandwick party at the Whiskey Bent Saloon to visit with other nutrition communication registered dietitians. Then a group of us walked around downtown and ate dinner in the Omni.
Sunday
Sunday morning I attended the Kura breakfast. It was a smoothie-filled breakfast that was glorious. I was obsessed with the snickers-inspired smoothie because whoa!
Kura smoothie packs are a great addition to your smoothie without junkie ingredients (no added sugar, no preservatives, no gluten, no high fructose corn syrup, and no artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavors) and lots of goodness (think high-quality protein, omega-3's, probiotics, and vitamins & minerals).
The day was filled with the FNCE Expo where I visited with different food companies and brands. I attended a few sessions, but I really enjoyed the Expo. Plus, I knew that the sessions were being recorded so I can watch them later.
Sunday afternoon involved us bopping around from the California Almonds and California Strawberries "Made in California" reception and the Food & Nutrition Rooftop Reception.
That night I had the best dinner ever with the Mushroom Council at Chauhan Ale and Masala House. Every single item we were served incorporated mushrooms, including the margaritas and dessert! I was totally impressed and in heaven since I love mushrooms so very much!
Monday
Spright treated us to breakfast at the Frothy Monkey on Monday morning. Breakfast included bacon and kombucha so it was obviously perfect.
After a great session by my friend Carlene of Oh Carlene on branding, Marisa, Min, Rachael, and I had lunch at Pub5. We try to have a google hangout every month, but nothing beats seeing your friends in real life.
Monday night we took our lovely hosts (Rachael's Nashville friends) out to dinner.
Tuesday
After listening to Regan and Anne discuss mastering our website, I spent most of the morning in the Expo. Like I said earlier, the fact that I could watch the sessions online made it much more appealing to spend more of my time learning about different companies and making connections. Since most people had already headed home, the Expo was pretty empty which was nice.
Rachael and I spent a fair amount of time talking & kissing avocados because avocados are the greatest, and we love them.
Then I found out that I won the California Dried Plum Board giveaway because of my nerdy picture on Instagram. I never win anything, so this was really exciting! Plus, it was a really good gift basket -- gift card, lots of dried plums (yay for bone and digestive health!), and cooking gadgets.
Tuesday afternoon, I met one of my besties that lives in Nashville for coffee and a quick chat then I spent almost an hour shoving everything into my bag and headed to the airport. I cannot emphasize how happy I was to have TSA pre-check because the line was obscene!
All in all, the 5 days were so much fun which is something you don't usually hear about a conference. And that's a wrap 😉
Meme
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