2016 FNCE Boston Recap

Happy Wednesday!

The past week and a half has been action-packed with traveling to Boston for the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE), the annual conference for Registered Dietitians, followed by a work trip to Denver. And now I’m writing this post from Gatlinburg, TN. Hello Great Smoky Mountains!

I wanted to share a quick FNCE Boston recap with you all, especially since this was my first visit to Boston. After only spending three short days there, I can’t wait to go back!

Do you have favorite places to visit in Boston?

The day we arrived, we had a chance to walk around downtown through the Financial District, Boston Commons, and the Theater District, taking in the history of the Freedom Trail along the way. We stopped in front of the Old State House where the Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. Six years later, the Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston from this balcony.

We fueled up at Sweetgreen, a fast-casual restaurant chain offering veggie-heavy salad and grain bowls. This place is a dietitian’s dream putting fresh produce front and center! I tried the seasonal Curry Cauliflower bowl with warm quinoa, chicken, chickpeas and a cucumber tahini yogurt dressing. So good and very filling!

On Friday evening, I attended the first of several events for the weekend with a bunch of my RD pals. It was so great to catch up with people I hadn’t seen since the previous FNCE in Nashville!

Saturday morning was saved for more city exploring so we started the day at Flour Bakery in South Boston before heading to Harvard for the afternoon. We couldn’t have had a more perfect day for exploring the campus and strolling through Harvard Yard. We found this cool brunch spot in Harvard Square called Beat Brasserie and enjoyed the jazz brunch!

Saturday evening was the official kick-off of FNCE and I was so excited that Barbara Corcoran (ya know…from Shark Tank) was our keynote speaker this year. She is awesome—witty, smart, and inspirational. Her life story and how she became the first female real estate mogul is fascinating and empowering. One of the key messages she shared is that some of her biggest successes came after failure. We can’t be afraid to fail!

Food Trends on the Expo Floor

On Sunday, the educational sessions and expo hall opened for conference attendees so it was a busy day of learning and scoping out food trends. Gut health and foods that promote a healthy gut, including fermented foods and probiotics, had a strong presence at FNCE this year. There were also a lot of products featuring beans and lentils, like pasta made with chickpeas and these roasted chickpea snacks from Biena. Such a great on-the-go snack!

It also seemed like there were 1,000 different snack bars/protein bars. While I sampled a few, I really enjoyed the RXBAR. I’ve seen them around Nashville but hadn’t tried them prior to FNCE. I’m a fan now, especially of the Coffee Chocolate bar! This bar was a lifesaver for my early flight out of Boston Monday morning since I didn’t have time to eat breakfast before boarding the plane.

My time at FNCE ended a bit early but I learned so much and as always, enjoyed seeing so many of my RD friends! I’ll be back again soon Boston 🙂

Oh, and here are a couple more restaurants to add to your list if you’re visiting Boston soon:

• Barking Crab—order the lobster roll!
• Ocean Prime—we sampled a few items here and everything was amazing. You can’t go wrong with the calamari, sushi, or lump crab cakes.

Have a great rest of the week & Happy Halloween!